Long - Green Bean Casserole (2)

This article by Lucy Long follows the transition of a creative marketing gimmick into a family favourite foodway in Midwestern United States. Green bean casserole was invented by the Campbell's soup company in 1955 and since then has graced their soup cans and been features in countless magazines and on the Internet.

This evolution of a mass produced canned good into a family favourite is not out of line for the times. We're all a part of a new generation of foods that are fast, precooked, and ready when you are. The people interviewed for this article told of the variations they had made to the recipe, how they've incorporated it into family functions, and how they just thought "it's always been there." As I was reading this I couldn't help but realize how closely I could relate this to myself and Kraft Dinner. I loved KD as a child, it was part of our family repertoire, each member having their own preferences for its preparation, and I just thought it was "normal food". Even as I grew older I never thought of the commercialization of it, or the fact that's it's mostly manufactured product that somehow made it into the [] family traditions; it would be eaten at Christmas when times were the busiest, before skating lessons and basketball games. It was a quick filling alternative that brought the family together, and is one of my favourites to this day.