that wouldn’t go rancid in the jar. More importantly, they could
afford advertising. In 1922, Joseph L Rosefi eld of the Rosefi eld Packing company in
Alameda, California, takes the newly discovered technology of
turning unsaturated fats into saturated ones by hydrogenating them
and applies it to the oil in peanut butter—which is normally liquid
at room temperature, but is now solid, so it never separates. He also
added a lot of sugar so that it would taste even better. The name he
eventually settled on for his new product was Skippy. An advertising blitz results, followed by market takeover. The only
real competitor to survive was Peter Pan, which had a comparable
product. The result is that a product controlled locally and prepared
fresh becomes a more stable but less healthy food, claims to be
“convenient,” and becomes a staple. Almost the same thing happens to the peanut-processing industry.
Two Italian immigrants, Obici and Peruzzi, began frying peanuts
in their small operation in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, which
they called Planters Peanuts. What separated them from all other
processors is that they moved their plant to the South, where
they could buy the peanuts and process them immediately. They
eventually took over the entire industry and turned peanuts into a
major article of consumption around the country. By the late 19th century, practically all of the processed snack
and junk foods we are familiar with—including animal crackers,
chewing gum, and soda—were being mass produced and marketed
nationwide.Burnett, Liquid Pleasures.
Burnett, Plenty and Want.
Laszlo, Citrus.
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