Victorian food brands still extant

[Synistor 303]

In Australia it is Tasmania... But even in Tasmania there is a region that the other Tasmanian's joke about. I love to pick on the Tasmanians, because all my family are Tasmanians except ME!

[J. Wilhelm]

Some up here really do have webbed toes.

I was born in Oxfordshire so no joined toes in my shoes.

I there any historical relation to the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts?

[Deimos]

Some up here really do have webbed toes.

I was born in Oxfordshire so no joined toes in my shoes.

I there any historical relation to the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts?

HAHA...got it.  (Anyone else?....  )

[Mercury Wells]

Uncle Bert, have you come across "Caley's Marching Chocolate 1886" in your area? (not sure if its still being made, after it was swallowed up by Rowntree's then Nestles)

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Good question. I have come across it as a specialist brand in old style sweet shops (the army bit caught my eye and I am always on the look-out for the 'real' army chocolate brands) but as a real and functioning chocolate factory, Caleys was sadly gone long before I started living here.

I have eaten several times in a restaurant on the location of the old chocolate factory but there is no sign of it now, nor any hint it was ever there.

Rolos were made here in Norwich, one of my favourite chocolate/toffee combo.s - but then they went to the old Terry's of York chocolate factory before that brand was made defunct too. Why do I know all this? well, strangely, I did for quite a few years, in the mid to late 90s to early 2000s, work at the Mars chocolate factory in Slough. I used to run the DEC Vax 4300 VMS computers that controlled the flow of chocolate and packaging in the two Mars' factories, the main one in Dundee Road. Twenty chocolate lines all controlled by my computer systems - a veritable river of chocolate.

So, good question and a bulls eye I think.

[J. Wilhelm]

Good question. I have come across it as a specialist brand in old style sweet shops (the army bit caught my eye and I am always on the look-out for the 'real' army chocolate brands) but as a real and functioning chocolate factory, Caleys was sadly gone long before I started living here.

I have eaten several times in a restaurant on the location of the old chocolate factory but there is no sign of it now, nor any hint it was ever there.

Rolos were made here in Norwich, one of my favourite chocolate/toffee combo.s - but then they went to the old Terry's of York chocolate factory before that brand was made defunct too. Why do I know all this? well, strangely, I did for quite a few years, in the mid to late 90s to early 2000s, work at the Mars chocolate factory in Slough. I used to run the DEC Vax 4300 VMS computers that controlled the flow of chocolate and packaging in the two Mars' factories, the main one in Dundee Road. Twenty chocolate lines all controlled by my computer systems - a veritable river of chocolate.

So, good question and a bulls eye I think.

Damn, Uncle Bert, at the time I was using Alpha DECs to run simulations of hypersonic bullets. I remember in 1987, the last UNIX workstation I ever used was a Sun Sparc which cost $40 K, about 10 times the cost of a 32 bit PC running Linux. It was about that time the scientists realized that with 64 bit PCs running Linux, they could make parallel processors... By 1999 UNIX workstations went the way of the dodo, and by 2002 the same happened to single block mainframes . I'm glad I never paid attention at the training sessions for the Cray T3E parallel processor that I was using to run simulations of turbulent water channels.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

I am a VMS sys. admin on Vax/Alpha to this day... as well as many other things, Sun Sparc FT &c.

[J. Wilhelm]

I am a VMS sys. admin on Vax/Alpha to this day... as well as many other things, Sun Sparc FT &c.

Same industry?

[Mercury Wells]

I'd like to think that someone was having good laugh/re:- use of a pun  "Caley's Marching Chocolate"  

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Same industry?

Nope. Just generally in the mini 'puter business still supporting VMS systems and sometimes Tru64.

Duncan's chocolate was that shipped in ration packs for the British Army up until the late 1990s. I used to love that bar, it had something undefinable, ie. it came with a complete British Army ration Pack.

No longer made unfortunately and in any case not within our timeframe. Caleys' is still occasionally manufactured as a speciality brand from time to time and I suppose it might make it on the list if anyone manages to obtain some.

[Mercury Wells]

Euro list:-

Bardinet (Negrita Rum) Est 1857

[J. Wilhelm]

These are difficult times to be researching food brands at the local supermarket. Generally, I'm trying to get in and out of the store as fast as possible. But I have started to see some more obscure brands for every day items, as supermarkets scramble to keep up with demand...

[Mercury Wells]

<snip> But I have started to see some more obscure brands for every day items, as supermarkets scramble to keep up with demand...

But, surely that may be a good thing?

[J. Wilhelm]

<snip> But I have started to see some more obscure brands for every day items, as supermarkets scramble to keep up with demand...

But, surely that may be a good thing?

In a sense, but I never have time to stay and explore. I have to keep my distance and minimize my stay at the shop. It's a pain to go to the supermarket now, and my decontamination routine after traveling by bus is ridiculous, would make Howard Hughes proud.

[Mercury Wells]

UK/Empire:-

Epicure Brand Est.1891 (provisioners)

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Good one.

[Mercury Wells]

Not a food item, but hopefully interesting?...

