The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts THE CANNED AND THE FRESH: THE MAKING AND REMAKING OF AMERICAN FOOD CULTURE A Dissertation in History By John M. Hoenig © 2014 John M. Hoenig Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2014 The dissertation of John M. Hoenig was reviewed and approved* by the following: Gary Cross Distinguished Professor of Modern History Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Bryan McDonald Assistant Professor of History Tobias Brinkmann Malvin and Lea Bank Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History Deryck Holdsworth Professor of Geography Jonathan Brockopp Associate Professor of History and Religious Studies Director of Graduate Studies in History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii ABSTRACT This study examines the development of tomato culture in America from roughly 1800 to the present. By taking a longer view of the study of American food and by engaging with a wealth of sources, including cookbooks, restaurant menus, seed catalogs, agricultural periodicals and censuses, this project studies the development of tomato culture both before industrialization and through two distinct phases of industrialization within the tomato industry. Beginning with nineteenth century rural farmers and cooks, tomatoes emerged as a vital component of expanding the diversity of American cuisine, overcoming early resistance to this Central American vegetable. This expansive tomato culture continued in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the canning industry and tomato production increased and influenced the emergence of a distinct geographically decentralized and economically diverse industry that overcame the seasonality of tomato consumption. The uses for tomatoes continued to expand as middle-class, elite, and immigrant consumers utilized increased production of fresh and minimally-processed canned whole tomatoes to diversify their diets. By the second half of the twentieth century, as technological innovations like the mechanical harvester led to consolidation and centralization of tomato production and processing, and the rise of prepared, heavily-processed, ready-to-eat meals discouraged culinary curiosity, tomato production and consumption became more standardized and homogenized. Yet, the tomato has also become a symbol for important counters to the dominance of this corporate culture, including farmers’ markets and home gardening. This project seeks to highlight how the two phases of tomato industrialization differed from other foods. Contrary to the existing scholarship, this project suggests that industrialization often helped foster increased diversity in American food production and culinary culture but also points to the limits of the corporate model on shaping and standardizing American cuisine. Despite the growing power of centralized producers and processors of food to shape eating habits, tomato culture in America remains diverse and consumers utilize numerous avenues to challenge and influence commercial culture. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Illustrations ……………………………………………………………………….. vii List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………….. viii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………….. ix INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………... 1 The Tomato in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century American Food Culture …..... 4 The Industrial Revolution and the Commercialization of Food ………………….. 7 Agricultural “Progress” and the Tomato ………………………………………… 12 Toward a New Understanding of American Food Culture ……………………… 15 Chapter 1. THE EARLY AMERICAN TOMATO……………………………………… 20 The Origins of the Tomato ………………………………………………………. 22 The Tomato Comes to America …………………………………………………. 26 Culinary Conservatism in Early America ……………………………………….. 30 The Seasonality of the American Diet …………………………………………... 36 The Rise of the Tomato in America …………………………………………….. 40 Chapter 2. THE TOMATO ON THE FARM: CULINARY AND AGRICULTURAL ADVANCEMENTS, 1820-1900 ………………………………………………………... 43 The Tomato in the Kitchen ……………………………………………………… 46 The Tomato in the Fields ………………………………………………………... 61 Chapter 3. A TOMATO FOR ALL SEASONS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 12-MONTH FRESH AND PROCESSED TOMATO INDUSTRIES, 1880-1945…………………… 78 The Rise of Canning …………………………………………………………...... 81 The Corporate Tomato ………………………………………………………….. 91 The Canned Whole Tomato …………………………………………………….. 98 The 12-Month Fresh Tomato ………………………………………………….. 111 The Southern Tomato vs. the Greenhouse-Tomato Industry ………………….. 120 Chapter 4. CONSUMING TOMATOES: CULINARY CREATIVITY AND EXPANSION IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION ……………………………………………....127 Transitioning From Rural to Urban America ………………………………….129 Nutritional Reform and the Tomato …………………………………………...131 Innovation in the Kitchen: The Cooked Tomato ……………………………... 