Frank Joseph Dorsa (August 11, 1907 – January 17, 1996) was an American inventor and pioneer who streamlined food preparation. He was best known for inventing the

Eggo Eggo is a brand of frozen waffles owned by the Kellogg Company, and sold in North America. Several varieties are available, including homestyle, miniature, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, vanilla bliss, brown sugar cinnamon, apple cinnamon, butt ...

frozen

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

. Dorsa was an instinctive

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

, and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. Dorsa was born and raised in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

. His formal education ended with high school, but he continued to educate himself his entire life. His first job after graduation was as a machinist at a small company, later bought by

FMC Corporation FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...

—another San Jose-based success story. In the early 1930s, Frank Dorsa and his younger brothers, Sam, and Anthony (Antonio) started experimenting in their mother's kitchen and came up with a dry waffle mix that required only the addition of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

. Before the invention of the waffle mix, however, the Dorsa brothers developed a new brand of mayonnaise, which became popular for its use of "100 percent fresh ranch eggs" and "triple refined vegetable oil". After achieving success with their mayonnaise, the brothers decided to get into the waffle business. The mix proved popular with restaurants and institutions such as

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Dorsa's younger brothers handled sales and deliveries. In 1938, they acquired the Garden City Potato Chip factory, expanding the Eggo line to include a variety of non-waffle foods, such as noodles, salad dressings and pretzels. At the factory, Frank Dorsa used his mechanical knowledge to invent a continuous potato peeler that would save employees from having to peel potatoes by hand. In the early 1950s, Frank Dorsa envisioned the frozen waffle, believing it would eliminate the need for both the mixes and waffle irons. In 1953 he invented an automated process for making frozen waffles. In 1953, Dorsa invented a machine that would cook waffles and then freeze them. Dorsa named the product Eggo frozen waffle—a name in keeping with other popular brand names like

Cheerios Cheerios is a brand of cereal manufactured by General Mills in the United States, consisting of pulverized oats in the shape of a solid torus. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Cheerios is marketed by Cereal Partners under the ...

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a reg ...

. In 1966, the Dorsas sold

to Fearn Foods Inc., which was acquired by

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

in 1970.

Family

Frank Dorsa married Evelyn Mary Denevan in 1938. They had three sons, Frank Jr., Stanley and Richard."Frank Joseph Dorsa, 17 Jan 1996"
''California Death Index, 1940-1997'', Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

References

* Oral interview with Frank Dorsa Jr., 2018

External links

* 1907 births 1996 deaths People from San Jose, California American people of Italian descent 20th-century American inventors 20th-century American businesspeople American food company founders Businesspeople from San Jose, California Engineers from California 20th-century American engineers {{US-inventor-stub