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{{short description|American food company}}
[[File:Underwood Meat Spreads logo.png|350px|thumb|Official logo of Underwood Meat Spreads]]
{{Infobox company
The '''William Underwood Company''', founded in 1822, was an [[United States|American]] food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company also had a key role in [[time]]-[[temperature]] research done at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) from 1895 to 1896, which would lead to the development of [[food science]] and [[food technology]] as a profession.
| name = William Underwood Company
| logo = Underwood Meat Spreads logo.png
| logo_caption = William Underwood Company modern logo
| type =
| industry = Food
| fate = Acquired
| founded = 1822
| founder = William Underwood
| defunct = 1982
| hq_location_city =
| hq_location_country =
| area_served = USA
| key_people =
| products =
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year =
| parent = [[B&G Foods]]
| website = {{URL|underwoodspreads.com}}
}}
The '''William Underwood Company''', founded in 1822, was an American food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company had a key role in [[time]]-[[temperature]] research done at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) from 1895 to 1896, which led to the development of [[food science]] and [[food technology]] as a profession.


==Founding and growth==
== History ==
=== Canned foods ===
[[File:William Underwood.jpg|160px|thumb|William Underwood (1787-1864)]]
[[File:William Underwood.jpg|thumb|William Underwood (1787-1864).]]
The company was established by its founder William Underwood (1787–1864) in 1822 in [[Boston, Massachusetts]],<ref name=bghistory>[http://www.underwoodspreads.com/about-us/ Underwood History]</ref> as a [[condiment]] company using [[Vacuum packing|glass packing]] techniques. Among the condiments and other items glass packed were [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]], [[ketchup]] of various kinds, many types of [[pickled vegetables]], and [[Cranberry|cranberries]],<ref name=bghistory/> primarily focusing on mustards and pickling.<ref name=shaw13>Shaw, F. H. (1957). The history of the William Underwood Company, 1821-1954. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. (HU 90.7263, film 6209.) Pp. 13-14.</ref> By 1836, Underwood shifted his packing from glass to steel cans coated with tin on the inside because [[glass]]makers in the Boston area could not keep up with product demands from the canning company.<ref name=bghistory/>
Before moving to the United States, William Underwood (1787–1864) worked as an apprentice at Mackey & Company in London, bottling food and exporting it to South America. He moved to the United States in 1817, arriving at New Orleans.<ref>{{cite book|title=Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine|publisher=Columbia University Press|date=18 September 2009|author=Andrew F. Smith}}</ref><ref name="sagepub 10.1177">{{cite journal|title=The French connection in the early history of canning|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|date=May 1981|author=JC Graham|volume=74 |issue=5 |pages=374–381 |doi=10.1177/014107688107400511 |pmid=7017141 |pmc=1438835 }}</ref> According to family legend he walked from New Orleans to Boston.


The William Underwood Company of Boston was established by Underwood in 1822 in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], as a [[condiment]] company using [[Vacuum packing|glass packing]] techniques. Among the condiments and other items glass packed were [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]], [[ketchup]] of various kinds, many types of [[pickled vegetables]], and [[Cranberry|cranberries]], primarily focusing on mustard and pickling. In 1836, Underwood shifted from glass to steel cans, coated with tin on the inside, because [[glass]]makers in the Boston area could not keep up with product demands from the canning company.<ref name=shaw13>Shaw, F. H. (1957). The history of the William Underwood Company, 1821-1954. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. (HU 90.7263, film 6209.) Pp. 13-14.</ref> The company shipped its products to South America, the West Indies and in Asia. In 1939, the bookkeepers of the William Underwood Company standardized the use of the word 'can' instead of 'tin canister'.<ref name="sagepub 10.1177"/>
Underwood's canned foods proved valuable to settlers during the [[Manifest Destiny]] period of 1840–60.<ref name=bghistory/> Additionally, Underwood sold numerous [[canning|canned]] foods to [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] troops during the [[American Civil War]] of 1861–65.<ref name=bghistory/> The amount of products canned increased to include [[seafood]] products, such as [[lobster]], [[oyster]], and [[mackerel]].<ref name=bghistory/> William Underwood died in 1864,<ref name=bghistory /> the same year that [[William Lyman Underwood]], one of his three grandsons, was born. Underwood's son, William James Underwood, would head the business as new [[Pressure cooking|retort]] technology continued to be developed for use.


