{{Short description|American bacteriologist, author, and inventor}}

'''Betty Cronin''' (July 12, 1928–December 11, 2016) was an American bacteriologist and co-author of ''Campbell’s Great American Cookbook''. Some call her "the mother of TV dinners",<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Year The TV Dinner Knocked America Cold |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940626&slug=1917398 |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Seattle Times}}</ref> though the development of the idea has several claimants.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Rivenburg |first=Roy |date=23 November 2003 |title=A Landmark Idea, Yes, But Whose? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123557590/rivenburg-2/ |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> She started her career in 1950 working for the Swanson brothers.<ref name=":2" /> Later, she moved on to work for Campbell’s Soups which bought out the Swanson brothers’ company, C. A. Swanson and Sons, in 1955. She was director at Campbell’s microwave institute in Camden, New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gladston |first=Jim |date=December 6, 1989 |title=TV DINNERS ARE FROZEN IN OUR HISTORY |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-12-06-8903150839-story.html |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

== Career == After graduating from Duchesne College,<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Riordan |first=Kevin |date=November 25, 2004 |title=TV dinners celebrate 50th amid changing channels, times |pages=1B–2B |work=Courier-Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/184269774/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Cronin began working as a bacteriologist for C. A. Swanson and Sons in 1949 or 1950.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Biakolo |first=Kovie |date=November 2020 |title=A Brief History of the TV Dinner |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/brief-history-tv-dinner-180976039/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The Swanson brothers tasked her with developing the world’s first TV dinner. Her job was to figure out how to make them not only work, scientifically, but also to taste good.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Who Invented the TV Dinner? |url=https://www.history.com/news/tv-dinner-history-inventor |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=History.com |date=24 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The challenge of this task was figuring out how to heat several different frozen foods simultaneously in a single package while maintaining optimal taste and texture and eliminating food-borne bacterial growth.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> In the early stages of development, Cronin would use her friends as test subjects for her dinners.<ref name=":1" />

According to History.com, she is the developer of the concept,<ref name=":1" /> and the first completed product was a dinner consisting of cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, peas, and turkey.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=1994-04-10 |title=FROZEN IN TIME |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1994-04-10-9404100065-story.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Hartford Courant |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Childhood Frozen TV Dinners You Might Still Miss (or Maybe Not) |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/childhood-frozen-tv-dinners-you-might-still-miss-or-maybe-not/ss-AA14Al08 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=MSN |language=en-US}}</ref>

She also developed Swanson’s first fried chicken TV dinner, which she said in a 1989 interview was the biggest challenge of her time with C. A. Swanson and sons.<ref name=":0" />

By 1955, Cronin had moved to Campbell’s, which acquired Swanson soon after. During her time as director at Campbells Microwave Institute,<ref name=":5" /> she helped the company perfect the development of a microwaveable tray.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}

Cronin co-authored ''Campbell’s Great American Cookbook,'' published in 1984.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cronin |first1=Betty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Ew-AQAAIAAJ |title=Campbell's Great American Cookbook |last2=Company |first2=Campbell Soup |date=1984 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-394-52961-5 |language=en}}</ref> The book included over 500 recipes focused on American cuisine from traditional foods dating back to the Colonial period to ethnic recipes that had become part of American culture. Each recipe also contained a short history and variations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Catherine |date=December 5, 1984 |title=Campbell's new cookbook is "all-American" |pages=1E |work=The Item |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/670249951/?terms=%22Campbell%27s%20Great%20American%20Cookbook%22&match=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Lorrie Gutman of the ''Tallahassee-Democrat'' stated it was "one of the most interesting recipe books I've ever read".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gutman |first=Lorrie |date=December 20, 1984 |title=Wrap up a book for a special cook |pages=4E |work=Tallahassee Democrat |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/246959912/?terms=%22Campbell%27s%20Great%20American%20Cookbook%22 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Cronin retired from Campbell's Soup Company in 1993<ref>{{Cite news |last=Etter |first=Gerald |date=May 12, 1993 |title=Her claim to flame: TV dinner |pages=F1, F7 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176466582/?terms=%22Betty%20Cronin%22&match=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> but worked as a consultant to Campbell's into her 60s.<ref name=":0" />

== Personal life == Cronin said she "never had a TV dinner in my home".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harford |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50EzDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Betty+Cronin%22&pg=PA61 |title=50 Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy |date=2017 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-7352-1613-6 |pages=61–62 |language=en}}</ref>

According to Cronin's obituary, she was raised by Janet and Raymond Cronin and Cecil and Hannah Kelso, and had a friend of 50 years, Irene Milewski.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Betty Cronin Obituary (1928 - 2016) - Pennsauken, NJ - Courier Post |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/courierpostonline/name/betty-cronin-obituary?id=10861864 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref> She died on December 11, 2016, while living in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey.<ref name=":3" />

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Betty}} Category:American bacteriologists Category:20th-century American women inventors Category:People from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey Category:1928 births Category:2016 deaths Category:20th-century American inventors Category:Campbell's people