You must have at least a certain amount of each ingredient, but no more than a certain amount. Not only was the ingredient list limited, but the proportions were dictated as well. Later, the USDA wrote regulations mandating that anything called fruit cocktail would include peaches, pears, pineapples, grapes, and cherries. Since consistency was key when it came to mass produced goods, canneries got together to hammer out a recipe they could all agree on. Way cooler than “making more money” or “reaching new customers.”) (As a side note, “complying with environmental regulations” is a very cool reason to invent a new product. It was an incredible way to repurpose what would otherwise be trash. And those little pieces of perfectly good peach between the bruised or rotten parts? Those could be chopped up and combined with other fruits to create an edible and delicious fruit cocktail. Peach pits could be sold to companies that made things like beauty creams or charcoal briquettes. The amount of garbage canneries were allowed to throw out was restricted, and food scientists began working on ways to divert organic waste. The United States government was not going to let a love of canned fruit ruin the countryside. It turns out that you can’t pump enormous piles of rotting peach guts into your community without causing major repercussions for wildlife and waterways.

It represents lost profits, but it can also lead to serious environmental issues. That led to a ton of waste.įood waste at an industrial scale is a tricky thing to deal with. Peaches bruised easily and spoiled quickly. Canned peaches were a favorite, but processing them was a huge pain. By the late 1800s, California canneries were working to make fresh fruit commercially available year-round. Folks ate it fresh, dried it for later, or put it up in jars to sweeten dull winter dishes.

Fruit cocktail