We also love starchy foods like pizza, because starch can be converted into sugar. This is because once upon a time, getting quick, concentrated calories like those in sugar increased our likelihood of survival, so our cravings provide an evolutionary advantage. The impact on American diets was particularly great due to the immense power of the three favorite ingredients of the processed-food industry: salt, sugar and fat. Her catchy slogans, signature cookbooks and showrooms illustrating the ease of heat-and-serve meals contributed significantly to the shift of American food ideals toward the factory-processed foods that dominate supermarket aisles today. The most famous example of such a teacher is the entirely fictional “Betty Crocker” character invented by an advertising manager. To overcome this resistance to processed foods, the food companies recruited their own home economics teachers to advocate processed foods by holding their own cooking contests and giving cooking lessons to mothers and teachers. Of course, the ideal of the home-cooked meal was hard to shake, not least because 25,000 home economics teachers in high schools in America were still advocating it and teaching students how to make it. A slew of other time-saving foods and products followed, as consumers were increasingly willing to trade a bit of their wealth for more free time. One of the first companies to do this was General Foods, which introduced Jell-O instant pudding in the 1950s to immediate success.

Sensing the opportunity in this shift, food companies began to produce more heavily processed convenience foods designed to be quick and easy to prepare. This meant that they suddenly had less time for the arduous process of preparing home-cooked meals.Īt the same time, the increasing prevalence of televisions in American homes meant that there was another disincentive for spending more time in the kitchen, as you might miss great shows like Lassie. In post-World War II America, change was afoot: Women who had traditionally stayed at home to cook and clean while their husbands worked began to take jobs of their own.

Salt sugar and fat book