William Vere Cruess (August 9, 1886 – March 13, 1968) was an American

food scientist Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...

who pioneered the use of

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s to produce fruit-juice

beverages A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

, fruit-based concentrates and syrups. He was one of the first investigators in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to use freezing storage for preservation of fruits and fruit products. Cruess's research also proved beneficial in the rebirth of the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

industry in California after the repeal of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

in 1933.

Early years

A native of San Miguel, California, who grew up impoverished, he earned his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in chemistry at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, in 1911, then taught there from 1911 to 1954, even being chair of the Division of Fruit Products from 1938 to 1948. While at Berkeley, Cruess earned his PhD at Stanford University in 1931.

Research information

During his years at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

, Cruess co-founded the field of

food science Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...

, established the technology of fruit

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

, and came up with the mix that brought the “

fruit cocktail Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, sometimes served in a liquid, either their juices or a syrup. In different forms, fruit salad can be served as an appetizer or a side salad. When served as an appetizer, a fruit salad ...

” into homes and restaurants everywhere. In addition to inventing fruit cocktail, he introduced the Spanish olive to food processing and was responsible for apricot nectar. He was present at one of the first judgings of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

wines in about 1936, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he perfected food packaging for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. The UC Berkeley food science department, which also developed prune juice, was later transferred to the campus of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

, during World War II. During this time, he would move his research from Berkeley to Davis. He would also transfer his teaching skills to such future students including Emil M. Mrak, Arthur I. Morgan, Jr., and Maynard A. Joslyn.

Institute of Food Technologists service and awards

A charter member of the

Institute of Food Technologists The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from ...

(IFT) in 1939, Cruess founded th
Northern California Section
and served as its firs

in 1940. In 1942, he became the first award winner for IFT when he won the

Nicholas Appert Award The Nicolas Appert Award is awarded by the Chicago Section of the Institute of Food Technologists for preeminence in and contributions to the field of food technology. The award has been given annually since 1942 and is named after Nicolas Appert, ...

and also earned the

Babcock-Hart Award The Babcock-Hart Award has been awarded since 1948 by the Institute of Food Technologists. It is given for significant contributions in food technology that resulted in public health through some aspects of nutrition. It was first named the Step ...

in 1955. He also served as IFT President in 1943–4 as well.

Other awards and honors

Cruess was also honored by the

American Society for Enology and Viticulture The American Society for Enology and Viticulture, founded in 1950, is a non-profit, scientific wine production industry organization headquartered in Davis, California. Its membership of 2,400 includes professionals from wineries, vineyards, aca ...

with its Merit Award in 1956
Cruess Hall
was dedicated to William V. Cruess in March 1960.

Death and legacy

Cruess died at age 82 in 1968. During his career, he also wrote over 400 articles on food technology and wrote an additional 70 articles from his 1954 retirement to his 1968 death. In 1970, IFT created the William V. Cruess Award in honor of his lifetime teaching skills that had great influence among others. The Cruess Award is awarded for excellence in teaching of food science and technology and is the only award in IFT in which students can nominate.

Personal life

Cruess married Marie Gleason in 1917 and she was a constant companion through the remainder of his life.

References

External links

DavisWiki.org information on CruessHutchinson Encyclopedia information on CruessDavisWiki.org information on Cruess HallWilliam V. Cruess Papers
a
Special Collections Dept.
University Library, University of California, Davis

*
University of California biography In Memoriam of Cruess in May 1969American Society of Enology and Viticulture Merit Award Recipients
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruess, William Vere 1886 births 1968 deaths American food scientists University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Natural Resources faculty University of California, Davis faculty Stanford University alumni