Underwood's canned foods proved valuable to settlers during the [[Manifest Destiny]] period of 1840–60. Later, Underwood sold canned foods to [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] troops during the [[American Civil War]] of 1861–65. The number of canned products increased to include [[seafood]] products, such as [[lobster]], [[oyster]], and [[mackerel]]. William Underwood died in 1864, the same year that [[William Lyman Underwood]], one of his three grandsons, was born. Underwood's son, William James Underwood, headed the business, as new [[Pressure cooking|retort]] technology was developed for use. In 1880, Underwood opened the first sardine factory in [[Jonesport, Maine]], known as one of the largest sardine factories in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fishermensvoice.com/archives/201710BackThen.html|title=World's Largest Sardine Factory|website=Fishervoice.com|date=October 2017|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vamonde.com/posts/wm-underwood-sardine-factory/9252|title=Wm. Underwood Sardine Factory|website=Vamonde.com|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
==Involvement with MIT==
From its beginning, the company encountered the problem of cans swelling,<ref>Goldblith, S.A. (1993). Pioneers in Food Science, Volume 1: Samuel Cate Prescott - M.I.T. Dean and Pioneer Food Technologist. Trumball, CT: Food and Nutrition Press. P. 21.</ref> causing a great deal of product loss. In late 1895, [[William Lyman Underwood]], a grandson of the founder, asked [[MIT]] for assistance with this problem.<ref name=sag1>Goldblith, p. 21.</ref><ref>[http://entrepreneurship.mit.edu/technology_leadership.php MIT Entrepreneurship Center - Technology Leadership]</ref>


In 1896, the William Underwood Company started to export its spread ham to Venezuela, leading to the creation of the brand 'Diablitos Underwood deviled ham' in 1960 by [[General Mills]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://generalmills.com.ve/es-VE/Brands/Overview|title=Our brands|website=Generalmills.com|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref> In 1906, the [[Massachusetts]] Board of Health banned all deviled meats, except Underwood's,{{why?|date=May 2019}} from sale in Massachusetts.<ref>Shaw, pp. 95–96</ref> The National Billposters' Association, based in [[Chicago]], center of America's [[meat packing industry]] at the time, then banned its members from posting bills with devil images{{why?|date=May 2019}} on them.<ref>Shaw, p. 96</ref> In 1907, a shipment of Underwood canned goods was denied entry on the territory by the Argentinian customs because small traces of [[boric acid]] were found in the canned foods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1907p1/d19|title=Minister Beaupré to the Secretary of State|website=State.gov|date=20 July 1907|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
Underwood approached [[William Thompson Sedgwick]], the chair of the biology department at MIT about the concerns he had with product swells and explosion of cans of [[clam]]s.<ref name=sag1/> Sedgwick conferred with his assistant, [[Samuel Cate Prescott]],<ref name=sag1/> and from late 1895 to late 1896, Prescott and Underwood worked on the problem every afternoon, focusing on canned clams.<ref>Goldblith, pp. 21-2.</ref> They discovered that the clams contained heat-resistant [[bacterial spore]]s that were able to survive the processing; then they learned that these spores' presence depended on the clams' living environment, and finally that these spores would be killed if processed at 250°F (121°C) for 10 minutes in a [[Pressure cooking|retort]].<ref>Goldblith, pp. 22-3.</ref>


=== Research with MIT ===
These studies prompted the similar research of canned [[lobster]], [[Sardine (food)|sardines]], [[pea]]s, [[tomato]]es, [[maize|corn]], and [[spinach]].<ref name=sag2>Goldblith, p. 22</ref> Prescott and Underwood's work was first published in late 1897.<ref name=sag2/> This research, which was never patented,<ref>Goldblith, p. 24</ref> proved beneficial to the William Underwood Company, the canning industry, the food industry, and food technology itself.<ref>Goldblith, p. 28</ref><ref>[http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/histories-offices/bio.html MIT Libraries, Institute Archives and Special Collections, History of the Department of Biology]</ref>


