1897: Jell-O is created. Condensed soup in a can arrives from Campbell’s.
1920: Prohibition goes into effect.
1930: Jiffy biscuit mix, sliced Wonder bread and Hostess Twinkies are born.
1931: St. Louis widow Irma Rombauer publishes “Joy of Cooking.”
1937: Refrigerators are in more than 2 million U.S. households.
1939: World War II starts.
1940: Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald open a car-hop barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, forerunner to McDonald’s.
1945: World War II ends. Frozen orange juice appears.
1947: Reynolds Metals Co. uses surplus aluminum from World War II to make Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil.
1948-49: General Mills debuts devil’s food cake mix and party cake mix; Pillsbury Co., white cake mix and chocolate fudge cake mix.
1950: Duncan Hines cake mixes go into distribution.
1952: Pillsbury develops white angel food cake mix.
1955: Jiffy cake mix arrives.
1961: Julia Child writes “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
1964: Pillsbury introduces ready-to-spread frosting.
1971: Pecan Pie Surprise Bars are the first Pillsbury Bake-Off winning entry to use a cake mix.
1977-78: Pudding is included in cake mixes. A reduced-calorie cake mix is developed by Betty Crocker. Food processors enter the home kitchen.
1982: Pillsbury introduces frozen pie crust.
1991: Microwave cake mix debuts.
1998-99: The cake mix turns 50.
Sources: “Fashionable Food” by Sylvia Lovegren (Macmillan, 1995), “American Chronicle” by Lois and Alan Gordon (Crown, 1990), General Mills Inc., Pillsbury Co., Aurora Foods Inc., The Orange County Register
