The BEST episodes of The Food That Built America season 4

Every episode of The Food That Built America season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Food That Built America season 4!

For generations of Americans, food titans like Henry Heinz, Milton Hershey, John and Will Kellogg, C.W. Post and the McDonald brothers have literally been household names, but you don't know their stories. Before they were brand names, they were brilliant, sometimes ruthless, visionaries who revolutionized food and changed the landscape of America forever. This series event will tell the fascinating stories of the people behind the food that built America – those who used brains, muscle, blood, sweat and tears to get to America's heart through its stomach, and along the way built cities, invented new technologies and helped win wars.

Last Updated: 11/10/2024Network: HistoryStatus: Continuing
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Breakfast That Pops
star
8.20
30 votes

#1 - Breakfast That Pops

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/19/2023

Two heavy-hitting cereal rivals duke it out for breakfast dominance; competition heats up when an idea is stolen; the ensuing battle transforms the breakfast landscape from a labor intensive meal at the table, to a meal of convenience on the go.

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Thanksgiving Dinner
star
7.78
23 votes

#2 - Thanksgiving Dinner

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/9/2023

A look at some staples of Thanksgiving dinner that weren't around until a few brands used technological advances to reinvent turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more; food innovators made each part of the meal accessible.

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When Food Freezes Over
star
7.71
21 votes

#3 - When Food Freezes Over

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/2/2023

Four intrepid food entrepreneurs race to harness emerging technologies like the home freezer and microwave, to bring revolutionary frozen snack icons to a waiting world, and forever change what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat.

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Where There's Smoke
star
7.67
27 votes

#4 - Where There's Smoke

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/11/2023

Lighting up the backyard grill is an American summer tradition like no other. But 100 years ago, cooking outside was not nearly as popular or accessible. Most backyard grilling essentials hadn’t been invented yet, and many people didn’t even have backyards, while the hot dogs we know, and love were still relatively unknown in the marketplace. It would take industry titan Henry Ford, one relentless tinkerer named Kingsford, and a passionate butcher from the Oscar Mayer family to create the most iconic brands of the Summer and change the face of American backyards forever.

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Candy Revolution
star
7.61
23 votes

#5 - Candy Revolution

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/12/2023

A cereal executive's bold idea to finance the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie will kick-off a candy revolution that produces some of the most iconic, imaginative confections in history.

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The Chicken Coup
star
7.61
23 votes

#6 - The Chicken Coup

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/26/2023

Eventually challenging America's burger joint heavyweights, two future fast-food kingpins find themselves on a collision course in an all-out chicken sandwich war that is still raging to this day.

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Peanut Butter Battle
star
7.60
25 votes

#7 - Peanut Butter Battle

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/16/2023

When an entrepreneur creates shelf-stable peanut butter out of his garage, it leads to the birth of an iconic sandwich; as competition heats up to be America's favorite peanut butter, three famous brands battle it out to be number one.

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Holiday Treats
star
7.50
26 votes

#8 - Holiday Treats

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/26/2023

The top-selling candy days of the year revolve around Easter, Valentine's Day and Halloween, and it all started with a few bold pioneers.

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Flight of the Buffalo Wing
star
7.50
28 votes

#9 - Flight of the Buffalo Wing

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/5/2023

As new wing-focused restaurant chains take the recipe out of Buffalo, N.Y., restaurateurs must find a way to cleverly market the new "Buffalo wings" to turn their restaurants into national icons, and chicken wings into a global phenomenon.

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Supermarket Sweep
star
7.39
23 votes

#10 - Supermarket Sweep

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/25/2023

At the turn of the 20th century, Bernard Kroger and another upstart grocer come up with genius innovations that help invent the modern supermarket.

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Clash of the Coffee
star
7.36
25 votes

#11 - Clash of the Coffee

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/19/2023

Two icons compete for America's coffee drinkers and forever change a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar industry.

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Beer Run
star
7.34
29 votes

#12 - Beer Run

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 7/23/2023

At a time when U.S. beer is dominated by the same lager style, one Milwaukee company experiments with something new.

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Thirst Quenchers
star
7.30
20 votes

#13 - Thirst Quenchers

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/18/2023

Before juice was everywhere, these innovators used brilliant ingenuity to create the most nostalgic drink products and thirst quenchers of the last century, leading the charge on a new billion dollar beverage industry.

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American Spirits
star
7.25
28 votes

#14 - American Spirits

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/23/2023

Two entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of Prohibition by staking everything on two liquors - a bitter, bottom-shelf whisky, and a flavorless foreign moonshine - and go on to save an industry and create two of the most popular brands in the country.

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Dog Eat Dog
star
7.20
25 votes

#15 - Dog Eat Dog

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/16/2023

At a time when dog food is a rarity and cat food is almost nonexistent, it will take visionary innovators to invent the first dog treat, dry food, the first cat food, and many more innovations that will carve out the billion-dollar pet food industry.

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Bring Home the Bacon
star
7.17
23 votes

#16 - Bring Home the Bacon

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/9/2023

A young upstart named Oscar® Mayer creates one of the most iconic meat brands on the planet; pioneer Jay Hormel invents a meat product sold the world over, which becomes part of a $20 billion food empire.

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