Let's explore some of Michigan and Metro Detroit's classic brands!
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Jer Staes: Hello, and welcome back to our studio at TechTown! I am Jer Staes, and today we have a couple of very special guests. We have the authors of Classic Michigan Food and Drinks: The Stories Behind the Brands. To my right, Gail Offen. Welcome to Daily Detroit!
Gail Offen: Hello, Detroit.
Jer Staes: Hello! Hello. To my left, John Milan. Welcome.
John Milan: Thank you.
Jer Staes: All right, so there have been a lot of people who are very passionate about brands and stories in Detroit. And either one of you can take this first. But what called to you about all these stories? Because this book is just chock full of them.
Gail Offen: We love to have people travel throughout Michigan, and we love people to explore the many aspects of Michigan, whether it's roads. We wrote a book on Grand River [Avenue], or, whether it's places with allegedly haunted legends. We wrote a book on that, too.
But we felt like there needed to be a book that really celebrated all the incredible brands we have in Michigan of food, but also to teach people about these wonderful stories. A lot of them are about families that have owned businesses for so long. We wanted people to really discover the stories behind the brands because there are so many fascinating stories.
John Milan: Yeah, there are so many brands that people don't even realize are Michigan based. There are several brands that Gail was very adamant about including that we would call “game changers.” These are companies that literally created the product and then created the need and the category. So I mean, and of course we're talking breakfast cereal and baby food, things like that.
Yeah. And I think one of the things that's interesting to me about so many of these Michigan and Detroit brands, they're not just local brands. Some of them are, but they're based here. But they serve the country and the world in many ways.
Gail Offen: And they completely changed the world as far as food goes. I mean there wasn't any ready to eat breakfast cereal before Kellogg's and Post came along. There wasn't any ready commercially available baby food until Gerber came along. And look how those brands have changed the world. And they're for Michigan.
Yeah. And I know that there's like a bunch of others. So what are some other maybe surprising names for listeners?
John Milan: Well, I think everyone knows Jiffy Mix, which is probably not a surprise, but some of the other brands, for instance Red Pelican Mustard and maybe, Sanders, of course is not a surprise.
Gail Offen: Vernors. Actually Jiffy Mix’s Corn Muffin Mix is the number one dry grocery brand across America. And Jiffy is a family owned company. They're still in Chelsea, Michigan. They've never had a layoff. And it's a fascinating story. And everyone in the country knows Jiffy.
John Milan: Right. And that family actually, on both sides, has been in the milling industry for almost 200 years. People don't even know that, but they'll learn that in the book.
Yeah. And one thing I remember faintly is that … Wasn't there like a La Choy factory in Detroit?
John Milan: Right! It was a fellow from Korea and a fellow from the west side of the state.
Gail Offen: Both U of M students
John Milan: both U of M grads, they got together in 1922, and they wanted to capitalize on the fascination people were having with Chinese cuisine at the time. And they created La Choy and they …
Gail Offen: Started growing bean sprouts in their bathtub. That's one of my favorite facts. But we all know those cans. My mother used to serve Chinese food in those little cans that's stacked on top of each other. But there was a longtime advertising campaign about Chinese food swings American. But they really capitalized on that craze, and at one point they were the largest user of Michigan grown celery in the nation. A lot of celery in that [can].
John Milan: Does that make them uncool? I mean, you know, they used to be something to put marijuana in your dorm, but they were putting, you know, bean sprouts in the dorm.
I mean, I figure if you have enough of one, you're going to eat more of the other.
John Milan: That's right.
That's just my personal experience.
Gail Offen: Sounds like you have personal experience.
I cannot confirm or deny.
John Milan: There you go.
Yeah. And there's just so much happening. One of the most recent news stories was kind of the return to a degree of the Velvet Peanut Butter, which people may not even realize is like a Michigan thing. Because you're so used to seeing all these brands that end up actually having local ties and stories.
