Obit in today’s Chron: Edwin Traisman — french fry innovator.
Seems Traisman bought the first McDonald’s franchise in Madison, WI, in the late 1950s. At the time there was a problem getting the fresh potatoes to make fries. (McDonald’s fries at that time were made fresh in each location.) Ray Kroc asked Traisman to help work on the problem of making tasty frozen fries and a “Method for Preparing Frozen French Fried Potatoes” (a Traisman innovation) was patented in 1962.
But wait. There’s more.
Before becoming a McDonald’s franchisee, Traisman was director of food research at Kraft where he was instrumental in the development of Cheez Whiz cheese spread, instant pudding and other food products.
Cheez Whiz AND McDonald’s french fries! Where would we be today without Traisman?