That's the NYT, selecting Cheetos to represent the 1940s, in "1776 – 2026/The Pursuit of Hungriness: 250 Years of American Food Innovation" (gift link).
June 30, 2026
"To feed its millions of troops in World War II, the military turns to food science. Orange juice is reduced to concentrate, potatoes are dried into easily reconstituted flakes..."
"... and Cheddar is dehydrated and pulverized. But the war’s end leaves mountains of surplus cheese powder. Charles Elmer Doolin, riding high on the success of the Fritos he created 16 years earlier, fries extruded puffs of cornmeal and coats them in the powder. Dozens of other food companies take advantage of food technology developed for the war effort, ringing in the heyday of ultraprocessed foods."
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57 comments:
Cheetos and Trump both arrived in the 1940s. Coincidence? I think not!
Hey! intellectual nutrition from nyt, the Cheeto of journalism…
I’m okay with the cheeto as representative. So out of favor now but processed foods mean going hungry when fresh would spoil and more people get to eat. I would have gone with breakfast cereals in the Post era…1920s?
Mmmm Cheetos...
A very rare indulgence. So now I've confessed to Reese's and Cheetos - I might as well get it out of the way and confess to Diet Coke as well - three things I try to limit my consumption of to road trips. (The McDonald's Diet Coke is my preference - extra cold save therefore slower to get diluted by ice because they refrigerate the entire system, I've heard, and with the wide-bore straw.)
Spam. Spam, spam, spam, with spam. Spam spam spam.
Technically a 1937 invention, but it'll always be the king of ultraprocessed food.
So Trump was born coated in Cheetos powder,
Explain a lot
I wonder if Pringles make an appearance. I remember a college class I took on problem-solving (my first major, communications with no area of concentration, was a tiny 37 units, so I had lots of time for random electives), in which the prof used Pringles as an example of out-of-the-box thinking. His claim, which I haven't verified, is that the snack-makers brainstormed the problems with potato chips, determined that breakage was a primary one, further determined that the dry crispness of the chips was the cause, and therefore worked out a way to package chips wet and then somehow cook them in the packaging. I think it sounds like BS - how do you not just get a tube of solid potato food? - but maybe I'll remember to look it up one of these days.
I guess we have our answer to Edwin Starr's question, "War, what is it good for?". Cheetos!
I've used potato flakes in recipes for potato bread with good results, so I appreciate that one too.
An excellent American story in every aspect. Cheetos have survived 8 decades after being created from surplus food. Same origin story for Buffalo Chicken Wings explains why celery, carrots and bleu cheese (before the blessed invention of Ranch dressing) were the sides. In fact the American story is full of scrappy individuals who cleverly repurpose things in great supply that become things in great demand.
Supply and Demand. Economics recognizes these as things that exist through human industry and specialization that free people exhibit in abundance and can only be squelched by the oppressive weight of the evil ideology of socialism.
Frito-Lay was a big HBS case study target when I was in school. Company people would show up and run class. About the time of hard bite chip emergence FL was behind the curve, caught flat footed with Lay’s chips and obsessing about Doritos flavors while Cape Cod and Helluva were in the all the trash cans in the dorms. We tried to explain it but Fritos ding-dong was having none of it. It hurt them…
Jamie, How Pringles are Made
The NYT can’t even name 250 inventions by commies because they are parasites that live off of free market principles. Let alone naming 250 exemplars for the last 2 centuries of the industriousness of socialist inventors.To imagine it makes me LOL.
That's an easy one, @Mike (MJB Wolf). The industrious socialist inventors have created far more than 250 fascinating articles in the NYT, and counting.
I cannot leave unmentioned the sheer brilliance of baby carrots in the annals of food industry. Nor would I fail to mention the use of potato flakes for the famous leek & potato soup recipe.
We indulge in an occasional nostalgia trip of Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos, and quarter pounders. On road trips mostly, as parents would provide those snacks during same when we were but wee ones. Some memories never die, mostly cuz we won’t let them.
@MJB: The USSR invented "Doctor's Sausage" -- a kind of mega-hotdog that became popular back in the day. It was cheapened over time because of routine USSR shortages and corruption.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor%27s_sausage
I think the left would say their top 250 inventions include new agencies (e.g., EPA, ATF, CFPB), new bureacratic jobs (e.g., DEI Officers, oversight committees), monuments to the state (e.g., Obama's monolith; California's High Speed Train to Nowhere; money-losing subways everywhere), and lots of new laws.
My father in law served with the Marines in the Pacific in WW II.
I once asked him what they fed the Japanese POWs. His reply: What POWs?
Yes Aggie, commies excel in “professions” that require no training knowledge experience or common sense and “reporter” is one such occupation, like “teacher” or “community organizer.”
Peerless brand potato chips. Gone but not forgotten.