Gail Offen: Right. And we love the fact that a lot of these started in a garage. Velvet Peanut Butter started in a garage. Red Pelican Mustard started in a garage. And Paul Zuckerman was a grocery store salesman. He decided to make his own peanut butter. He was actually one of the first people to homogenize peanut butter. He started making it in the 40s. And everybody remembers those great signs across Detroit. Fresh, pure and delicious. The trademark with the little boy, where he had a little halo. And it was actually based on his son, Norbert Zuckerman.
John Milan: How do you like that? Norbert Zuckerman.
Gail Offen: Norbert Zuckerman. And the guy that owns Atwater Brewery bought the brand and hopefully is going to continue it. It's such a Detroit icon.
Yeah. You know, one of the things that I think about when we talk about these brands and you. I don't even know. Have you kept count of how many different brands and things are in this book?
John Milan: There are over 140 brands in this book. And, you know, we spent about two years interviewing people all over the state. And, we had to cut some out. We had to have some.
Gail Offen: We cut about a third out.
John Milan: Yeah, we had some criteria. We ended up with over 140, though.
Gail Offen: But it was so much fun. We got to eat potato chips right out of the fryer at Better Made. And my God, I can never eat a regular potato chip again. We went to Sanders and went in their caramel lab and learned how to make caramels.
And by the way, may I just say here, it's “Sanders”, not “Saunders.” We're here to set the record straight. Everybody mispronounces it. Although here in southeastern Michigan, we like to say “Seeanders” is really the correct pronunciation.
John Milan: “See - anders.”
I can't help but think of some old photos of the Meijer grocery store. And the Meijer actually had, like, the apostrophe s. Yeah, way back in the day when [there were] small format grocery stores in the city. Actually, the historian of the city of Detroit shared that, Jamon Jordan. I want to know …
John Milan: We've met him.
Gail Offen: What a wonderful storyteller. Great guy.
Yeah, for sure. You know, I'm always surprised that some of these brands don't have a presence downtown. I feel like this is an idea that needs to be executed on. Like, to me, it's crazy. Whatever you think about Little Caesars as a national brand, why isn't there, like a Little Caesars experience or a Fygo experience downtown? You know, there's so much more tourist energy on Detroit. It kind of blows my mind that [with] these things you could fill up half the retail spaces downtown.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
Just based on the brands that are. And so listeners know they're literally sitting on this table in front of me right now.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
John Milan: So you think there should be another Faygo experience other than the juggalos coming to town?
Why not bring them in?
Gail Offen: Well, wait a second. Ma Cohen herring. I don't think you're going to have a Ma Cohen experience downtown unless somebody's super into herring, which people are. And that's a Detroit brand since 1950. Herring. I think that would be great. A Faygo experience, like in the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, where you can try all the different flavors and stuff like that. I think that would be great. Jer, that's your next project.
John Milan: There you go.
So many projects, right? So many projects and so little resources. If somebody wants to fund that: dailydetroit@gmail.com. There you go. We could have our studio right in the middle of all of it.
John Milan: Well, Germack does have a presence in Eastern Market where you can go in and you can have some of their nuts.
Gail Offen: You can smell the coffee being roasted there. And very few people know that Germack was the first company in America to import pistachios in 1924. The Germack brothers brought them over. And it's a fascinating story about how they distributed. And they had sent vending machines throughout the United States, and then they were the only people who could stock them.
And remember … now, Jer, you're a young guy. But do you remember when pistachios were dyed red, and they would make your hands turn red when you would open them? They used to dye them red to cover up the stains on the shells when they would hand pick them. For years, pistachios were red. They'd send them out all over the country. And during The Depression, it was an important source of food because you could, for a penny, you could get the vending machine pistachios. And you can get a little bit of protein. So they were really valuable during that time.
That's nuts.
Gail Often: Yep. Oh, there he goes.
John Milan: He was waiting for that one!
Gail Often: They hit him with a softball. But Germack, again, they're celebrating their 100th anniversary. So congrats, Germack, for staying in Detroit for 100 years!
