Swanson

Definition

A frozen food brand founded in 1899 best known for pioneering the TV dinner format in 1954, producing a wide range of prepared meals designed for convenient microwave or oven heating. Swanson became synonymous with 1950s-era frozen convenience foods and remains a major player in the frozen dinner market.

Example Usage

Mom heated up a Swanson turkey dinner for Thanksgiving when she didn't have time to cook from scratch.

Origin

Named after founder Carl Swanson, the company developed the compartmentalized aluminum tray TV dinner that revolutionized home meal preparation.

Fun Fact

Swanson's TV dinners were originally called 'TV brand frozen dinners' and featured aluminum trays with separate compartments for main dish, vegetable, and potato—a design that influenced frozen meal packaging for decades.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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