From its beginning, the company encountered the problem of cans swelling, causing a great deal of product loss.<ref name "Goldblith">{{cite book |author=Goldblith, S.A. | title= Pioneers in Food Science, Volume 1: Samuel Cate Prescott - M.I.T. Dean and Pioneer Food Technologist | location= Trumball, CT |publisher= Food and Nutrition Press| date=1993 |ISBN=0917678338}}</ref> In late 1895, [[William Lyman Underwood]], a grandson of the founder, approached [[William Thompson Sedgwick]], the chair of the biology department at [[MIT]] about the concerns he had with product swells and the explosion of cans of [[clam]]s. Sedgwick conferred with his assistant, [[Samuel Cate Prescott]], and from late 1895 to late 1896, Prescott and Underwood worked on the problem every afternoon, focusing on canned clams. They discovered that the clams contained heat-resistant [[bacterial spore]]s that were able to survive the processing. They learned that these spores' presence depended on the clams' living environment, and that these spores would be killed if processed at 250&nbsp;°F (121&nbsp;°C) for 10 minutes in a [[Pressure cooking|retort]].<ref>Goldblith, pp. 21-3.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.mit.edu/2011/timeline-canning-0112|title=Canned, good|website=Mit.edu|date=12 January 2011|author=Anne Trafton|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
In the mid-1950s, outgoing company president W. Durant brought new president George Seybolt to MIT to meet Prescott.<ref>Goldblith, p. 125</ref> At the [[Institute of Food Technologists]] Northeast Section ([[Maine]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Vermont]]) meeting at Watertown, Massachusetts, in April 1961, the William Underwood Company dedicated a new laboratory in honor of both Prescott and William Lyman Underwood.<ref>Goldblith, pp. 125-6.</ref> Following Prescott's death in 1962, the William Underwood Company created the Underwood Prescott Memorial Lectureship in memory of both Underwood and Prescott.<ref name=sag3>Goldblith, p. 128</ref> This Lectureship would run until 1982. In 1969, Seybolt donated $600,000 to MIT to create the Underwood Professorship,<ref name=sag3/> followed up with an Underwood Prescott Professorship in 1972.<ref name=sag4>Goldblith, p. 130.</ref> Three MIT faculty have held this professorship since its inception: [[Samuel A. Goldblith]],<ref name=sag4/> [[Gerald N. Wogan]],<ref name=sag4/> and since 1996, [[Steven R. Tannenbaum]].<ref>[http://web.mit.edu/be/people/tannenbaum.htm MIT Department of Biological Engineering]</ref><ref>[http://web.mit.edu/annualreports/pres97/06.06.html MIT Reports to the President 1996-97, Division of Toxicology]</ref>


These studies prompted similar research of canned [[lobster]], [[Sardine (food)|sardines]], [[pea]]s, [[tomato]]es, [[maize|corn]], and [[spinach]].<ref name=sag2>Goldblith, p. 22</ref> Prescott and Underwood's work was first published in late 1897.<ref name=sag2/> This research, which was never patented,<ref>Goldblith, p. 24</ref> proved beneficial to the William Underwood Company, the canning industry, the food industry, and food technology itself.<ref>Goldblith, p. 28</ref>
==Acquisitions and sale==
[[file:Underwood Deviled Ham in Can.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Underwood Deviled Ham (in 2019), one of their products]]
===Expansion in 1960s===
Underwood acquired the Burnham & Morrill (B&M) Company of [[Portland, Maine]], in 1965.<ref name=bmfood>[http://www.bmbeans.com/bm_history.asp B&M History]</ref> B&M had actually purchased canned clams and tomatoes from Underwood in the late 1860s for resale before producing these products on its own. [[Baked beans]] were the best known product that B&M started producing, which it started doing in the 1920s with its Brick Oven Baked Beans.<ref name=bmfood/> Piermont Foods, a food company in [[Montreal]], [[Canada]], was acquired in 1968<ref name=bmfood/> in order for Underwood to sell its products north of the border.


