Who invented meatloaf

In the s, restaurateurs marketed upscale versions, and today, innovations continue as loaves are stuffed, wrapped , or laced with international flavors. Meatloaf typically contains a milk and bread panade learn more about different kinds of panades that helps lock in moisture.

But the textural enhancement comes at a cost: all of that starchy bread dulls flavor. Our recipe cuts way back on the panade but still produces a moist, meaty loaf. A milk and bread paste creates a juicy loaf, but the starches from the typical three pieces of bread mask many of the flavor compounds in the meat. Without panade to trap liquid and lubricate the ground meat, the proteins will bind tightly together and squeeze out moisture.

In Medieval Europe, odds and ends of meat were arduously diced fine, mixed with seasonings and fruits and nuts, and molded into pie-shaped disks called pastez. The lavish spreads of 17th-century France featured loaves of chopped meats and offal preserved within a hefty layer of gelatin. The Ur-American meatloaf was born in the 18th century courtesy of Pennsylvanian Dutch settlers who were partial to an austere concoction called scrapple.

To further stretch the yield of a slaughtered pig -- after the steaks, loins, chops, hams, bacon, and sausages were cut and produced -- meat was scraped from bones and combined with the lungs, liver, and heart in a cauldron of broth.

Cornmeal and seasonings were added and the resulting mush was pressed into loaves, allowed to set, then sliced and pan-fried. Had it not been for the advances of the Industrial Revolution, meatloaf as we know it might never have been. According to the Oxford Companion to Food , that meatloaf was first mentioned in print in the U. It was no accident this this was immediately after the invention of the mechanical meat grinder by German inventor Karl Drais.

From then on, recipes started appearing in cookbooks. Fannie Farmer's edition of The Boston Cooking School Cookbook included two variations of a ground veal-based loaf, as well as a recipe for Cannelon -- a dish that recalls almost every aspect of a beef meatloaf, except the name. For the gastronome, the grinder offered a new degree of fineness and consistency of texture. Cooks previously had to chop meat in large wooden bowls using a curved blade, but now they were buying pre-ground meat directly from butchers and working it through grinders.

A grinder from the Enterprise Manufacturing Co. This, and the fact that beef was increasingly accessible due to advances in refrigeration and a thriving meat packing industry in Chicago, propelled meatloaf onto every housewife's radar. For the millions burdened by the hardships of the Depression, it was lucky meatloaf arrived when it did. The notion of meatloaf as comfort food stems from its frequent appearance in this period. Warm and filling, it provided cheap, nourishing sustenance. Tough cuts of beef like chuck or rump were tenderized by way of a good grinding.

Small amounts of beef or veal were stretched by adding fillers. Manufacturers commercialized World War I developments in food technology and the '30s saw a significant shift towards processed and canned products. In addition to bread and crackers, quick-cooking oats, tapioca, breakfast cereal, and powdered sauce mixes could pad out a meatloaf, and condiments such as mustard, bouillon, canned soup, and Heinz ketchup added flavor and moistness at small cost.

Manufacturers themselves, seeing an opportunity for increased sales, positioned meatloaf recipes on the backs of products such as Quaker Oats, Campbell's Soup, and Post Toasties. With the increased strictures of wartime rationing in the '40s, meatloaf consolidated its high-ranking position in the housewife's culinary artillery.

Using a grinder meant that a tough cut of meat could be ground into something much more tender and usable. Cooks were looking for ways to make their meals feed more with limited ingredients. Packaged goods manufacturers noticed this and began putting meatloaf recipes on their packaging.

In the s, goods like pre-packaged bread, crackers, and oatmeal grew in popularity. These were fillers that would bulk-up the meatloaf and provide the moisture it needs. Since the Depression, meatloaf has continued to evolve. The ingredients have remained the same — ground meat, a filler of some sort like bread crumbs, Panko, or oatmeal , an egg, and seasonings.

Nowadays, though, cooks are experimenting with the types of meat equally combining pork, veal, beef and seasonings like turmeric or chili powder. Some prefer to serve with brown gravy while others think ketchup glaze is a must.

Meatloaf has come a long way since the fifth century! Try this comfort classic for dinner tonight. Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf.