Ready-made meals



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The History of Convenience Food

Gerry Thomas, an American, invented a frozen meal consisting of three components packaged in an aluminum tray that could be heated in an oven in 1954. The TV dinner, as it was called, became a hit, and the frozen food company Thomas worked for sold about 10 million TV dinners in the first year. Nowadays, as a consumer, you can choose between chilled, frozen, and shelf-stable complete or partial meals. For manufacturers, various additives, flavor enhancers, and aromas guarantee quality; the more processed a raw ingredient is, the more natural and healthy properties it loses. It is clear, therefore, that you should not consume frozen pizza, ready-made soups, and similar convenience foods every day. However, when time is short, quickly prepared meals are a good alternative to a sandwich.

Meals from a Can

Canned goods have been around since the early 19th century, and in 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte offered a prize to anyone who could invent a method to preserve food. In 1810, Parisian Nicolas Appert was awarded the prize of 12,000 gold francs for successfully heating food in hermetically sealed glass containers. In the same year, the tin can was born when Briton Peter Durand used tin-plated steel canisters as containers for Appert’s method. The first canned food factory opened in England in 1813. Initially, cans were sealed by soldering, but since the lead content often caused lead poisoning in consumers, other closure methods were developed by the late 19th century.

Today, white and aluminum tinplate are mainly used for cans. A can typically consists of three parts: the cylindrical body and two lids. Seaming ensures airtight closure of the contents, using special can sealing machines. The can contents are then made shelf-stable by pasteurization or sterilization. Cans are mostly coated with plastic on the inside to prevent the metal from coming into contact with the contents. Can openers have only been available since 1855; before that, chisels or large knives were used, for example. Since the early 1960s, cans with a pull-tab have been available, so that a can opener is not necessary.

Advantages of Canned and Convenience Foods

Undoubtedly, convenience and time-saving are the primary reasons for choosing convenience foods. When you opt for a convenience meal, you don't need a recipe or a shopping list. You save yourself the hassle of preparing individual ingredients such as cleaning and cutting vegetables. And, of course, the actual cooking is avoided. Instead, the convenience meal only needs to be unpacked and heated. You have a choice of products that you can reheat in the microwave, stove, pan, or oven. Products in the convenience food category are a good fit for today's daily life, which often does not provide for fixed meal times and time for cooking. However, people also often opt for ready-made meals because they lack cooking skills or have no interest in acquiring them. Unless cooking is a hobby, the free time that comes from the time-saving preparation of ready-made dishes is certainly appreciated.

The Most Well-known Convenience Food Brands

In Germany, Knorr, Maggi, and Pfanni are not only the oldest but also the best-known manufacturers of convenience foods. Knorr has been producing soup preparations since 1873. Initially, these were offered in powder form in bags and from 1886 in tablet form. Knorr soup cubes have been available since 1910. The company became well-known not least because the participants of the North Pole Expedition (1893) were fed Knorr products. Nowadays, you can choose from soups, bouillons, sauces, various cooking ingredients, frozen foods, and ready-made meals by Knorr.

The founding of the Maggi company dates back to 1886 when Julius Maggi invented Maggi seasoning as an inexpensive substitute for meat extract. Starting in 1899, the company filled the seasoning in Singen. In 1906, the seasoning was renamed "Maggi's Soup Seasoning." The characteristic square bottle with a yellow-red label is still typical of Maggi. Initially, there were seven different bottle sizes, ranging from 12 to 1,400 grams. After the merger of Maggi and Nestlé in 1947, the company introduced additional products that are still available: beef bouillon and the universal seasoning Fondor. The 5-Minute Terrine and Maggi Fix were added as product groups in the mid-1970s.

Pfanni has been around since 1949. Unlike its competitors Knorr and Maggi, the company's success is not based on soup preparations but on ready-to-cook potato products, mainly dumplings. Apart from dumplings, you can buy mashed potatoes, potato snacks, and potato dishes from Pfanni. While the potato snacks are ready to eat by adding hot water and a steep time of 2-3 minutes, the potato dishes must be heated in the oven or pan.

Order Convenience Foods Fast to Match the Quick Preparation

If you're going to save time, do it right. It is certainly not wrong to have some canned goods, instant soups, and other (partially) prepared meals in stock. After all, there are always times when you don't have time to cook. You have an excellent selection of convenience food products in this online shop: choose from a large number of soups, canned goods, instant products, and meal trays. Since you can shop online 24/7, you can place your order whenever you have the time and inclination. You can find detailed information about the content and method of preparation by clicking on the description and evaluation points. On the results page that meets your requirements, you will be informed when the products are ready for shipping, which typically takes 1-2 business days.

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