In the mid-1950s, outgoing company president W. Durant brought new president George Seybolt to MIT to meet Prescott.<ref>Goldblith, p. 125</ref> At the [[Institute of Food Technologists]] Northeast Section ([[Maine]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Vermont]]) meeting at Watertown, Massachusetts, in April 1961, the William Underwood Company dedicated a new laboratory in honor of both Prescott and William Lyman Underwood.<ref>Goldblith, pp. 125-6.</ref>
===Sale to PET===
Underwood, which up to this point had been privately owned by the Underwood family, was sold to [[Pet, Inc.]], in 1982.<ref name=bgfu>[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/B-amp;-G-Foods-Inc-Company-History.html B&G History at FundingUniverse]</ref> B&M Foods was included as part of the sale, and the Underwood headquarters building in [[Westwood, Massachusetts]], was closed as a result. Thirteen years later, in 1995, the [[Pillsbury Company]] acquired Pet, Inc.,<ref name=bgfu/> and began a modernization process that included warehousing, production, and processing. In 1999, New York's B&G Foods acquired the Underwood foods business, including the line of Underwood's canned meat spreads,<ref>[http://www.underwoodspreads.com/products/ Underwood Meat Spreads]</ref> sardines, B&M products, and Accent.<ref>[http://www.accentflavor.com/ B&G: "Get to Know Our Family"], AccentFlavor.com</ref><ref name=bmfood/>


Following Prescott's death in 1962, the William Underwood Company created the Underwood Prescott Memorial Lectureship in memory of both Underwood and Prescott.<ref name=sag3>Goldblith, p. 128</ref> This Lectureship ran until 1982. In 1969, Seybolt donated $600,000 to MIT to create the Underwood Professorship,<ref name=sag3/> followed up with an Underwood Prescott Professorship in 1972.<ref name=sag4>Goldblith, p. 130.</ref> Three MIT faculty have held this professorship since its inception: [[Samuel A. Goldblith]],<ref name=sag4/> Gerald N. Wogan,<ref name=sag4/> and since 1996, [[Steven R. Tannenbaum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/annualreports/pres97/06.06.html|title=MIT Reports to the President 1996-97|website=Mit.edu|author=Steven R. Tannenbaum|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
==Deviled ham and devil logo==
[[Image:Underwood 1921.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of can of Underwood Deviled Ham, 1921 advertisement.]]
[[Image:2008 Underwood focused.jpg|thumb|right|2008 logo from Underwood Chicken Spread. Color and shading were added to the previous logo.]]
Underwood first canned deviled ham in 1868<ref name=bghistory/> as a mixture of ground [[ham]] with [[seasoning]]s; deviling would also be done with other meat and seafood products, including [[Turkey (food)|turkey]], [[Chicken (food)|chicken]], [[Tongue#Tongue as a food|tongue]] and [[lobster]]. Deviling consists of adding such spices as [[pepper sauce]], [[cayenne pepper]], Dijon [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]], or chopped [[chili pepper]]s. [[Deviled egg]]s are one well-known example of this process. The [[devil]] logo was [[trademarked]] in 1870 and it is the oldest food trademark still in use in the United States.<ref name=bghistory/> The red [[devil]] that debuted in 1895<ref name=bghistory/> and started as a [[Demon|demonic]] figure evolved into a much friendlier version when compared to the original.


=== Expansion in 1960s ===
The older version, in use during the first half of the 20th century, can be seen in many old magazine advertisements, such as one from ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]'', August 1921.<ref>[[Woman's Home Companion]]. (Aug, 1921). P. 65.</ref> It lacks the [[pitchfork]] and smile of the modern version, but has long fingernails or claws not found in the modern version. The barbed tail is in the shape of the letter W, and along with the lower-case M to the right of the devil forms the abbreviation "Wm.", for William, as in William Underwood. The lettering in the logo and on the can are also spouting small flames, reinforcing the spicy devil concept. In 2008, B&G Foods updated the devil logo by adding color to the previously all-red image. The pitchfork became black, and small amounts of yellow were added in the tail and horns, along with shading to add depth.


