The Food That Built America
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The Food That Built America

For generations of Americans, they have literally been household names like Milton Hershey, Will Kellogg, Henry Heinz, and the McDonald's brothers. Behind the brand names were larger than life characters who built empires that defined far more than American eating habits, and along the way they built cities, invented new technologies, and helped win World Wars.
IMDb 8.4202316 episodesX-Ray16+
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Episodes

  1. S4 E1 - Breakfast That Pops

    February 18, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Two heavy hitting cereal rivals duke it out for breakfast dominance. Competition heats up when an idea is stolen, beaten to the market, and is a runaway success.
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  2. S4 E2 - Holiday Treats

    February 25, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    The top selling candy days of the year revolve around Easter, Valentine's Day and Halloween. And it all started with a few bold pioneers.
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  3. S4 E3 - Flight of the Buffalo Wing

    March 4, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Before chicken wings were America's favorite Sunday football snack, they were considered an undesirable cut of meat. Until two restaurateurs in Buffalo, New York, reinvent the way wings are cooked.
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  4. S4 E4 - Candy Revolution

    March 11, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    A cereal executive's bold idea to finance the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie will kick-off a candy revolution that produces some of the most iconic, imaginative confections in history.
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  5. S4 E5 - Clash of the Coffee

    March 18, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Coffee's quality and popularity wane by the 1960s, until a handful of visionaries turn the industry on its head. Three college friends create an iconic brand of revolutionary gourmet coffee.
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  6. S4 E6 - The Chicken Coup

    March 25, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    A devout Georgia diner owner stumbles into the chicken game when he develops a unique fried chicken sandwich with a batch of cast-off filets.
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  7. S4 E7 - When Food Freezes Over

    April 1, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Four intrepid food entrepreneurs race to harness emerging technologies like the home freezer and microwave, to bring revolutionary frozen snack icons to a waiting world, and forever change what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat.
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  8. S4 E8 - Thanksgiving Dinner

    April 8, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Thanksgiving is the one night a year Americans celebrate by eating the same meal across the country. But 100 years ago, the spread varied from region to region, and some of the biggest staples of Thanksgiving Dinner weren't around.
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  9. S4 E9 - Peanut Butter Battle

    April 15, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    When an entrepreneur creates the first of its kind shelf-stable peanut butter out of his garage, it leads to the birth of an iconic sandwich known worldwide.
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  10. S4 E10 - American Spirits

    April 22, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Two entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of Prohibition by staking everything on two liquors--a bitter, bottom-shelf whisky, and a flavorless foreign moonshine.
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  11. S4 E11 - Where There's Smoke

    June 10, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Lighting up the backyard grill is an American summer tradition like no other. But 100 years ago, cooking outside was not nearly as popular or accessible. Most backyard grilling essentials hadn't been invented yet.
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  12. S4 E12 - Thirst Quenchers

    June 17, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    Before juice was everywhere, these innovators used brilliant ingenuity to create the most nostalgic drink products and thirst quenchers of the last century, leading the charge on a new billion dollar beverage industry.
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  13. S4 E13 - Supermarket Sweep

    June 24, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    At the turn of the 20th century, Bernard Kroger and another upstart grocer come up with genius innovations that help invent the modern supermarket.
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  14. S4 E14 - Bring Home the Bacon

    July 8, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    A young upstart named Oscar Mayer creates one of the most iconic meat brands on the planet. While pioneer Jay Hormel invents a meat product sold the world over, which becomes part of a 20-billion-dollar food empire.
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  15. S4 E15 - Dog Eat Dog

    July 15, 2023
    41min
    TV-Y7
    Visionary innovators invent the first dog treat, the first dry dog food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry.
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  16. S4 E16 - Beer Run

    July 22, 2023
    43min
    TV-Y7
    At a time when U.S. beer is dominated by the same lager style, one Milwaukee company experiments with something new. What starts as an unappealing low-calorie beer will become the number one beer in America.
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