Uh-Oh: A story of SpaghettiOs and forgotten history
The history of SpaghettiOs, created in 1965 by Donald Goerke, reflects a shift towards convenience foods in the culinary world of the 1960s. Betty Ossola's role in popularizing Italian foods is highlighted, underscoring the need for recognition in the food industry.
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The article delves into the history of SpaghettiOs, highlighting its creation by Donald Goerke in 1965 as a convenient and innovative product marketed for its shape and ease of consumption. The piece discusses the contrast in the culinary world during the 1960s, with a focus on convenience foods like SpaghettiOs and the emergence of culinary celebrities advocating for traditional haute cuisine. It also touches on the broader trend of Italian-inspired foods for the American market and the cultural impact of such products. Additionally, the article sheds light on Betty Ossola, an overlooked figure in food history, who played a significant role in popularizing Italian foods in the US through her innovations in the canned food industry. Despite her contributions, Ossola's legacy has been overshadowed, raising questions about recognition and representation in the food industry. The narrative emphasizes the importance of acknowledging individuals like Ossola who have made substantial contributions to food culture but have been marginalized in historical accounts.
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16 commentsI never really lived in the time when those aluminum trays were a thing though. What were some of the big negatives, other than the obvious cost aspect? Durability? I guess microwavable issues?
I remember the "Chinese" one (just above the SpaghettiOs) as being especially vile.
Except in Sicily, where this type of pasta is traditionally called anelli.
It was okay to compliment women positively on their 'looks' in news articles in the 1950s who ever they were. It was even okay to use that in a teaser vignette of an article, the opening part that is to capture readers. Or a photo caption.
The author claims to find this depressing, but I'll wager Betty Ossola did not. No crime was committed here, and the publicity helped her brand. Even the silliest gaffe of all, a headline that crows that she has "has a Husband", seems something the Husband would rib her about and (nevertheless) was positive in nature. What if the headline said "is yet unmarried"? Still positive.
To find offense in historical things too often people have to imagine some entire upside-down world they think would have been a better world, and imagine that many things that are the result of what they perceive as 'comments of negative value' simply rather have been left unsaid. A lot of positivity in the world simply not there, and people just didn't say as much in that pretend-world.
"The past is a different country, people do things differently there." ~ L. P. Hartley
The present depresses me sometimes as well. There has always been a cultural contingent that follows the First Lady as a fashion icon and even an independent spirit and even awards self-praise for the idea for disconnecting their attention to her with the husband's politics. And follows her charity outreach and autonomous actions. It actually expresses respect for women with these political confines.
All until Melania Trump. The first First Lady it was okay to hate and to ignore. And she received attention (and out of context misreporting) for wearing a shirt that said "I don't care, do u?" which was directly about the media phenomenon that was so sudden in our history. She felt personally stung by it and still holds her head high. And she has the 'looks' too!
I would like to see if Betty Ossola can become a Wikipedia article, I'll work on it in my spare time.
Huh, weird. Just looking at the page said "Substack" to me, but apparently the characteristic Substack styling has been intentionally carried over after the author has deliberately left Substack.
Which boggles my mind, since default Wordpress styling looks much better than Substack's center-of-the-page styling.
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