Cheetos are the crack cocaine of snack foods, hard to stop when you open a bag. ( I buy the small 1oz bags in bulk to limit portions.). And they mark your sin when you consume them with the orange stain of guilt on your fingers.
Temptation coupled with proof of guilt - the perfect combination!
I remember road trip vacations with my parents where canned soda pop soft drinks like “Tahitian Treat” were a staple.
In a fit of nostalgia a few decades ago, I drank a few sips of one… it was all I could stand. It, like Postum, was a favorite when I was a kid, but a revisit left me questioning my childhood sanity.
I don’t think that crunchy Cheetos are the original recipe because they don’t taste the same to me. I suspect some of the corn emulsion was replaced with soy or another grain. The only proof is the taste I recall. I’ve not checked the ingredients. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t changed to include HFCS and the dreaded soy meal.
The army has a HUGE packaging and food science facility in Natick MA. They develop packaging and test packaging for everything from missiles to Lurp Rats.
Someone mentioned SPAM: I grew up with a round, 30" shield in my bedroom it shows a PT boat somewhere in the Pacific and a rather bedraggled eagle delivering a crate of Spam. I still have it in my living room.
It came from my father's merchant marine supply ship in WWP2.
John Henry
@Ironclad: "And they mark your sin when you consume them with the orange stain of guilt on your fingers."
Ahhhh, you have not yet discovered the "doggie dish" handless method. It works for popcorn too.
“All we are is Cheeto-dust in the wind…”
…for a time I lived within the sound of the evening bugler at that lab…
Jamie,
Pringles are made and packaged much the same as cookies. Mash up the potatoes, cook them, add some stuff, roll the dough out in sheets, big rotating cookie cutter cuts out ovals, excess dough goes back to be remixed. the ovals are formed, cooked in oil for crispness, collated and fed into the cans.
And for all those complaining about too much air in potato chip bags, you would complain even more if it was not there since all you would get would be crumbs. They are called "Pillow Bags" for a reason. And it is not air, it is nitrogen or other gas to preserve freshness.
John Henry
>decade-by-decade tour of the most important dishes, books, movements and inventions that have shaped the national diet.<
1960s: Soul Food! What a joke. No one (relatively) ate that shit. But of course the NYT would have a DEI "national diet" food list.
In fact, the burgeoning mass popularity of processed convenience foods was the hallmark of the 60s American food scene.
Batcars are going to kill the potato chip business. A large percentage of "salty snacks" are purchased when buying gas. Some people have too much trouble getting to sleep thinking about such 3rd, 4th and 5th order effects.
https://www.packagingdigest.com/flexible-packaging/will-electric-vehicles-put-pouch-machines-out-of-business-
John Henry
I was told as a boy that my tastebuds would change every 7 years. He also predicted I’d grow to like hotter (spicy) food, which was 100% correct. But things I really liked I still like. So despite the AI report on Cheetos disproving every guess I made above I stand by my statement that they just don’t taste the same.
I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment's gone
All my snacks
Pass before my eyes at high velocity
Dust in the wind
They are Cheeto-dust in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of Moxie in an endless sea
All we eat
Generates much gas, and then we cop a plea
Dust in the wind
They are Cheeto-dust in the wind
Oh, oh……
Spam is the wonderfood of the Second World War. And the Korean War too. Hence why it's a key ingredient of Korean budae jjigae, troop stew.
So good you'll eat your fingers
Cheetos? Really?
The NY Times didn't want to highlight mobile refrigeration and the African-American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones?
His third model was invented in 1940 with all the production going to the military for the duration of WWII. Something about having medicines and fresh blood near the front saving soldiers lives.
But after the war, refrigerated food could travel further to feed the growing economy. Ironically, making fresh cheese more readily available in competition with the ultra-processed foods like Cheetos.
"Frederick McKinley Jones invented the first successful system for mobile refrigeration. His invention eliminated the far less effective use of ice and salt to preserve foods for transport, greatly extending the distance over which food could be effectively delivered.
"Thermo King Corp., their company provided refrigerated trucks for transporting food to soldiers during World War II."
"Batcars are going to kill the potato chip business. A large percentage of "salty snacks" are purchased when buying gas. Some people have too much trouble getting to sleep thinking about such 3rd, 4th and 5th order effects.
https://www.packagingdigest.com/flexible-packaging/will-electric-vehicles-put-pouch-machines-out-of-business-
John Henry"
Enterprising entrepreneurs can make charging stations much like gas stations that charge you for your charge and let you indulge in road trip snackery.
EV chargers won't be 'free' forever.
Ironclad….’orange stain of guilt’. Marvelous!
I hate that term, 'ultraprocessed'. It isn't even defined. It's the new "assault weapon". You could make a good argument that beer and wine are ultraprocessed.
Haven't had a Cheeto in decades. Not sure I ever had a pork rind either. I do recall preferring the crunchy Cheetos over the puffed ones. . . . .