So what are some of the brands that you all get asked about most?
John Milan: Well, you know, it's funny. We dedicated a chapter to Michigan specialties, and that includes pickles. And of course, as you may or may not know, Michigan is the pickle capital of the United States. We grow the most pickled cucumbers without any question. The most pickled cucumbers in America. And people ask us about the Aunt Jane’s Pickle Mobile, which is interesting. If you were a little bit older, you might remember as a kid, you'd get commercials saying, “You can win Aunt Jane's Pickle Mobile.” And it was a little tiny motorized car, you know. Now Aunt James is no longer a brand, but it is now Gielow … the family. The Gielow family owns the pickle company now.
Gail Offen: And there's McClure's in Detroit.
And of course, I just had some of their sauerkraut over the holiday.
John Milan: McClure’s.
Yeah.
Gail Offen: I haven't had it as a. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And of course, don't forget Toper’s Pickles. The greatest fermented Larry. I grew up across the street from Larry Toper of the Topor’s Pickle fame. He always smelled a little bit like pickles. Sorry, Larry.
John Milan: But, nothing wrong with that.
He kept his house, his family fed.
Gail Offen: He still works with the company. They're owned by Grobbel’s now in the Eastern Market. But he said he invented carpal tunnel because he was the kid that always had to tighten the pickle jars.
Poor Larry had to tighten all the pickle jars. It's a family business. They use his grandmother's recipe that she came over from Russia, and brought her pickle recipe. They're the greatest kosher pickles, folks. Highly recommended Toper's Pickles.
John Milan: I have to say, too, that Jason Gravel, who was very, very kind and allowed us to look through their facility, but he has actually saved two important Detroit companies. Not, only Toper’s Pickles. But Sy Ginsburg’s corned beef.
Gail Offen: Yeah. Sy Ginsburg’s is the number one seller of kosher corned beef across the country. And Sy himself, we interviewed him. He taught the guys at Zingerman's to make their first sandwich. He taught them how to slice corned beef.
And he goes across the country now, helping people open delis. And then as he says, he washes the grease off his hands and he moves on to the next deli. He doesn't have to worry about the Grobbel’s company. Thank you. Jason Grobbel. You saved these two historic Detroit brands so the world can enjoy them. Pickles and corned beef, they go together.
And I think that people might assume just off RIP that, “Oh, that's like a New York thing or something like that.’ But no, based right here in the Midwest. In Michigan.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
John Milan: And I should say I don't … You know, he didn't physically save them. They were still a very growing concern, but he took them over so that they would be perpetuated.
Gail Offen: Right, right. That's a great way of putting it. Yeah, yeah.
Because that legacy, I think, is important as these brands transition through generations.
Gail Offen: Right, right.
You know, kids sometimes don't want to pick it up or. Well, you know … and you need to get to a certain mass or size, especially in today's economy, it kind of helps sometimes to be under something bigger.
John Milan: Right, absolutely.
Gail Offen: To get well and like Velvet [Peanut Butter]. But, you know, there's so many brands that are continuing. Kowalski is a fourth generation brand. I believe they've been in Hamtramck since 1920. And we went through and watched them stuff Kielbasa. Another great experience with Michael Kowalski. With Michael Kowalski, they actually invented hunter sausage. We love that they invented that category. But he found hunter sausage in his grandfather's old hunting jacket years later. And I asked him if he tried it. He didn't, but I'm sure it would still be good.
John Milan: Well, you got to think twice about that.
But yeah, it's interesting to me too, to see the impact that, like two smaller enclaves. I don't mean that to besmirch them. They're just physically smaller. The two smaller enclaves of Hamtramck and Highland Park have had such an impact with these things. And you talk a little bit about that [in the book].
Gail Offen: Well, there's the Becharas, and I hope I'm pronouncing it right because we spent the whole day with them drinking coffee. We got a little wired. The Becharas Coffee Company. They're a family company. They've been in Highland Park since 1914. Their grandfather started that business.
