Marketing expert and writer Jeff Swystun – who has written a number of articles for Tremblant Express – has just published his most recent book, TV Dinners Unboxed: The Hot History of Frozen Meals.

“Nostalgia can be comforting,” says the Mont-Tremblant author. Readers can enjoy the broad scope of this new book about pop culture and the history of the food trade. According to Jeff, it turns out that TV dinners are a great tool for exploring our own history.

Frozen dinners first appeared a century ago and have been sold by the billions. The ease, speed and convenience of these meals attracted ever-busier consumers. While the whole world now depends on frozen foods to feed the planet, Canada was where the science got its start. In 1924, Clarence Birdseye witnessed Inuit people fishing on the ice of Labrador. Exposed to temperatures of – 40 °C (- 40 °F), the fish froze instantly…yet they retained their full freshness when thawed. Birdseye was inspired and invented how to freeze food for commercial purposes.

“The book quickly turned in a number of fascinating directions,” Jeff Swystun explains. The origin of the TV dinner itself is shrouded in controversy. Both flashy entrepreneurs and tenacious scientists have taken credit over the years. The book resolves the mystery and examines the era which contributed to the product’s launch. Without feminism, the baby boom, television, the cold war and changes in dietary patterns, the success of TV dinners might have been much reduced.

If you’re looking for a comforting and entertaining read, TV Dinners Unboxed: The Hot History of Frozen Meals is available on Amazon in both printed and digital versions.

More from this author by clicking on his photo below.