Celebrating the People & Inventions That Make Thanksgiving Sweeter
How do inventors make one of the sweetest parts of Thanksgiving even sweeter? Whether your favorite dessert is made with chocolate or pumpkin, there are so many inventors to thank!
We can thank Elijah Dickinson for canned pumpkin, Gail Borden for condensed milk, and Kenneth James Poole for the pie crust and edge maker. And if you love ice cream with your pie, we can’t forget Alfred Cralle, who invented the ice cream scoop!
A Slice of Thanks for Pie
The canned pumpkin we see on most grocery store shelves were first planted and grown by Elijah Dickinson. And guess what? It’s not technically pumpkin! The Dickinson Pumpkin belongs to the squash species known as Cucurbita moschata. It’s a medium to large tan squash, that can weigh anywhere between 10 to 30 pounds. Dickinson and his brother sold their pumpkin-packing plant and company to Libby, McNeill & Libby in the 1920s and today, Libby’s grows about 85 percent of the country’s supply of canned squash.
Gail Borden saw a gap in food preservation in the 1850s, specifically the availability of milk in urban areas. That is when he developed and patented a method for evaporating milk to create a concentrated, shelf-stable product.
Kenneth James Poole invented a kitchen tool that was designed to simplify the process of making and shaping delicious pie crusts. Poole’s contribution has inspired many inventions to make home baking more accessible and enjoyable for all!
Who doesn’t enjoy a scoop of ice cream with their pie? Thanks to Alfred Cralle, we can easily enjoy this delightful combination! Cralle invented a device that simplifies serving ice cream by using a lever mechanism to scoop and release the frozen treat effortlessly.
After the Feast: The Great Clean Up
Either way you slice it, you’re sure to end up with a pile of dirty dishes! Thankfully, Josephine Cochran invented the dishwasher. While others had tried to create a machine to automate dish cleaning, no one was successful. With no inventor convinced that domestic dishwashing was a worthwhile endeavor, Cochran determined, “If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.”
Image: Josephine and drawings from U.S. patent no. 355,139 for her “Dish Washing Machine.”
The scientific secret behind the dishwasher is its best friend: soap. Did you know that soap is both hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repelling)? This is because soap molecules consist of a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. The hydrophobic tails attach to grease or dirt, pulling them away from surfaces like plates or silverware, while the hydrophilic heads bond with water. This dual action allows the soap to effectively lift and disperse grease and dirt, making it easier to rinse away!
Make Chocolate or Pumpkin-Scented Play Clay
Check out our video as we share a delightful way to enjoy the scent of pumpkin or chocolate and how to clean up after the Thanksgiving meal mess. While you can’t eat it, you can play with. So, we’d love to know: if you had to choose between pumpkin or chocolate, which pie would you pick? Are you Team Pumpkin or Team Chocolate? Download the recipe here.