And you know, it's interesting, Jer, when you're talking about companies that aren't around anymore. There used to be 14 coffee roasting companies in Detroit, and now they're the only ones. Well, Germack roasts coffee, too. They roast 6 million pounds of coffee a year. And if you've ever had Big Boy Coffee, you have had the Becharas Brothers coffee. And they sell it also online. But they're a wonderful company, and they sit and cup coffee every day, just like people do with wine, how they do wine tasting. They sip coffee every day to make sure it's good enough to put their name on every day.
John Milan: It's fascinating to watch too, because the brothers and their sons will sit there, and they have a rotating table. It's over 100 years old. And they literally take a spoonful of each coffee to make sure, and they spit it out. They've got spittoons. So they make sure that the coffee texture and the flavor is correct.
Gail Offen: And they do it in silence.
John Milan: They do it in total silence.
Like monks.
John Milan: Yes, yes.
Gail Offen: And then they make little notes, and then they have to agree. And they do this every single day.
John Milan: The best secret of the Becharas Coffee business, though, is the founder told his kids, he said, look, the best thing to always remember is most of this goes down the drain. So you can always sell more.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
And you know, there's those trucks that are outside of bars as well that's based in Hamtramck. What is it?
Gail Offen: It's the Leonard’s Syrups Company. Oh, my gosh. It's one of our favorite stories in the book. They're a family owned company. They supply all the pop syrups to restaurants and bars throughout Michigan. I mean, if you've ever seen those trucks, it says Leonard’s Syrups. You wonder if they're like going to a pancake breakfast or something.
And people don't really know they're a fascinating company. But the favorite fact, I think, in the whole book is that the monkeys at the Detroit Zoo drink their grape juice. They will only drink Leonard’s Syrups grape juice. The monkeys are very picky. They will not drink any other brand. And everybody needs to know that they work together, and they eat lunch together every day. So next time you have a sip of pop, toast to the Leonard’s Syrups.
Now, John, do you have a story that can top monkeys and grapes at the Detroit Zoo?
John Milan: You know, that might be the topper. Most of the toppers. But we did learn some really fascinating things about fudge.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
John Milan: Oh, and there's a whole mariah.
Gail Offen: Our cardiologists are going to kill us. We eat every brand of fudge on Mackinac Island. Right, John?
John Milan: That's right. And here's a Ripley's Believe It or not factor, I guess a Jer’s Believe It or Not factor. Mackinac Island is really the fudge capital of the world. Believe it or not, it is. It actually has on the island the oldest fudge company in America and the oldest fudge company on Mackinac Island. And they're two different companies.
Gail Offen: Okay.
John Milan: But what's interesting is if you would go online, everybody knows the name Murdick's Fudge, right? You've probably heard it a million times. If you go on Google or whatever and you say Murdick’s Fudge, you're gonna see like 11 come up in the state of Michigan. And they're not the same company. So, you know, a lot of the ones we talk to say, well, people come in and say, “Well, Murdick’s. It's such and such.” I got it. It's like we're not the same company.
Fascinating.
Gail Offen: They're fighting with each other too, but that's a whole other story.
John Milan: Only three are actually related to each other by blood and the rest of them are independent companies.
Oh, man. That has shades of the Detroit style pizza rivalries.
Gail Offen: Right? It's a fudge fight. We call it a fudge fight. But Jer, we're going to tell you something we haven't told anybody else this whole time. We tried, as we said, every fudge on Mackinac Island. And Jer, they kind of all taste alike. I hate to say it, but they …
John Milan: Really you do you need a cleansing breath or something in there between your fudges.
But they really do. I think the thing is that, if I think about the difference, it’s about whatever specialty fudge that's true. Some of them offer different specialties that the other ones don't really hook people. And people have memories of like the colors or. This is the one, like Ryba’s. I remember a friend of mine, like their grandmother only would eat Ryba’s.
John Milan: Oh yeah, right.