Underwood acquired the Appert label in 1964,<ref name="sagepub 10.1177"/> and the Burnham & Morrill (B&M) Company of [[Portland, Maine]], in 1965.<ref name=bmfood>[http://www.bmbeans.com/bm_history.asp B&M History]</ref> B&M had purchased canned clams and tomatoes from Underwood in the late 1860s for resale, before producing these products on its own. [[Baked beans]] were the best known product that B&M produced, which it began doing in the 1920s with its Brick Oven Baked Beans.<ref name=bmfood/> Piermont Foods, a food company in [[Montreal]], [[Canada]], was acquired in 1968<ref name=bmfood/> in order for Underwood to sell its products north of the border. In 1974, Underwood acquired the canned goods producer [[Shippam's]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenovium.org/shippam|title=Shippam's of Chichester|website=Thenovium.org|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
The devil logo has appeared on Underwood products that are not deviled as part of the overall brand identity, such as [[Sardine (food)|sardines]], [[liverwurst]] spread and chicken breast.<ref name="bghistory" />


=== Sale to PET ===
Other companies have made deviled ham products. In 1895, at least seven other companies produced their own versions of a deviled ham, among them [[Armour and Company]], and in 1900 [[Libby's]] entered the market with its own deviled ham product.<ref name=shaw93>Shaw, pp. 93–94.</ref>


Underwood, which up to this point had been privately owned by the Underwood family, was sold to [[Pet, Inc.]], in 1982.<ref name=bgfu>[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/B-amp;-G-Foods-Inc-Company-History.html B&G History at FundingUniverse]</ref> B&M Foods was included as part of the sale, and the Underwood headquarters building in [[Westwood, Massachusetts]], was closed as a result. In 1995, the [[Pillsbury Company]] acquired Pet, Inc.,<ref name=bgfu/> and began a modernization process that included warehousing, production, and processing. In 1999, New York's B&G Foods acquired the Underwood foods business, including the line of Underwood's canned meat spreads, sardines, B&M products, and [[Monosodium glutamate|Ac'cent flavor enhancer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.bangordailynews.com/1999/01/30/pillsbury-sells-6-food-brands-including-bm-baked-beans/|title=Pillsbury sells 6 food brands, including B&M Baked Beans|website=Bangordailynews.com|date=30 January 1999|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>
In 1906, the [[Massachusetts]] Board of Health banned all deviled meats, except Underwood's,{{why?|date=May 2019}} from sale in Massachusetts.<ref>Shaw, pp. 95–96</ref> The National Billposters' Association, based in [[Chicago]], center of America's [[meat packing industry]] at the time, then banned its members from posting bills with devil images{{why?|date=May 2019}} on them.<ref>Shaw, p. 96</ref>

== Deviled ham and devil logo ==

Underwood first canned deviled ham in 1868, as a mixture of ground [[ham]] with various [[seasoning]]s. Deviling was done with other meat and seafood products, including [[Turkey (food)|turkey]], [[Chicken (food)|chicken]], [[Tongue#Tongue as a food|tongue]] and [[lobster]]. "Deviling" consists of adding spices such as [[pepper sauce]], [[cayenne pepper]], Dijon [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]], or chopped [[chili pepper]]s. [[Deviled egg]]s are one well-known example of this process. The [[devil]] logo was [[trademarked]] in 1870. The company claims that it is the oldest food trademark still in use in the United States. The red [[devil]] that debuted in 1895 and started as a [[demon]]ic figure evolved into a much friendlier version when compared to the original.

The older version, in use during the first half of the 20th century, can be seen in many old magazine advertisements, such as one from ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]'', August 1921.<ref>[[Woman's Home Companion]]. (Aug, 1921). P. 65.</ref> It lacks the [[pitchfork]] and smile of the modern version, and has long fingernails or claws not found in the modern version. The barbed tail is in the shape of the letter W, and along with the lower-case M to the right of the devil forms the abbreviation "Wm.", for William, as in William Underwood.

The lettering in the logo and on the can spouting small flames, reinforcing the spicy devil concept. In 2008, B&G Foods updated the devil logo by adding color to the previously all-red image. The pitchfork became black, and small amounts of yellow were added in the tail and horns, along with shading to add depth. The yellow in the tail and horns was later removed.

