Sotto lo zero dentro la storia:
quando sono nati i surgelati?
AN ADVENTURE, A REVOLUTION
The title of a book dedicated to Clarence Birdseye, the father of frozen food, reminds us that, behind the food preservation system which transformed the way we eat, there are “the adventures of a curious man”.
The naturalist, inventor and entrepreneur from New York Birdseye, during a trip to the Arctic region of Canada in 1912, had a chance to watch the fishing techniques of the indigenous Inuit population. In that sub-zero environment the fish froze right away, and then it was as good as fresh after being defrosted.
His ingenious mind came up with the right intuition: time was the secret to fully exploit the power of cold temperatures for food storage! He realised that bringing it immediately to below zero would make the difference.
FROM ARTICA TO THE FREEZER
His inventive spirit took over and he started to study a system to reproduce the natural freezing method used by the Inuit.
In the 1920s he designed the dual-belt method, based on two stainless steel refrigerated belts along which the fish was conveyed and frozen at the same time. The inventor thus also became an entrepreneur, founding his own company.
In 1928 he designed the first freezer and in 1930 he launched the first line of frozen products, also thanks to the leap forward made in terms of packaging and logistics, a key step towards preserving the cold chain.
FROM THE FIRST LINES
TO A WORLD OF FLAVOUR
It proved a rapid and long-lasting success: from then on, frozen food became more and more popular, reaching Europe and Italy after the Second World War.
The cold industry has continued to develop to the present day, with further technological innovations that made it possible to freeze many ‘good ideas’ which we couldn’t live without today! As, for instance, the extensive Artica menu…