And there's these really strong rivalries to it. And here's the other thing. One thing I will say, I go to the Mackinac Policy Conference every year, so I always gotta get fudge for people, right?
John Milan: Oh, yeah.
I will say there is a difference between like the top tier fudges and then everybody else.
John Milan: Right.
There is a difference there. So the top tiers are in a league of their own.
Gail Offen: Harry Ryba was the first guy to actually make fudge in the window of a fudge store. And that got everybody's attention. And he used to use a fan to blow the smell out into the street. So now everybody makes fudge in the window. But Harry Riba was the first guy to do that.
That's brilliant marketing. You know, when I was younger, I had a lot of bad knowledge around food. Meaning I just came up with it when I was a kid. Right? So I always thought Ryba's was like Reba McEntire.
John Milan: Oh, yeah.
Like it was Reba McEntire's fudge.
John Milan: That's right.
I also like … So when I was back in the 80s, my family would always have pimento loaf. I don't know if you know [about it].
Gail Offen: Oh, yeah, sure.
So here's the thing. When I was a kid, I went up to the library, and I wanted to find out where I could meet a pimento pig. Because I thought the pimento loaf came in the pig.
John Milan: Yeah.
And the librarian let me figure [it] out all on my own. I remember at the end of a long afternoon, I went up and I'm like, “There is no pimento pig, is there?”
Gail Offen: There's Peppa Pig.
But that was actually post my childhood, for sure.
Gail Offen: Well, the secret on Ryba is it means “fish” in Polish. But I don't think they want you to associate fish with their fudge. But that's what ryba means.
John Milan: But, you know, that's like the Santa legend. You know, somebody had to tell you that there was no pimento pig. I know. But you know what? Harry Ryba was actually from Detroit, and it was originally fudged from Detroit. And when he got to Mackinac Island In the early 60s, he and his son in law, they couldn't call it the original Mackinac Island fudge because everybody that had been there already [would be] like, “What do you mean you're original Mackinac Island?” But he was a big promoter and he called himself “the king of Mackinac Island.” So there you go.
Gail Offen: And he invented the term “fudgies.”
John Milan: That's right.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
John Milan: Yeah. That wasn't the, It was a little bit of a demeaning term.
But we've only touched the tip of the iceberg with these brands in this book. But what are some of the key things you've seen with these brands that have made it? Like, what sets apart the brands that continue going on versus the brands that, you know, unfortunately, are in the. The dustbin of history.
John Milan: Well, that's an interesting question. You know, some of it is environmental. Some of it has to do with the marketplace. We talked a lot about the fact that we started this project … we interviewed Awrey Bakery. That was our first interview. And, by the time this book came to press, Awrey Bakery was no more.
Gail Offen: Yeah.
John Milan: And there were a lot of different reasons for that happening, but they went through this incredible evolution from starting in 1910 as a family company that would sell door to door, you know, and carts. Then, they had their own shops, and they were in grocery stores. And then they were pretty much a contract, industry, you know, doing cakes and pies for other places.
Gail Offen: Still naps.
John Milan: Yeah, but.
Gail Offen: But now they're out of business. We really thought someone would buy them. And people still mourn their Long John Coffee Cakes. But, you know, sometimes you need another company to run with it. For example, the Ritz Cracker. I'm gonna blow your mind.
Now, the Ritz Cracker was actually invented in Jackson. There was a company called the Jackson Cracker Company, the prototype for the Ritz Cracker. And then eventually, in 1919, they sold it to Nabisco, who kind of ran with it. So sometimes you need to get a company that's even more famous to make your product a big success. [To] kind of ..
Help it get the marketing, get the word out about the thing. You know, when I think about something like Awrey’s, and this is just my postulation. I didn't cover the story, but, like, if they had leaned into making a few things that the people really loved, like those Long John Coffee Cakes, and became more of a specialty thing, that was more of the wave, because people kind of can change how they consume desserts.
John Milan: Right.