Monosodium glutamate/MSG

It was first prepared in 1908 by Japanese biochemist Kikunae Ikeda, who was trying to isolate and duplicate the savory taste of kombu, an edible seaweed used as a base for many Japanese soups.
&
Glutamic acid was discovered and identified in 1866 by the German chemist Karl Heinrich Ritthausen, who treated wheat gluten (for which it was named) with sulphuric acid.

My apologies for this post.

The Origin Of The Word 'Umami (Science Friday)*

*How reputable they are, I don't know.

[Mercury Wells]

https://www.tetleyusa.com/tetley-story (click on timeline photo album). I didn't know that Iced Tea was introduced in the 1904 St. Louis World Fair (note that the heat wave in America that year prompted that invention), or that a New York merchant accidentally invented the tea bag (intended originally as sample bags), an idea which was borught back to the UK by Tetley in 1939!

I'vr done some digging re:- iced tea & tea bags:-

Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Claims The Smithosian Magazine

American tea importer Thomas Sullivan 1908, Tea Bags according to "Time Magazine".*

Seems like there's another contender to the originator of "Iced Tea"

Richard Blechynden or was it the above mentioned...American tea importer Thomas Sullivan 1908?.*


The original Iced Tea made with Tetley tea, maybe?.  

* I'm just thinking of disregarding Mr. Sullivan from the whole equation.

[J. Wilhelm]

https://www.tetleyusa.com/tetley-story (click on timeline photo album). I didn't know that Iced Tea was introduced in the 1904 St. Louis World Fair (note that the heat wave in America that year prompted that invention), or that a New York merchant accidentally invented the tea bag (intended originally as sample bags), an idea which was borught back to the UK by Tetley in 1939!

I'vr done some digging re:- iced tea & tea bags:-

Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Claims The Smithosian Magazine

American tea importer Thomas Sullivan 1908, Tea Bags according to "Time Magazine".*

Seems like there's another contender to the originator of "Iced Tea"

Richard Blechynden or was it the above mentioned...American tea importer Thomas Sullivan 1908?.*


The original Iced Tea made with Tetley tea, maybe?.  

* I'm just thinking of disregarding Mr. Sullivan from the whole equation.

The problem with disregarding Mr Sullivan's name or not, is that this thread is for Victorian Age brands, not individuals. Iced Tea may have been invented by Mr Blechynden, and Ms Lawson and Ms Molaren may have invented the tea bag before Mr Sullivan, in 1901, but there's no brand name attached to any of their names today... Tetley on the other hand was a well established name by then. Furthermore, the tea bag is not able to be listed as a Tetley exclusive, because it was not linked to Tetley until 1939.

According to Wiki, "The first tea bag packing machine was invented in 1929 by Adolf Rambold for the German company Teekanne." That however, doesn't tell you when the first tea bags, presumably filled by hand, were sold under a brand name. This is the mystery to solve.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_bag#History

You may, however, list Tetley, the tea, inside the bag, as the product was well known by that brand, even by the time when it was exported to the US from the UK (1888? This means Tetley enters both UK and US lists). Instead, if you wish to list bagged teas, then you must look for the first company to sell teas in that form during the Victorian Era. And Tetley did not do it in the required period for the list! The tea bag for Tetley is incidental.

So not only may you not disregard Mr Sullivan's name, you may not even tie him to the Tetley brand! (Besides, what did Mr Sullivan ever do to you?  )

[J. Wilhelm]

Good one.

There are still a few overlooked brands.This two brands below are practically "twins" and is a *major* omission on my part. Perhaps because one of them is now owned by Nestle, which we've covered in the list.

The brands in question are Carnation Evaporated Milk, and Pet Evaporated Milkwhich by the way are tied intimately to one another by the inventor of the evaporated milk process, John Baptiste ("Cheese John") Meÿenberg, a Swiss worker who had discovered that milk could be condensed without using sugar and preserved if heated while sealed in a can, what we call today evaporated milk, as opposed to condensed milk, which is usually very sweet.

John Baptiste Meÿenberg inventor of evaporated milk

Originally Meyenberg's employer in Switzerland, none other than the Anglo-Swiss Condensery in Cham, Switzerland (previously covered in the list - today known as Nestle) rejected Meyenberg's technique, so Meyenberg moved to the United States, obtaining patents for his methods and co founded the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company in 1885 with help from John Wildi, Louis Latzer, Dr. Knoebel, George Roth and Fred Kaeser at a location in Highland, Illinois, known for its large Swiss immigrant population.

Unfortunately for Helvetica Milk, an accident at the plant resulted in the loss of a sterilizer, and a large batch of cans were lost, forcing the temporary closure of the plant. Because of criticism, John Meyenberg left the partnership and moved due west, eventually joining efforts with the founder of Carnation Milk.

The original advertisements which claimed that Carnation came "from contented cows," was coined by industrialist Elbrige Amos Stuart, who founded the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company in Kent, Washington state. The name changed first to Carnation Milk Company and today the brand is found globally under ownership of Nestle, except for markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand where it is made under license by the Alaska Milk Corporation.

