Durkee (food brand)

Last updated
Durkee
Durkee Seasoned Meat Tenderizer.jpg
A jar of Durkee meat tenderizer (contains bromelain)
Owner B&G Foods
Introduced1851 (1851)
E.R. Durkee & Company (1891 etching) US-NY(1891) p643 NYC, E.R. DURKEE & COMPANY.jpg
E.R. Durkee & Company (1891 etching)

Durkee is an American brand of spices, marinades, and powdered sauce mixes owned by B&G Foods. [1] Durkee Famous Foods was established by Eugene R. Durkee in 1851. [2]

Contents

History

Durkee's was established by Eugene R. Durkee, the founder of E. R. Durkee & Co. Spice dealers in Buffalo, New York, in 1857. By 1917, the company had built a four-story industrial structure in Elmhurst, Queens. [3] [4] Durkee became the largest factory and employer in Elmhurst, with over 300 employees, primarily women. E.R. Durkee died in 1926, leaving everything to his daughters. [5]

Upon its purchase as a division of Glidden Co. in 1929, it became Durkee's Famous Foods. In 1967, Glidden merged with SCM Corp (formerly Smith-Corona company) and Durkee became the Glidden-Durkee Division of SCM. [3] [5]

Since the 1980s the company has had a series of owners, [6] starting with the sale of SCM to Hanson Trust, PLC in 1986 before it was absorbed into a larger-food processing conglomerate, ACH Food Companies, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, which ultimately sold it to B&G Foods in 2016. [7] That acquisition included the company's major production and distribution facility in Ankeny, Iowa that was originally the home of Tone Brothers Spices when it was owned by Rykoff Sexton. [2] The Elmhurst building had been renovated in 2007 to become the Elmhurst Educational Campus, hosting three separate high schools. [8]

The company's distinctive "mustardy, vinegary, mayonnaise-based" Durkee Sauce is sold at Court Street Grocers in Brooklyn and served on their Turkey + Durkee sandwich. [1]


References

  1. 1 2 "Durkee Sauce: What Made This Mustard And Mayo Condiment Famous?". Huffington Post. 28 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "About". Durkee Foodservice.
  3. 1 2 "DURKEE FACTORY, Elmhurst". Forgotten New York. 2009-09-30.
  4. ↑ "The history of Durkee Famous Sauce, a forgotten vintage luxury with modern condiment shelf appeal". Salon. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  5. 1 2 Lockhart, Bill; Serr, Carol; Lindsey, Bill; Schriever, Beau (2015). "E.R. Durkee & Co. – and the Misunderstood Durkee Bottles" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  6. ↑ "Durkee Famous Foods was sold for $120 million". Los Angeles Times. 1986-08-20.
  7. ↑ Shropshire, Corilyn (2016-09-21). "Jolly Green Giant picks up Durkee, Spice Islands for $365 million". chicagotribune.com.
  8. ↑ "DURKEE SPICE FACTORY | Historic Districts Council's Six to Celebrate". 6tocelebrate.org. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-05-10.


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