The devil logo has appeared on Underwood products that are not deviled, as part of the overall brand identity, such as [[Sardine (food)|sardines]], [[liverwurst]], [[corned beef]] and chicken spreads and chicken breast. In the 1980s, an animated version of the devil logo was created for TV advertising.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trib.com/opinion/columns/ottman-the-old-red-devil-at-the-grocery-store/article_b1714be4-3231-5e5c-affc-cf5b8a773ec9.html|title=Ottman: The old red devil at the grocery store|website=Trib.com|date=9 April 2016|author=Jill Ottman|accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>

Other companies have sold deviled ham products. In 1900, at least seven other companies produced their own versions of deviled ham, among them [[Armour and Company]], and [[Libby's]].<ref name=shaw93>Shaw, pp. 93–94.</ref>

<gallery>
File:Underwood 1921.jpg|An illustration of a can of Underwood Deviled Ham, 1921 advertisement.
File:Underwood ad The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14581251478) (cropped).jpg|Advertising in the ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'', 1948.
File:2008 Underwood focused.jpg|2008 logo from Underwood Chicken Spread. Color and shading were added to the previous logo.
File:Underwood Deviled Ham in Can.jpg|Underwood Deviled Ham, 2019.
</gallery>


== See also ==
== See also ==
{{commons category|William Underwood Company}}
* {{portal-inline|Food}}
{{portal|Food}}
* [[B&G Foods]]


==References==
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{reflist|30em}}


== External links ==
==Further reading==
{{Archival records
* [http://www.cuandoerachamo.com/diablitos-underwood-¡la-mejor-forma-de-comer-jamon Diablitos Underwood], a Venezuelan blog entry about Underwood Deviled Ham in Venezuela from the blog Cuando Era Chamo.
| title = William Underwood Company Records, Scrapbooks, and Artifacts
* The Encyclopedia Americana. (1918). pp.&nbsp;506 – 509. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kWEMAAAAYAAJ&q=underwood#search "Canning and Preserving History"]
| location = Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Distinctive Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
* Powers, J.J. "The Food Industry Contribution: Preeminence in Science and in Application." ''A Century of Food Science.'' (2000). Institute of Food Technologists: Chicago. pp.&nbsp;17–18.
| inventory_number = MC-0486
* Wanucha, Genevieve. "[http://scopeweb.mit.edu/?p=216 Two Happy Clams: The Friendship that Forged Food Science]". ''Food Technology''. November 2009. p.&nbsp;88.
| description_URL = https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/979
*William Underwood Company Records, Scrapbooks, and Artifacts, MC 486. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
| dates = <!--in some cases subject to change-->
| access_conditions = This collection is open.
}}
* [https://www.underwoodspreads.com/ Official website]

{{B&G Foods}}


[[Category:American companies established in 1822]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1822]]
[[Category:Food and drink companies established in 1822]]
[[Category:Food and drink companies established in 1822]]
[[Category:Companies based in Boston]]
[[Category:Companies based in Boston]]
[[Category:Food manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Food manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 1982]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1982]]
[[Category:1822 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1822 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1982 disestablishments in Massachusetts]]

Latest revision as of 03:15, 1 November 2024

William Underwood Company
IndustryFood
Founded1822
FounderWilliam Underwood
Defunct1982
FateAcquired
Area served
USA
ParentB&G Foods
Websiteunderwoodspreads.com

The William Underwood Company, founded in 1822, was an American food company best known for its flagship product Underwood Deviled Ham, a canned meat spread. The company had a key role in time-temperature research done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1895 to 1896, which led to the development of food science and food technology as a profession.

History

[edit]

Canned foods

[edit]
William Underwood (1787-1864).

Before moving to the United States, William Underwood (1787–1864) worked as an apprentice at Mackey & Company in London, bottling food and exporting it to South America. He moved to the United States in 1817, arriving at New Orleans.[1][2] According to family legend he walked from New Orleans to Boston.

The William Underwood Company of Boston was established by Underwood in 1822 in Boston, Massachusetts, as a condiment company using glass packing techniques. Among the condiments and other items glass packed were mustard, ketchup of various kinds, many types of pickled vegetables, and cranberries, primarily focusing on mustard and pickling. In 1836, Underwood shifted from glass to steel cans, coated with tin on the inside, because glassmakers in the Boston area could not keep up with product demands from the canning company.[3] The company shipped its products to South America, the West Indies and in Asia. In 1939, the bookkeepers of the William Underwood Company standardized the use of the word 'can' instead of 'tin canister'.[2]