Elbrige Amos Stuart

Carnation plant in Kent, Washington

"We located a small plant at Kent, Washington which had been established for the processing of sweetened condensed milk. The company had failed and the machinery and equipment were bought at Sheriff's sale by the First National Bank of Helena, Montana. We purchased the equipment for the sum of $5000 and rented the realty. We had to reassemble the machinery and make certain additions so as to adapt it to the processing of evaporated milk. While we were preparing the plant for operation we employed a high class Swiss dairyman, nicknamed 'Cheese John,' who worked with the local dairymen educating them as to the method of producing a high quality fresh milk so that we could produce a high quality evaporated milk. On the 6th of September 1899, we received about 5800 pounds of fluid milk which we processed into 55 cases of evaporated milk" (Lentz).

The company began producing 10,000 pounds of condensed milk per day, and 40,000 pounds per day two years later.

E. A. McDonald, the State Dairy and Food Commissioner, reported in 1902 that Carnation milk was a favorite brand among grocers. The company's Kent plant turned its first profit in 1903. To assure the quality of his dairy supply, Stuart established a farm in the Snoqualmie Valley in 1910, and stocked it with prize Holsteins -- which Carnation's advertising agency immortalized as "contented cows."

Newspaper ad, 1921

In the meantime one of Meyenbergs former partners, Louis Latzer, determined that the spoilage was due to bacteria, and he corrected the problem while John Wildi helped to market the product internationally to areas where fresh milk would be scarce. In 1895, Latzer registered the trademark "Pet" but continued using the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company name on the tin, finally changing the name of the company to Pet Milk Company in 1923, The Pet trademark and company changed ownership many times with large conglomerate owners from the US across the globe (eg B&G Foods and Diageo), but finally it was purchased by the JM Smucker Company in the US in 2004.

Helvetia Milk Company ad from 1903

I'll stop for now, because I must go to sleep! But I'll continue this discussion tomorrow!

[J. Wilhelm]

I found one brand in the supermarket which enters the Europe, UK US and Canadian lists simultaneously

McCann's Irish Oatmeal (Founded by John McCann in 1800, County Meath, Ireland)

https://www.mymccanns.com/about

McCann's® Irish Oatmeal is named for founder, John McCann. In 1800, John built Beamond Mill in County Meath to grind the raw oats harvested on Ireland's bountiful east coast. The mill was powered with water from the River Nanny, which John loved for its purity, and for its famous trout. As the water wheel turned, John fine-tuned his oatmeal's flavor and texture to perfection.

Over time McCann's® Irish Oatmeal became known for its uncommon quality, winning several international competitions. It won awards at the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and Great Industrial Exhibition of Dublin in 1853. It was also lauded at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, where it took first prize, and at the Chicago Exhibition of 1893.

In 1896 John's son, John McCann, Jr., merged with R. R. Hill. Beamond Mill closed in 1898, and the company moved to the nearby port town of Drogheda. In the early 20th century, exports greatly increased, particularly to the U.S. and Canada, where it became a perennial favorite.

The company was acquired in 1964 by the Odlums Group, a century-old family company in Sallins, County Kildare which was, and continues to be, an integral part of Irish baking and cooking.

The Sallins mill was extensively upgraded in 1995, putting it on par with the finest mills in Europe. It was awarded the Hygiene Mark from Excellence Ireland in 1999, and accredited to ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 standards, ensuring quality as well as environmental sustainability.

In 2018, the McCann's® Irish Oatmeal brand was acquired by B&G Foods, Inc.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

Very good.

[RJBowman]

I used to run the DEC Vax 4300 VMS computers that controlled the flow of chocolate and packaging in the two Mars' factories, the main one in Dundee Road. Twenty chocolate lines all controlled by my computer systems - a veritable river of chocolate.

A VAX minicomputer to control chocolate flow? Seems overpowered.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

20 lines of chocolate and other taffy-based sweets (Opal fruits &c), PLCs on each line counting the flow of packaging on the packing machines (lots), MANMAN MRP software creating schedules for the current production and ordering new ingredients and packaging, displaying production quotas vs schedules on VT420s on multiple stations on each line, plus reports and online storage for data analysis on a system with 99.99%+ uptime per year, hardware and software shadowing, clustering and DEC Rdb/VMS for resilience if not quite fault tolerance. DEC Vax 4300 a good choice when you have up to 100+ simultaneous users via DECserver 200s on VT200, 300, 400 & VT1200 terminals.

Just had a look at the specs to remind myself - that was all accomplished with a mere 35mhz CPU, 128mb RAM and a couple of 4gb DSSI drives.

Some of those lines were quite steampunk in their construction, seriously sized iron cogs driving the belts but the Vax 4300 was a grey box in amongst all the chocolate.


Regardless of that, not many can state that at one time in their life they were real "oompah-loompahs".

[RJBowman]

Just had a look at the specs to remind myself - that was all accomplished with a mere 35mhz CPU, 128mb RAM and a couple of 4gb DSSI drives.

Current OS's and software are extremely inefficient.