Frozen Fish is discovered

Frozen Fish is discovered

If Clarence Birdseye hadn't visited the Arctic, there may never have been frozen TV dinners. Now he is recognized as a major innovator in the food industry.

Clarence Birdseye was a young scientist working in the Arctic when he noticed that freshly caught fish, when exposed to the freezing winds and low temperatures of the Arctic, immediately froze solid. He also discovered that the fish, if thawed and consumed months later, retained all of its fresh characteristics.

Birdseye discovers the freshness of frozen

Birdseye’s discovery created a new type of food preservation for the western world and a food industry that would make him a rich man.

It is said that the youthful scientist and explorer had courage to thaw out the rock hard fish weeks later and cook it and eat it. At the time, this was an unknown and a real risk. It could be that he thought he was risking poisoning by eating ‘rotten fish’. However, it could also have been that he was invited to eat with Inuits who had done this daily for thousands of years and, seeing that they were not dead yet, decided to eat some too! Either way, what is undisputed is that Clarence Birdseye saw a business opportunity and traveled back to the United States with the knowledge.

Inuit Knowledge

He was working for the US Biological Survey as a field naturalist at the time and he was researching the ways of the native Americans who lived there, so it is highly likely that he learnt the basic method from them.

The Arctic conditions were perfect: the ice, wind, and low temperatures froze everything exposed within minutes. Birdseye realized that quick freezing of foods reduced the size of the crystals which were forming. His slow freezing methods had resulted in large crystals forming in the flesh, this transformed the food so that the tissue was damage and it was not good to eat. Birdseye perfected and formula for freezing fish and meat that resulted in no damage to the cellular structure of the food.

Birdseye was skilled in business. He knew that he had found something important and started to perfect his freezing methods. He knew that the American public would enjoy the various types of foods they could never obtain otherwise. He just had to perfect the freezing.

The 'double plate' freezer

Birdseye formed his company, Birdseye Seafoods Inc. in 1922 and continued his experiments with freezing fish at his factory near the Fulton Fish Market in New York.

After two years of trial and error, he chanced upon the winning formula – wax-packing fish in cartons then freezing them between two flat, refrigerated surfaces whilst under pressure. The ‘double plate’ freezer was born. His method quickly froze his produce with little damage to the cell structure. When the frozen items were defrosted and cooked the produce was indistinguishable from fresh. Birdseye patented his ideas.

Success did not come immediately for Clarence. His first commercial outing of frozen foods was in Springfield, Massachusetts 1930. It was called the ‘Springfield Experiment Test Market’. He included 26 different types of fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables and marketed the event with the slogan ‘50 Below Zero’ and people loved the idea that they were able to take home perishable produce that had come from hundreds of miles away months ago.

Frozen foods are distributed to the people

Birdseye assured the success of his empire by creating a frozen food distribution network.

He worked with the American Radiator Corporation to minimise premature thawing of his produce in shops. Together they produced low-temperature shop storage units to hold the produce in perfect condition for the customer. At the same time Birdseye manufactured and distributed insulated rail carriages. These were to ensure the safe and frozen shipment of his frozen food products across the United States.

In the United States by the 1950s, frozen food sales had exceeded one billion dollars annually. The majority of retail outlets had a frozen food capacity and pre-prepared ready meals had started to become popular.

The Birdseye frozen fresh legacy

Before his death in Springfield, Massachusetts, on 8 October 1956, The Food and Drug Administration (part of the US Department of Health) acknowledged that frozen foods are as healthy as the same foods would be if cooked from fresh.

Of course Clarence new this already – he had been solely responsible for providing the increasing populations of the developed world with affordable, nutritious and fresh food.

Today, the frozen food industry targets a new type of shopper – a health conscious consumer who is increasingly aware of where food their comes from. And increasingly aware of nutrition, cost and convenience food issues. Of course, all of which are discussed here!

• See behind the scenes of frozen fish
• See behind the scenes of frozen food harvesting
• Discover how you can go behind the scenes of frozen foods

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So, you've seen the benefits of frozen fish–
why not try the real thing?

Our chef has created the perfect seafood recipe – all with ingredients from your freezer readily available from shops and supermarkets on your high street...

Scallops and Tiger Prawns with Warm Salad of Artichokes, Fine Beans, Chorizo and New Potatoes. Light Coriander, Lime and Chilli Dressing. Click here to see the full recipe for frozen seafood

Or, click here for a selection of other frozen food recipies

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