A US perspective on the development of the frozen food industry

美国视角下的冷冻食品产业发展

At some point in history, humans discovered that ice preserved food. There is evidence that winter ice was stored to preserve food in the summer as far back as 10,000 years ago. Two thousand years ago, the inhabitants of South America's Andean mountains had a unique means of conserving potatoes for later consumption. They froze them overnight, then trampled them to squeeze out the moisture, then dried them in the sun. This preserved their nutritional value-if not their aesthetic appeal.

在历史的某个时期，人类发现冰可以保存食物。有证据显示，早在一万年前，人们就曾储存冬季的冰块，用于在夏季保存食物。两千年前，南美安第斯山脉的居民发明了独特的马铃薯保存方法，以供日后使用:夜间冷冻马铃薯，随后踩踏挤干水分，再经日晒脱水。这种方法虽影响卖相，却能保留营养价值。

Natural ice remained the main form of refrigeration until late in the 19th century. In the early 1800s, ship owners from Boston, USA, had enormous blocks of Arctic ice towed all over the Atlantic for the purpose of food preservation. In 1851, railroads first began putting blocks of ice in insulated rail cars to send butter from Ogdensburg, New York, to Boston.

直到19世纪末，天然冰仍是主要的冷藏方式。19世纪初，美国波士顿的船主们将巨大的北极冰块拖运至大西洋各地用于食品保鲜。1851年，铁路运输首次在隔热车厢中放置冰块，将黄油从纽约奥格登斯堡运往波士顿。

Finally, in 1870, Australian inventors found a way to make 'mechanical ice'. They used a compressor to force a gas-ammonia at first and later Freon-through a condenser. The compressed gas gave up some of its heat as it moved through the condenser. Then the gas was released quickly into a low-pressure evaporator coil where it became liquid and cold. Air was blown over the evaporator coil and then this cooled air passed into an insulated compartment, lowering its temperature to freezing point.

最终，在1870年，澳大利亚发明家终于找到了制造"机械冰"的方法。他们使用压缩机迫使气体(最初是氢气，后改用氟利昂)通过冷凝器。沙压缩气体流经冷凝器时，会释放出部分热量。随后迅速进入低压蒸发盘管，液化为低温液体。空气经蒸发盘管冷却后进入隔热舱室，使其温度降至冰点。

Initially, this process was invented to keep Australian beer cool even in hot weather. But Australian cattlemen were quick to realize that, if they could put this new invention on a ship, they could export meat across the oceans. In 1880, a shipment of Australian beef and mutton was sent, frozen, to England. While the food frozen this way was still palatable, there was some deterioration. During the freezing process, crystals formed within the cells of the food, and when the ice expanded and the cells burst, this spoilt the flavor and texture of the food.

这项技术最初旨在保证澳大利亚啤酒即使在酷热天气下也能保持冰爽。但澳大利亚牧场主们很快意识到，若将这项发明装上船只，他们便能够向海外出口肉类。1880年，首批冷冻澳大利亚牛羊肉运抵英国。虽然冷冻食品仍可食用，但品质有所下降-冷冻过程中，食物细胞内部会形成冰品;当冰晶膨胀导致细胞破裂时，食物的风味和质地就会遭到破坏。

The modern frozen food industry began with the indigenous Inuit people of Canada. In 1912, a biology student in Massachusetts, USA, named Clarence Birdseye, ran out of money and went to Labrador in Canada to trap and trade furs. While he was there, he became fascinated with how the Inuit would quickly freeze fish in the Arctic air. The fish looked and tasted fresh even months later.

现代冷冻食品产业始于加拿大因纽特人。1912年，美国马萨诸塞州的生物学学生克拉伦斯·伯幸因资金短缺，前往加拿大拉布拉多地区从事毛皮贸易。当地因纽特人用北极赛风速冻鱼类的技术引起他的注意，这些冻鱼数月后仍保持新鲜外观和口感。

Birdseye returned to the USA in 1917 and began developing mechanical freezers capable of quick-freezing food. Birdseye methodically kept inventing better freezers and gradually built a business selling frozen fish from Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1929, his business was sold and became General Foods, but he stayed with the company as director of research, and his division continued to innovate.

