Heated up a 1950s TV dinner in the original foil tray

Found a box of Swanson's frozen dinners from 1954 in my grandma's deep freeze. Figured I'd try one for kicks, tossed it straight into the oven like the box said. The foil tray warped and leaked gravy all over the heating element, smoking up my whole kitchen. Rule number one with old packaging: don't trust the instructions when the materials have sat for 70 years. Anybody here run into trouble with vintage frozen food instructions?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.grant1mo ago

Agree with your rule of thumb, but that foil tray was meant for ovens of the era that ran at a lower temp than ours do now. Did you check the dial before you cranked it up?

sandra71527d ago

Did you catch that article from a vintage appliance blog about how ovens used to run closer to 25 degrees cooler than modern ones, @schmidt.grant? I read that older recipes and materials assumed those lower temps, which lines up with what you're saying about the foil tray. My own experience with a similar tray melted in a new oven backs that up, so your point about checking the dial is spot on.