Sliced bread

Sliced bread is a type of bread that is pre-sliced with a machine and packaged for convenience. It was first produced in 1928 by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, who introduced the innovation of "the greatest thing since bagged bread".

History

The first automatically sliced commercial bread loaves were produced on July 6, 1928, in Chillicothe, Missouri, using a machine invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, an Iowa-born, Missouri-based jeweler. Rohwedder's innovation was a success, and sliced bread became popular rapidly. The convenience of pre-sliced bread quickly led to other innovations like pre-sliced cheese and lunch meat, and eventually to the creation of the sandwich.

Impact

The phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread" is a common idiom used to praise an invention or development. A writer for The Kansas City Star in 1928 noted that "so neat and precise are the slices, and so definitely better than anyone could possibly slice by hand with a bread knife that one realizes instantly that here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome".

See also

• History of bread
• Sandwich bread
• Pullman loaf

References

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