1917年伯率返回美国，并且开始研发能够快速冷冻食品的机械冷冻装置。他持续系统地改进冷冻技术，逐步在马萨诸塞州格洛斯特建立冷冻鱼销售业务。1929年其公司被收购，并改组为通用食品公司，但他留任研发总监，带领他的部门不断创新。

Birdseye was responsible for several key innovations that made the frozen food industry possible. He developed quick-freezing techniques that reduced the damage that crystals caused, as well as the technique of freezing the product in the package it was to be sold in. He also introduced the use of cellophane, the first transparent material for food packaging, which allowed consumers to see the quality of the product. Birdseye products also came in convenient size packages that could be prepared with a minimum of effort.

伯宰的多项关键发明奠定了冷冻食品产业基础:他开发了速冻技术，减少了冰晶造成的损伤，以及直接在销售包装内冷冻产品的技术。他率先使用透明玻璃纸包装，让消费者直观看到食品品质。他的产品还采用了便捷定量包装，让京饪准备变得轻松省力。

But there were still obstacles. In the 1930s, few grocery stores could afford to buy freezers for a market that wasn't established yet. So, Birdseye leased inexpensive freezer cases to them. He also leased insulated railroad cars so that he could ship his products nationwide. However, few consumers had freezers large enough or efficient enough to take advantage of the products.

但推广仍面临阻碍。20世纪30年代，由于市场尚未成型，鲜有杂货店愿意购买冷冻柜。伯宰便以低价向零售商出租冷冻柜，同时租用隔热铁路车厢实现全国配送。然而，当时家用冰箱的冷冻室普遍容量不足、效率低下，难以充分利用这些冷冻食品。

Sales increased in the early 1940s, when World War II gave a boost to the frozen food industry because tin was being used for munitions. Canned foods were rationed to save tin for the war effort, while frozen foods were abundant and cheap. Finally, by the 1950s, refrigerator technology had developed far enough to make these appliances affordable for the average family. By 1953, 33 million US families owned a refrigerator, and manufacturers were gradually increasing the size of the freezer compartments in them.

20世纪40年代初，冷冻食品销量激增。二战期间锡材优先用于军需，罐头食品实行配给制，冷冻食品因供应充足且价格低廉迎来发展机遇。到20世纪50年代，冰箱技术取得长足发展，使得普通家庭也能负担得起这类电器。到1953年，全美已有3300万户家庭拥有冰箱，制造商们也在不断扩大冷冻室容积。

1950s families were also looking for convenience at mealtimes, so the moment was right for the arrival of the 'TV Dinner'. Swanson Foods was a large, nationally recognized producer of canned and frozen poultry. In 1954, the company adapted some of Birdseye's freezing techniques, and with the help of a clever name and a huge advertising budget, it launched the first 'TV Dinner'. This consisted of frozen turkey, potatoes and vegetables served in the same segmented aluminum tray that was used by airlines. The product was an instant success. Within a year, Swanson had sold 13 million TV dinners. American consumers couldn't resist the combination of a trusted brand name, a single-serving package and the convenience of a meal that could be ready after only 25 minutes in a hot oven. By 1959, Americans were spending $2.7 billion annually on frozen foods, and half a billion of that was spent on ready-prepared meals such as the TV Dinner.

20世纪50年代，美国家庭追求烹饪便捷性，"电视餐"应运而生。Swanson Foods(斯旺森)是全美知名的罐头与冷冻禽肉制品大型生产商。1954年，该公司借鉴了伯宰的冷冻技术，凭借巧妙的命名和巨额广告投入，推出首款“电视餐"。这个“电视餐“将冷冻火鸡、士豆和蔬菜分装在航空公司使用的分隔铝盘中。该产品一经推出便大获成功，首年销量达1300万份。美国消费者难以抗拒这样的三重诱惑:值得信赖的品牌、单人份包装以及仅需热烤箱加热25分钟即可享用的用餐便利。到1959年，美国人年消费冷冻食品达27亿美元，其中即食餐(如电视餐)占5亿美元。

Today, the US frozen food industry has a turnover of over $67 billion annually, with $26.6 billion of that sold to consumers for home consumption. The remaining $40 billion in frozen food sales come through restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and schools, and that represents a third of the total food service sales.

如今美国冷冻食品产业年营业额超过670亿美元，其中266亿美元为家庭消费，其余400亿美元的销售额来自餐厅、食堂、医院及学校，占餐饮服务总销售额的三分之一。