LOL. Inman,(thumbs up emoji)
Who knew “Pringle taster” was a profession?
Thanks, Rusty!
I prefer the term molecular gastronomy over ultraprocessed, which is so fresh that iPad keeps insisting I misspelled it.
Regular French / Danish pastries are 'ultraprocessed' and high-end junk food. I accepted the term 'ultraprocessed' after eating pepperoni and having the nitrates jumping out as "weird salt."
Ice Nine: "1960s: Soul Food! What a joke. No one (relatively) ate that shit. "
Anyone in the military in the 60's - I've heard there were a lot of them - would have experienced soul food (AKA 'food') in the mess hall. Even in the 80s, I was introduced to every sort of greens, grits, okra, scrapple, ribs, fish, etc. Maybe not the most esoteric exemplars of the art, like pig knuckles, chitterlings, or other stomach-turners. But more than a beginner's intro. The high salt and fat content keeps soldiers going through their demanding day. CC, JSM
'Orange stain of guilt' - reminds me of the punchline to a dirty joke about a guy who shows up in the ER with an orange dick. CC, JSM
salt-fat-carbs. The ultimate tasty treat. People used to think processed foods were "cool" and "modern". I can remember everyone drinking Tang because the astronauts supposedly drank it. Unlike boring ol' OJ.
I often wonder how many things we think of as healthy today will turn out to be bad. We literally swallow what the experts say, and they turn out to be wrong. Cf: Margarine, the "healthy" alternate to butter. Or the low fat, high carb craze of the 80s.
Food seems to be the one area of life that's actually gotten better. I can remember eating canned vegtables in the 70s and 80s. And campbell soup. And canned Chile. All that stuff was such crap. Same with TV dinners.
One of my father-in-law's law firm's clients was Lance, which makes sandwich crackers and potato chips. He made arrangements for my wife and I to visit the factory, and we got to sample fresh potato chips right off the line. Absolutely delicious! I can still recall that taste from 40 years ago.
If I, as a child, had known that you could set a Frito on fire my life could have taken a very different turn.
Some major processed snack food companies are exploring the cannabis marketspace...no surprise there.
RC--Beer has gotten significantly better. I credit Sam Adams (the beer company, not the patriot) for taking on the big beer producers and introducing beer flavors other than pilsner to the mass market.
Maybe the Times got the idea for the story from Bill Maher's most recent New Rule, "Hooray for the USA!"
https://youtu.be/76UXWSaGZhI?t=454
USA food quality followed ease of transit across wide open spaces and refrigeration technology. They started out with dry foods (beans, seeds, jerky), then went to canned food, then to frozen, then to fresh as carried on trucks rather than hot and slow trains.
Yes, there was a quantum leap in food quality circa the 1980s. We went from simple Ketchup/Catsup and one-note Tabasco sauce to complex fresh salsas. We got Haagen Dazs ice cream. We got thicker-than-Budweiser beers from Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and a flood of brewers.
I for one am greatly saddened by the loss of Nestea Iced Tea mix and then Lipton iced tea mix. Yes, I am aware that you can still buy it, but it's all got that horrible lemon flavoring in it. Yes, I am aware that it doesn't really taste much like fresh-brewed tea (which I also drink). But I liked it. No. . . .loved it. Unsweetened. It had a wonderful bitter taste to it that I latched onto as a teenager. I could guzzle the stuff (and did).
Both of my parents also had a taste for instant coffee, which they got from their military years.
Chicharrones > Cheetos
Just call me Mr. Natural.
"Cheetos and Trump both arrived in the 1940s. Coincidence?"
Ten years ago, Glenn Beck was diving into crumbled Cheetos as an imitation of (or protest against) Donald Trump.
Doolin invented Fritos in 1932. That was a far more palatable (both literally and metaphorically) product. The Forties not only brought Cheetos and Spam (surely some culture somewhere must have a recipe combining the two), but also M&Ms and Cheerios. A lot of foods became popular because of rationing. Apple crumble, made with courser flour than other pastries, is an example AI gave me.
For my parents, coffee was instant coffee. They never adopted the newfangled (actually old-fangled) ground coffee. It's said that other countries -- Russia, China, Australia, Britain -- actually prefer instant. Interestingly, they are all tea countries. Slighting coffee may have been natural for them
Instant coffee tends to resemble the ultra-filtered brewed coffee of the stylish and costly Chemex system. My wife bought it for the looks, but those thick folded filters took away every bit of personality. Also, percolated (boiled) brewed coffee is burned by necessity and can become much worse than instant.
https://chemexcoffeemaker.com/
I never realized how they prepared canned fish and meat until I went through an old defunct cannery that was built to work the salmon runs long ago. I had never thought about it much, but when I saw those giant autoclaves, the penny dropped. Ah ! They put the fish into the cans raw, seal it, and then load the autoclaves and cook them under pressure so the cans don't blow up. That's neat !
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