Underwood's canned foods proved valuable to settlers during the Manifest Destiny period of 1840–60. Later, Underwood sold canned foods to Union troops during the American Civil War of 1861–65. The number of canned products increased to include seafood products, such as lobster, oyster, and mackerel. William Underwood died in 1864, the same year that William Lyman Underwood, one of his three grandsons, was born. Underwood's son, William James Underwood, headed the business, as new retort technology was developed for use. In 1880, Underwood opened the first sardine factory in Jonesport, Maine, known as one of the largest sardine factories in the world.[4][5]

In 1896, the William Underwood Company started to export its spread ham to Venezuela, leading to the creation of the brand 'Diablitos Underwood deviled ham' in 1960 by General Mills.[6] In 1906, the Massachusetts Board of Health banned all deviled meats, except Underwood's,[why?] from sale in Massachusetts.[7] The National Billposters' Association, based in Chicago, center of America's meat packing industry at the time, then banned its members from posting bills with devil images[why?] on them.[8] In 1907, a shipment of Underwood canned goods was denied entry on the territory by the Argentinian customs because small traces of boric acid were found in the canned foods.[9]

Research with MIT

[edit]

From its beginning, the company encountered the problem of cans swelling, causing a great deal of product loss.[10] In late 1895, William Lyman Underwood, a grandson of the founder, approached William Thompson Sedgwick, the chair of the biology department at MIT about the concerns he had with product swells and the explosion of cans of clams. Sedgwick conferred with his assistant, Samuel Cate Prescott, and from late 1895 to late 1896, Prescott and Underwood worked on the problem every afternoon, focusing on canned clams. They discovered that the clams contained heat-resistant bacterial spores that were able to survive the processing. They learned that these spores' presence depended on the clams' living environment, and that these spores would be killed if processed at 250 °F (121 °C) for 10 minutes in a retort.[11][12]

These studies prompted similar research of canned lobster, sardines, peas, tomatoes, corn, and spinach.[13] Prescott and Underwood's work was first published in late 1897.[13] This research, which was never patented,[14] proved beneficial to the William Underwood Company, the canning industry, the food industry, and food technology itself.[15]

In the mid-1950s, outgoing company president W. Durant brought new president George Seybolt to MIT to meet Prescott.[16] At the Institute of Food Technologists Northeast Section (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) meeting at Watertown, Massachusetts, in April 1961, the William Underwood Company dedicated a new laboratory in honor of both Prescott and William Lyman Underwood.[17]

Following Prescott's death in 1962, the William Underwood Company created the Underwood Prescott Memorial Lectureship in memory of both Underwood and Prescott.[18] This Lectureship ran until 1982. In 1969, Seybolt donated $600,000 to MIT to create the Underwood Professorship,[18] followed up with an Underwood Prescott Professorship in 1972.[19] Three MIT faculty have held this professorship since its inception: Samuel A. Goldblith,[19] Gerald N. Wogan,[19] and since 1996, Steven R. Tannenbaum.[20]

Expansion in 1960s

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Underwood acquired the Appert label in 1964,[2] and the Burnham & Morrill (B&M) Company of Portland, Maine, in 1965.[21] B&M had purchased canned clams and tomatoes from Underwood in the late 1860s for resale, before producing these products on its own. Baked beans were the best known product that B&M produced, which it began doing in the 1920s with its Brick Oven Baked Beans.[21] Piermont Foods, a food company in Montreal, Canada, was acquired in 1968[21] in order for Underwood to sell its products north of the border. In 1974, Underwood acquired the canned goods producer Shippam's.[22]

Sale to PET

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Underwood, which up to this point had been privately owned by the Underwood family, was sold to Pet, Inc., in 1982.[23] B&M Foods was included as part of the sale, and the Underwood headquarters building in Westwood, Massachusetts, was closed as a result. In 1995, the Pillsbury Company acquired Pet, Inc.,[23] and began a modernization process that included warehousing, production, and processing. In 1999, New York's B&G Foods acquired the Underwood foods business, including the line of Underwood's canned meat spreads, sardines, B&M products, and Ac'cent flavor enhancer.[24]

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Underwood first canned deviled ham in 1868, as a mixture of ground ham with various seasonings. Deviling was done with other meat and seafood products, including turkey, chicken, tongue and lobster. "Deviling" consists of adding spices such as pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, or chopped chili peppers. Deviled eggs are one well-known example of this process. The devil logo was trademarked in 1870. The company claims that it is the oldest food trademark still in use in the United States. The red devil that debuted in 1895 and started as a demonic figure evolved into a much friendlier version when compared to the original.

