Who invented frozen food

A.� The Chinese are thought to have invented the concept. In the 15th century, they began filling fishing boats with lumps of ice so fish would still be fresh when it was brought to land. The idea spread to various countries as people began experimenting with ice and food. Francis Bacon, who some claim penned Shakespeare's works, died in 1926 from penumonia caught while he was stuffing a dead chicken with snow to see if it would keep. The actual modern day inventor was Clarence Birdseye.

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Q.� Who was he

A.� He was a naturalist who spent much of his time outdoors as a trapper. He studied wildlife for the American government in the Canadian Arctic north. He and his wife endured three winters from 1910 to 1913 in the frozen waste and they survived by placing fish in a bathtub and packing them in ice. He, apparently, learned from local Eskimos, that the faster the fish was frozen, the better it tasted later. Slowly frozen fish is less palatable because big ice crystals form inside the fish, but a fish frozen straight from the catch tastes fresher.�

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Clarence Birdseye later returned to New York and he patented a machine to flash-freeze packets of fish by squeezing them between two very cold plates, and he founded Birdseye Frozen Sea-foods Inc. On March 6, 1930, in what was called the Springfield Experiment, 26 different frozen foods were sold from a freezer in a shop in Massachusetts.

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Q.� How did his invention become so popular so quickly

A.� His experiment coincided with the dawn of the American fridge and a love affair with frozen burgers, sausages and vegetables. Later the TV dinner took off as�people could prepare a meal in seconds by reaching for the freezer and microwave.

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Q.� Are there any really tasty dishes that can be prepared from frozen foods

A.� Lots of dishes freeze really well, such as homemade casseroles, some pasta dishes, fruit puddings and soups. Frozen vegetables contain as many vitamins as freshly picked ones because they are frozen so quickly after harvest.

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Try a very simple pea soup from Nigella Lawson's How to Cook:

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Cook a 450g packet of frozen peas in 500ml stock made by adding two tablespoons Marigold bouillon granules to that quantity of boiling water. When the peas are tender, puree in the food processor or blender. Add some olive oil, and season to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese.

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Or try a garlic and pea crostini. SImply toast some slice of baguette brushed with olive oil in the oven preheated to gas mark 6/ 200C. Take a head of garlic and remove the top so you can see the cloves in a cross-section. Cut a square of foil large enough to make a baggy parcel around the garlic. Place the garlic in the middle and drizzle with some olive oil, twist the foil to make the parcel and bake for 50 minutes until the garlic is soft. Cook 200g frozen petit pois in boiling water. Drain and place contents in a food processor. Squeeze out soft cooked cloves of garlic, add a knob of butter and two tablespoons of parmesan to the peas. Process to a smooth puree. Cool before spreading on the crostini and sprinkle with mint.

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By Katharine MacColl