Frozen meal

A prepared meal preserved by freezing for storage and later reheating or cooking. It combines portioned food with packaging and instructions suited to frozen distribution and preparation.

Connect

Food freezing: The preservation of food by lowering its temperature until much of its water forms ice. Freezing slows microbial growth and chemical reactions while the meal is stored.
Clarence Birdseye: An American inventor who developed commercial methods for rapidly freezing food in the early twentieth century. His freezing innovations helped make frozen foods more appealing and commercially practical.
Convenience food: Food designed to reduce the time or effort needed for preparation and serving. Frozen meals are a major form of ready-to-heat convenience food.
Refrigerated meal: A prepared meal kept chilled rather than frozen before reheating or consumption. It offers convenience but generally has a shorter storage life than a frozen meal.
Cold chain: A temperature-controlled supply network that keeps perishable goods chilled or frozen from production to use. A continuous cold chain prevents thawing during transport and retail storage.
Quick freezing: Rapidly lowering food temperature to form small ice crystals and limit damage to its structure. Fast freezing improved the texture of ingredients used in frozen prepared meals.
TV dinner: An individual frozen meal, typically packaged in a tray and reheated before serving. This familiar format is one of the best-known applications of frozen meals.
Canned food: Food sealed in containers and heat-processed to remain shelf-stable without refrigeration. Canning preserves prepared food without the freezer storage a frozen meal requires.
Food packaging: Materials and containers used to protect, contain, preserve, and present food. Packaging limits freezer damage and must withstand the meal’s cooking method.
Swanson TV Brand Frozen Dinner: A 1950s American packaged dinner that helped popularize the frozen meal in a divided tray. Its commercial success established a recognizable format for the modern frozen dinner.