The older version, in use during the first half of the 20th century, can be seen in many old magazine advertisements, such as one from Woman's Home Companion, August 1921.[25] It lacks the pitchfork and smile of the modern version, and has long fingernails or claws not found in the modern version. The barbed tail is in the shape of the letter W, and along with the lower-case M to the right of the devil forms the abbreviation "Wm.", for William, as in William Underwood.

The lettering in the logo and on the can spouting small flames, reinforcing the spicy devil concept. In 2008, B&G Foods updated the devil logo by adding color to the previously all-red image. The pitchfork became black, and small amounts of yellow were added in the tail and horns, along with shading to add depth. The yellow in the tail and horns was later removed.

The devil logo has appeared on Underwood products that are not deviled, as part of the overall brand identity, such as sardines, liverwurst, corned beef and chicken spreads and chicken breast. In the 1980s, an animated version of the devil logo was created for TV advertising.[26]

Other companies have sold deviled ham products. In 1900, at least seven other companies produced their own versions of deviled ham, among them Armour and Company, and Libby's.[27]

  • An illustration of a can of Underwood Deviled Ham, 1921 advertisement.
    An illustration of a can of Underwood Deviled Ham, 1921 advertisement.
  • Advertising in the Ladies' Home Journal, 1948.
    Advertising in the Ladies' Home Journal, 1948.
  • 2008 logo from Underwood Chicken Spread. Color and shading were added to the previous logo.
    2008 logo from Underwood Chicken Spread. Color and shading were added to the previous logo.
  • Underwood Deviled Ham, 2019.
    Underwood Deviled Ham, 2019.

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Underwood Company.

References

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  1. ^ Andrew F. Smith (18 September 2009). Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Columbia University Press.
  2. ^ a b c JC Graham (May 1981). "The French connection in the early history of canning". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 74 (5): 374–381. doi:10.1177/014107688107400511. PMC 1438835. PMID 7017141.
  3. ^ Shaw, F. H. (1957). The history of the William Underwood Company, 1821-1954. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. (HU 90.7263, film 6209.) Pp. 13-14.
  4. ^ "World's Largest Sardine Factory". Fishervoice.com. October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Wm. Underwood Sardine Factory". Vamonde.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Our brands". Generalmills.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  7. ^ Shaw, pp. 95–96
  8. ^ Shaw, p. 96
  9. ^ "Minister Beaupré to the Secretary of State". State.gov. 20 July 1907. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  10. ^ Goldblith, S.A. (1993). Pioneers in Food Science, Volume 1: Samuel Cate Prescott - M.I.T. Dean and Pioneer Food Technologist. Trumball, CT: Food and Nutrition Press. ISBN 0917678338.
  11. ^ Goldblith, pp. 21-3.
  12. ^ Anne Trafton (12 January 2011). "Canned, good". Mit.edu. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  13. ^ a b Goldblith, p. 22
  14. ^ Goldblith, p. 24
  15. ^ Goldblith, p. 28
  16. ^ Goldblith, p. 125
  17. ^ Goldblith, pp. 125-6.
  18. ^ a b Goldblith, p. 128
  19. ^ a b c Goldblith, p. 130.
  20. ^ Steven R. Tannenbaum. "MIT Reports to the President 1996-97". Mit.edu. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  21. ^ a b c B&M History
  22. ^ "Shippam's of Chichester". Thenovium.org. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  23. ^ a b B&G History at FundingUniverse
  24. ^ "Pillsbury sells 6 food brands, including B&M Baked Beans". Bangordailynews.com. 30 January 1999. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  25. ^ Woman's Home Companion. (Aug, 1921). P. 65.
  26. ^ Jill Ottman (9 April 2016). "Ottman: The old red devil at the grocery store". Trib.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  27. ^ Shaw, pp. 93–94.
[edit]
Archives at
LocationMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Distinctive Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
IdentifiersMC-0486
AccessThis collection is open.
SourceWilliam Underwood Company Records, Scrapbooks, and Artifacts
How to use archival material
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