Ever wondered why some olives are black on the outside and brownish on the inside? To get top 
for your olives, they must be jet black. If yours are slightly off-colour, don’t worry, just “rust” them using this patented method: Immerse debittered black ripe olives in water Heat the water to a temperature … Read more
Whereas KFC’s patented cooking method deep-fries the chicken 
under pressure to prevent moisture in the succulent chicken from evaporating as steam, apple sauce 
is cooked under pressure to prevent aromatics from evaporating. In 1959, William Rooker patented: – Cooking apples under pressure and at a temperature above 100C; – Cooling the sauce under pressure … Read more
Maraschino cherries 
were originally dropped into only the most fashionable cocktails 
because they took such an exceptionally long time to soak. That’s until George Fisher’s patented method brought the Maraschino cherry to the mass market in 1952. Traditional Maraschino cherries were soaked in increasingly concentrated sugar solutions for 10-15 days – enough time … Read more
A wonderful patent story of good intentions 
gone wrong 
: In 1936, Allen Hugh set out with praiseworthy intent to make a healthy celery salt. The problem is that celery oil is expensive and turns rancid in the presence of salt. So, Allen settled on adding only an incy wincy touch of celery … Read more
Melting cheese 
over most food is normally welcomed, but it doesn’t work that well for popcorn 
. It makes the popcorn soggy and no-one really enjoys that, especially Plochman Frederick who set about trialing various methods, persevering with powders and multi-coatings until he hit upon a method to melt cheese while maintaining the … Read more
Did you know that a double-decker pizza 
was actually patented? Apart from looking extravagant, it was meant to provide a second pastry layer that retains moisture for up to 18 hours at room temperature – much longer than ordinary pizzas. In 1979, Gene and Flora Giordano patented: 1. Applying tomato sauce and ingredients to … Read more
Horace Newcomb appreciated the smooth external surface of olives. He was also partial to the convenience and refinement of a pitted olive – desires parted by the disfiguring cavity formed by pitting the flesh. So, he inserted a folded strip of pimento pepper into the cavity; the fold continued the smooth external surface of the … Read more
Jun 7th, 2024How do you prevent a frozen pizza base from getting soggy, heavy and unpalatable? Try this classic 1950s patented cheat by Joseph Bucci: – Prepare a dough base– Spread tomato puree, cooked tomatoes, and/or tomato juice on the base– Pre-cook– Quick-freeze, such that the tomato sauce layer forms a seal– Apply wet food toppings on … Read more
In 1931 Sydney Musher invented a tasty way to make peanut butter 
last at least 3 times longer … without preservatives 
. He simply added crushed sesame seeds. Since it tasted better, no-one had enough restraint to reach the extended expiry date and notice how long it lasted. (Patent: US1816338) GlobalIPCo – … Read more
Did you know that the Jelly Bean was once patented? … back in 1885! 
When everyone was breaking their teeth on rock candy 
, August Schwatzschild and Nelson Greenfield set about imitating eggs, creating a confectionery with a smooth exterior shell and a soft interior / yolk 
. They started with a … Read more
Did you know that Rolo 
was once patented? The patent didn’t cover the frustoconical shape of the chocolate or the creamy toffee encapsulated therein. Nevertheless, Rolo proudly stamped each roll “Pat. No. 503358”. So, what did they patent? … “Chocolate wrapped in foil and a paper sleeve” Sometimes no-one really cares what the patent covers. It’s just … Read more
Starbucks’ Patented Coffee Secret 
: Learning from others is good. Learning a principle third-hand and patenting it is better. Geotechnical engineers learnt from suppliers of compressed gas that two-stage compression is more efficient and effective than single-stage compression. In 2009, Paul Camera at Starbucks realised that ground coffee is similar to soil – dark and granular. Mindful … Read more
I love popcorn with butter & salt, especially at the movies. But, oily fingers need to be wiped and your cinema prefers clean seats. Fortunately, SCM Corporation came up with a patented solution – a butter salt sans butter, but without removing any of the enticingly delicious non-vegan bad stuff: – Salt– Butter flavouring– … Read more
Today’s Tabasco sauce would not have infringed the original Tabasco patent. Originally (in 1870!), it took 43 days to make Tabasco sauce:– Add vinegar and salt to peppers– Leave the mixture to stand for 6 weeks– Filter out the skins and seeds– Pot the extracted skins and seeds for 24 hours with alcohol– Press the liquid from … Read more
Apr 19th, 2024In 1971, Constance Vitale got caught up in the culinary rolling craze. He marvelled at sausage rolls, Swiss rolls and the next “big thing” – California rolls. He knew where destiny was tugging him, but with Italian blood flowing through his veins, his thoughts remained faithful to pasta. Instinctively, he set about spreading meat on … Read more
Apr 12th, 2024