You know what I mean? And what they expect out of a dessert. Because I love that long. I remember that. I grew up on that.
John Milan: Terrific.
So it's also like sometimes being able to, like, stay to your roots, but also, like, evolve with the time.
Gail Offen: But, Jer, you said something on a podcast the other day, and I wanted to come back to it about Sanders. I heard you talking about Sanders Fudge. You like the new hot fudge topping better than the old fudge?
Yeah.
Gail Offen: Let's hear more about that.
Okay, so to me, as we all know, like, most of these brands did not start out with, like, high fructose corn syrup.
John Milan: Right?
High fructose corn syrup is something that we got added into, later along the line.
So it is my supposition that the new recipe tastes a lot more like I remember it when I was younger at the actual Sanders store, because I used to go. There was a Sanders store actually in the Grosse Pointes. So I would go from Indian Village over there, bike up there.
Gail Offen: And you're pronouncing it right by the way, so thumbs up on that.
And so he's checking up on you. It's a different taste profile to me. To me, real sugar tastes different than high fructose corn syrup. I can almost sense it. And so it is a change. It definitely does taste different than the old stuff, but I think it tastes better and more. As somebody who's rooted a little bit more in history, I'm thinking they probably worked with real sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup back in the day.
But what I think is a lot of people are acculturated to the jarred version, the shelf stable version. And that's what they've had for 20, 30, 40 years. You know what I mean? So that's what's original to them. And I think about it. Well, to me it's like an improvement because to me it's better because I don't have that same anchor.
John Milan: Right.
Gail Offen: So its consistency isn't important to you. It's whatever flavor is better to you. You don't mourn the old. Whatever that consistency is.
I just adjust how long I put it in the microwave for. Like, I was guesting on a podcast the other day, we were talking about leftovers. And one of the things that I do or did this holiday season is basically put together a holiday sundae. You use Hudsonville. Because it's what I had. The Hudsonville vanilla ice cream. You do the Westbourne cranberry relish, and then you do the Sanders hot fudge. And then you kind of make yourself like a little holiday sundae there. All out of stuff made in Michigan or metro Detroit.
John Milan: You know what, you just hit on a new concept. I mean, get the book and start, you know, putting together a whole bunch of Michigan treats.
Gail Offen: Yeah, actually a cousin of mine who got the book, she started, or she lives in Florida, she ordered a whole bunch of Michigan products and invited people over for a Michigan themed dinner. Sanders Bumpy cake. She ordered National Coney Island chili, and she ordered a Faygo. She ordered a whole bunch of things and treated people to a Michigan dinner, which is a great idea. And now your sundae is another one.
John Milan: You know, it's funny too. We were talking about different businesses and conglomerating things for Michigan.
Gail Offen: Conglomerating?
John Milan: Yes. Right.
That's a big word.
John Milan: There you go.
Gail Offen: You can go with that.
That's your word of the day, listeners. Conglomerate.
John Milan: There you go. Let's go with that.
It's a conglomeration line.
John Milan: There are a whole bunch of independent chocolate makers in Michigan and one of the oldest and most well known is Gilbert's out in Jackson. And they happen to be in the same building where the Jackson Cracker, AKA the Ritz Cracker came from. So they've actually incorporated Ritz crackers in one of their trees.
Gail Offen: Oh, that's right. They make something called the Ritz Carmelton where it's a Ritz cracker covered in caramel and then covered in chocolate. And they're the only people that make them. And they're really great. And you can actually get them. They have a store in Ann Arbor in the Briarwood Mall. And you can actually tour their chocolate making place in Jackson. In Jackson, yeah.
And I'm interested to see in the next 10 or 15 years what brands that are being created today enter this pantheon. Right. Cause I think this should always be evolving. There's so many creators and people doing it.
Gail Offen: What are some of your favorite brands?
Well, one we actually had on the show was, Casamara Club.
John Milan: They're growing.
It is non-alcoholic.
John Milan: Those are wonderful.