136 The Fresh Tomato …………………………………………………….. 148 The Italian Tomato, 1880-1945 ………………………………………………. 152 The Homegrown Tomato, 1914-1945 ……………………………………….... 164 The Pre-Packaged Tomato ……………………………………………………. 170 iv Chapter 5. ‘A POOR TOMATO IS BETTER THAN NO TOMATO’: THE HARVESTER AND THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE TOMATO ………………………………………..176 Tomato Production During the Postwar Period …………………………………... 178 Always Searching for Labor ……………………………………………………… 186 The Harvester in the Garden ……………………………………………………… 191 The Fresh Tomato ………………………………………………………………… 205 The Tomato and Food Culture ……………………………………………………. 211 Chapter 6. MEET THE FARMER OR BECOME ONE: CHALLENGING COMMERCIAL FOOD CULTURE………………………………………………………………………… 221 Popularity of Farmers’ Markets and Home Gardening, 1945-Present …………… 225 Diversity in Farmers’ Markets ……………………………………………………. 238 The Farmers’ Market, American Food Culture, and the Tomato ………………... 244 Home Gardening ………………………………………………………………….. 253 The Backyard Garden Plot: Suburban Roots ……………………………………... 254 The Urban Garden ……………………………………………………………….... 260 Community Gardens ……………………………………………………… 260 Urban Foodies …………………………………………………………….. 263 Tomatoes – The “King of the Vegetable Plot” …………………………………… 267 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………… 273 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………. 282 v LIST OF FIGURES Chapter 3 Figure 1. Acres of Tomatoes Planted, 1919 ………………………………………...... 107 Figure 2. Percent Change in Acres of Tomatoes Planted, 1919-1929 ……………...... 108 Figure 3. Acres of Tomatoes Planted, 1929 ………………………………………...... 108 Figure 4. Per Capita Consumption of Tomatoes in the United States, 1919-1952 …... 112 Figure 5. Carlot Shipments of Tomatoes to New York City Markets, 1918-1930 …... 120 Chapter 4 Figure 6. Tomato Acreage by State, 1944-2002 ……………………………………... 180 Figure 7. Number of Tomato Farms, 1944-2002 …………………………………...... 181 Figure 8. Acreage of Tomatoes Per Farm, 1929-1969 ……………………………….. 182 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chapter 2 Illustration 1 – Hot Beds …………………………………………………………… 71 Chapter 3 Illustration 2 – Fabrication of the Sanitary Can …………………………………… 86 Illustration 3 – Haines Perfect Can Filler ………………………………………….. 90 Illustration 4 – The Triumph Platform Conveyor or Peeling Table ………………. 103 Illustration 5 – May’s Tomato Seed Ad …………………………………………... 113 Illustration 6 – Packages for Hothouse Tomatoes ………………………………... 124 Chapter 5 Illustration 7 – An Early Blackwelder Harvester …………………………………. 191 Illustration 8 – Drawing of Original U.C. Blackwelder Harvester ……………….. 200 Illustration 9 - A Florida-Style Tomato Harvesting Setup ………………………... 207 Illustration 10 - A Florida-Style Tomato Harvesting Setup ..................................... 207 Chapter 6 Illustration 11 – Aerogarden Indoor Home Gardening Unit ……………………… 264 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HAGL Hagley Museum and Library (Wilmington, DE) NMAH Smithsonian National Museum of American History (Washington, D.C.) STCC Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection, Manuscript Collection 120, United States National Agriculture Library (Beltsville, MD) UDEL University of Delaware, Special Collections Library (Wilmington, DE) USDA United States Department of Agriculture USDA BAE United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have come to fruition without the help, guidance, and support of many people. Dr. Gary Cross worked tirelessly, offering his insight, direction, and attention, from beginning to end. Dr. Cross’s tremendous knowledge of history has left its mark on every page of this project, and his continued support helped keep me motivated to finish it. Drs. Deryck Holdsworth, Tobias Brinkmann, and Bryan McDonald offered invaluable comments, suggestions, and ideas. I am also indebted to Dr. Adam Rome, who pushed me to think carefully about my interests in material culture and environmental history. My graduate colleagues Jeff Rop, Phil Hnatkovich, Spencer Delbridge, Kevin Lowe, Amanda Iacobelli, and Rachel Moran all influenced this project by providing expertise, advice, and support. I am also deeply indebted to many librarians and archivists from across the country, beginning first and foremost with Eric Novotny at Penn State. A fierce competitor on the flag football field, he is also the most knowledgeable and helpful librarian I have ever encountered. I also received important assistance from librarians and staff at the University of Delaware, Cornell University, University of California at Davis, Hagley Library, Smithsonian American History Museum, National Agricultural Library, and the Library of Congress.