5 Forgotten Vintage Frozen Foods

Acknowledged as the “Father of Frozen Food,” Clarence Birdseye used his experience working in the frozen Canadian province of Labrador to commercialize the flash-freezing process for fish in 1923. Although frozen foods existed in the mid-19th century, when defrosted, they often turned into an unappetizing mush. So when Birdseye invented a freezing machine and freezer in 1930, a range of frozen meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits became available. 

However, frozen foods didn’t really catch on until the 1940s, when canned goods were shipped overseas for soldiers fighting in World War II. With canned goods scarce, Americans gradually embraced frozen foods, and, with the expansion of grocery stores, the frozen food industry and the sales of home refrigerators skyrocketed. 

Who actually invented the TV dinner is contentious, but on September 10, 1953, C.A. Swanson and Sons rocked the world with the first Swanson TV Dinner. Husbands weren’t too pleased that their wives were no longer cooking fresh meals as their mothers had done, but the ladies didn’t care. These dinners could be served in about 25 minutes. Admittedly, not all frozen foods were as popular as the Swanson turkey dinner, and some were just downright bizarre, such as the Morton’s Beef Pattie Twinkie Supper. Others, though, lasted until the 2000s, only to vanish from the grocery freezer section. In case you’ve forgotten, here are five vintage frozen foods that enjoyed a brief foray in the spotlight only to be lost to time.

Not all of Swanson TV dinners were home runs, as evidenced by the company’s late-1960s international offerings. Quiche Lorraine and cheese fondue were all the rage at the time, but the glamorous world of the jet-setters also inspired some improbable and decidedly disgusting food trends. So when Swanson launched its line of international TV dinners, somehow they didn’t look especially appetizing even by ’60s standards. Rather lazily named, the dinners — dubbed Italian Style, Mexican Style, Polynesian Style, etc. — featured the usual Swanson formula: an entrée, two sides, and a fruit dessert.

Of course, there were a few notable exceptions to the rule, like the Chinese Style, which included fried shrimp as a side and a sweet and sour sauce instead of dessert, and the British Style fish ‘n’ chips, which is exactly what you would expect. In many of these entrées, the meat was concealed with a heavy layer of cheese or slathered with gravy, and the carb-heavy sides hardly made a well-balanced meal. Arguably the most aesthetically challenging of the lot was the German Style dinner that featured a limpid sauerbraten — the classic German-style pot roast — and a strange fruit compote that resembled a raw egg yolk wedged between prunes.

In the 1940s, Chinese takeout wasn’t anywhere close to what it is today. Chinese food was considered exotic to American taste buds and was generally only eaten at restaurants. Minnesota grocer Jeno Paulucci changed all that. In 1947, he created the first canned chicken chow mein, which he seasoned to suit his own Italian tastes. Branded Chun King, Paulucci’s chow mein was a hit, and he went from selling it by the truckload to its mass production in a Duluth factory. Though his chow mein wasn’t the greatest as his produce wasn’t the freshest, Americans didn’t care. At the time, Chun King was one of the only frozen Chinese foods one could heat up at home. 

Over time, the Chun King product line expanded, and in 1957, Paulucci created the Divider-Pak for Chun King’s frozen dinners, which kept the sauce and chow mein noodles separate from the meal in the aluminum foil tray. Though bland-tasting and sodium-heavy, Chun King made Paulucci a millionaire when he sold his company to J.R. Reynolds in 1966. In 1995, Chun King was sold to Hunt-Wesson, which owned Chun King’s competition, La Choy. Thus, the Chun King brand was discontinued.

What is Welsh rarebit? Well, despite also being called Welsh rabbit, it’s neither Welsh nor a rabbit. This melted cheese toast dish has been around since the 1700s, and its name may have been derived from a British insult for its much-derided U.K. neighbor. It’s unclear when Welsh rarebit made it to American shores, but in 1921 four versions of the dish appeared in “The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook” by Fannie Farmer.

Around that time, Stouffer’s began as a small family business, and then expanded to small restaurants, known for producing hearty meals. In the 1950s, Stouffer’s opened restaurants atop skyscrapers with spectacular views and became the darling of corporate accounts. Simultaneously, the company began releasing frozen meals. In 1966, the brand introduced its version of Welsh rarebit, which had a following for many years. However, over time, the meal’s popularity decreased, and Stouffer’s discontinued frozen Welsh rarebit in 2021.

There was a time when you could drive cross-country in America and stop along the highway at the familiar orange-peaked roofs of Howard Johnson’s restaurants. With its large menu of rather bland comfort food and 28 flavors of ice cream, you always knew that your meal would be consistent no matter the Howard Johnson’s location you were visiting. Howard Johnson’s restaurants were all franchises, and to make sure each one prepared the meals in the exact same way, frozen food was shipped weekly to each location, with detailed instructions for cooking, preparing, and serving. Of course, Howard Johnson’s didn’t limit its frozen goods to franchise locations.

By the 1970s, the rising costs of fuel and food began to impact Howard Johnson’s profits, and so the company introduced its line of packaged frozen foods in grocery stores. The products included the restaurants’ most popular items, such as macaroni and cheese, its famous fried clam strips, chicken croquettes, and the fan-favorite shrimp croquettes. The rise of fast food chains (and Howard Johnson’s degrading food quality) led to the former American icon’s demise. However, up until the 2000s, you could still find the Frozen Shrimp Croquettes meal at local grocery stores; that is, until its manufacturer facilities were shut down. These too vanished from the grocery freezer section, never to be seen again.

In 1971, Libby’s went after the kids’ market with its Libbyland TV dinners. There were four themed dinners — Sea Diver’s Dinner, Safari Supper, Sundown Supper, and Pirate’s Picnic — and the food was pretty dreadful. Each one featured chocolate pudding that was infamously boiling hot when the dinner was pulled out of the oven and “Milk Magic,” which was later replaced by Nestlé’s Quik. The fish sticks, tater tots, and weenies and beans, though, were not the reason why harried parents purchased these cholesterol- and sodium-heavy bombs: The packaging was boldly designed for entertaining bored kids at the dinner table. 

Starring Libby The Kid — a freckle-faced white-garbed cowboy — in never-ending battle with the arch-villain, Mean Gene, young diners unfolded the pop-up box into a diorama full of adventure. As an added incentive for gobbling down every last bite, the tray was etched with the Libbyland characters featured in the themed dinner. Eventually, though, choosy parents figured out that fun-and-games didn’t necessarily add up to proper nutrition for their kids and stopped buying them. Libby phased out the Libbyland dinners in 1976, but today, the packaging is a hot (and pricey) item on eBay.