Yeah, like a non alcoholic kind of. Some people say aperitif, but really it's like a non-alcoholic drink that you can actually really, really enjoy. And they're right out of Detroit. There's just so much stuff that I will go out and see.
And it's like, “Oh, okay. These people are doing creative stuff.” And I think it's important to always add to this because if we look at this as like a list that never grows, then the next generation can't grab onto it. Right? Like get into the new thing, but then also go re-discover the old thing.
You know, you're talking about those parties, I think about audio engineer Randy Walker of the show and sometimes using Faygo as like a simple syrup or as a syrup to like power a cocktail. To be part of a cocktail.
John Milan: Sure.
You know? Because there is a lot of sweetness in those things.
John Milan: Oh, sure.
Gail Offen: Oh. We were researching burners, and we couldn't put this in the book because we didn't want to. but you'll understand why. Apparently Aretha Franklin loved to baste her Christmas ham with Vernors. That was her favorite recipe to, like you said, add the sweet stuff. So to use it in recipes, you know, the Boston. Everybody knows about the Boston Cooler. But Aretha's ham sounds really great, especially if you used a Dearborn ham, which is also very famous.
I also feel like I just like to own the domain. Arethasham.com. Just for fun, point it to dailydetroit.com. You know what there needs to be dailydetroit.com/arethasham now.
John Milan: As a segue, I will say that Detroiters can be very proud of the fact that Vernors is now the oldest soft drink in America. Oh, wow.
Gail Offen: Really?
John Milan: The oldest existing soft drink in America, 1866.
Okay. I would be very interested to see a recipe like, you know how Coke has the sugar kind.
John Milan: Right.
I'd be very interested to see some recipe tweaks with the Vernors.
John Milan: Right. Ah.
And label it separately, you know, an 1880s edition or something.
John Milan: Oh, right, right.
Gail Offen: Vintage ones like a bourbon, like a well aged.
John Milan: That's right.
Gail Offen: It started out as an aged thing.
John Milan: Right.
Gail Offen: But you know, we should be proud. Speaking of sugar, we should be proud of the fact about Pioneer Sugar, which is located in the thumb of Michigan and it actually saved the thumb of Michigan. It was all about lumber. You know, David Whitney here was a big lumber baron.
Jer Staes: The Penobscot Building is all about …
Gail Offen: Right. And that was all cut down. Once all the trees were cut down, they looked for something else. They started growing sugar beets. And it basically. Sugar beets saved the thumb of Michigan.
We went to see Pioneer Sugar being made, which was fascinating. This huge plant, mountains of sugar beets. And they turn them into. And it's all natural, it's not dyed. And the sugar you eat, the sugar you have in your cupboard is made out of beets. So I love to tell people you're eating a vegetable, eat more vegetables. Sugar is a vegetable, so folks eat more vegetables.
John Milan: That's right. People don't realize too that Pioneer and Big Cheap Sugar are the same product. Of course they're both sugar. But it was the process of bringing the two sugar refineries together, and it's …
Gail Offen: all farmer owned.
John Milan: That's all farmer owned. Right.
Wow! It's awesome. Well, I really encourage people to pick this up. It is a fun read. Classic Michigan Food and Drinks: The Stories Behind the Brands by Gayle Offen and John Milan. And you know what? It has been a pleasure talking to the both of you. What a fun time! And, make sure to look on social media. We've got this whole spread of Detroit …
Gail Offen: Oh yeah.
Detroit brands in front of us at the table here at TechTown.
Gail Offen: Our Facebook page is “Classic Michigan food.” And we'd love to have you post about your favorite Michigan food. And please invite us over. Cause we could bore you around the dinner table. We've got about 200 more stories to tell.
And that's it for your Daily Detroit. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to our members on Patreon: patreon.com/dailydetroit. Local media needs local support to survive as well. Thanks to today's episode sponsor, the City Bird. Until tomorrow, remember that you are somebody, and I'll see you around Detroit!
