There really was a man named Birdseye; and he is the man who
founded the food company which bears his name; although it is now owned by a
larger corporation. He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1854, one hundred
years from my own birth year; passing away only one day before my second birthday
in October of 1956; but what a difference he made in his 102 years of living;
largely through the efforts of his own, limitless imagination.
I picked this book up knowing that it would be well written,
and even somewhat rambling in its nature. I have read 2 of Mark Kurlansky’s
books before; “1968: The Year That Changed the World”; and also his fascinating
history of something we all take for granted; “Salt: A World History”. Those
books were; just as this book is; wide ranging in the authors exploration of
his subject, so I expected no less from this book. And I was not disappointed
in my expectations.
In the very first chapter of this book, Mr. Kurlanksky
covers the history of New York City’s love affair with ice; which, during the
1800’s; was supplied by floating large chunks of ice downriver from
upstate in the spring, supplying the fishing vessels, as well as cooling the drinks of the
thirsty New Yorkers.
Clarence Birdseye was born in Brooklyn, in the Cobble Hill
section, adjacent to the waterfront. Amidst all of that hustle and bustle, some
of his earliest dreams of adventure must have been born. I was born and raised in
Brooklyn; less than one mile from the ocean; and it had the same effect upon
me. And though I did roam the world 3 times over, I never made as much of an
impact as Mr. Birdseye did during his remarkable life.
Before embarking on the adventure which would change the
lives of so many with frozen foods, Mr. Birdseye was an early entrepreneur, catching,
and selling muskrats to museums, netting enough money to purchase his first
gun. From there he began a true interest in nature, and by 12 years old was an
accomplished taxidermist.
After school was finished, he took a job with the Bureau of
Public Health, traveling to Arizona and New Mexico in 1908 and 1909, cataloging
ticks and other insects. His work would pave the way for understanding “Spotted
Fever”, as well as provide the clues necessary to combat Legionnaire’s Disease
in the 1970’s. Talk about leaving a mark upon the world!
To say that he invented frozen foods would be a bit
misleading. To say that he perfected the process would be more accurate. Like
so many of the inventors of the time, Mr. Birdseye relied heavily upon things
which were already discovered, and then improving upon them. The author uses
the example of Fulton’s steamboat as an example. He didn’t invent it; that was
done in France in 1690 with the invention of the steam piston, and then the
steamboat, which had no applicable use in Paris, a city with many roads and
streets. Fulton merely found the right market for it on the Hudson River, making
the run between New York City and Albany, delivering fresh produce to the
citizens of the city. In a way, Clarence Birdseye was no different. Ice
existed, as did vegetables. It was only when he made a trip to Labrador in 1912
that he realized the need for “flash freezing” foods. Up until then, the
residents of Labrador, mostly fishermen and some native Inuits existed on a
diet of fish, and salted pork which the fisherman brought with them each year.
When Birdseye arrived upon the scene in 1912 he was
fascinated with all that he saw. But, he did miss his vegetables. He saw that
if vegetables were left in the fierce artic winds, they would freeze rapidly,
preserving their freshness and nutrition. Thus began a remarkable journey to
perfect the process of freezing foods in mass quantities. With his unlimited
imagination, he left a legacy which has had a mostly positive impact upon the
world in which we live.
But he was so much more than the name Birdseye conjures up.
This man held over 300 patents at the time of his death! Among his inventions
were a light bulb better than Edison’s; a method to manufacture paper from
waste material (way ahead of his time on that one); and so many others that you
will have to read this book to keep them all straight.
Married for decades to the same woman, he continued to
perfect his flash freezing process while working for the U.S. Fisheries
Association. He invented a method known as double plating; or placing the item
to be frozen, between two plates, freezing them twice as quickly, and without
changing the cellular structure of the food. This was revolutionary. He later
formed the “Birdseye Frozen Food Corp.”, and by the early 1930’s his foods were
on the tables, or in the iceboxes of many Americans.
What makes this book so worthwhile is the author’s
enthusiasm for his subject. It is clear that he likes Mr. Birdseye, and through
his own remarkable skill as a writer, brings all of Birdseye’s adventures to
life. Pick this one up and hang on; you will be traveling from the streets of Brooklyn,
to Long Island and then out west, and then up into the Rockies, before
returning east to Gloucester and then Labrador. There are even some side trips
to Peru and parts of Canada. Chalk up another winner for the always
entertaining Mr. Kurlansky.
No comments:
Post a Comment