Remember ham glazed with Coke?

[Mayhaw Man]

[*]July 21, 1899 - Bejamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead, two Chattanooga (History of Chattanooga, Tennessee) businessmen, receive approval on their plan to bottle Coca-Cola

Proving conclusively that Coca-Cola was first bottled in my hometown of Chattanooga, TN (also home of the Moon Pie).

Hrumph!

Chad

Hurrumph my foot.

On a summer day in 1894, Joseph Biedenharn, a candy merchant and soda fountain operator, had an idea that would reshape the soft drink industry. He took the popular fountain beverage, Coca-Cola, put it in bottles and delivered it to rural areas outside of Vicksburg. It was the first time Coca-Cola had been sold in bottles, Mr. Biedenharn created a totally new concept of marketing the beverage and established the cornerstone of the independent network of franchise bottlers who now distribute bottled Coca-Cola all over the world

Perhaps calender years work differently in Chattanooga than in other parts of the country (I know that the time changes back and forth everytime you cross the state line , maybe that confuses the natives ).

I am a huge fan of Moon Pies, as I just pointed out in this thread.

[hannnah]

Well, Corporate recognizes both of them:

"Inevitably, the soda's popularity led to a demand for it to be enjoyed in new ways. In 1894, a Mississippi businessman named Joseph Biedenham became the first to put the drink in bottles. He sent 12 of them to Candler, who responded without enthusiasm. Despite being a brilliant and innovative businessman, he didn't realize then that the heart of Coca-Cola would be with portable, bottled beverages customers could take anywhere. He still didn't realize it five years later, when, in 1899, two Chattanooga lawyers, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, secured exclusive rights from him to bottle and sell the beverage - for the sum of one dollar."

(from http://heritage.coca-cola.com/The_Story_of_Coca-Cola.pdf)

So, Biedenham was the first to bottle it, but it sounds like he didn't build a dedicated bottling plant - and as every Chattanooga-area schoolchild knows from the Coca-Cola plant tour, Chattanooga's was the first bottling plant.

Personally, I've always thought Moon Pies were nasty - Little Debbies are much better.

[Mayhaw Man]

Born in 1866, Joseph Biedeharn was the eldest of twelve children and in his teens became a part of the candy business founded by his father

and uncle. Later he and his brothers acquired franchises to bottle Coca-Cola in Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana; and Texarkana, Wichita Falls, San Antonio, Temple and Uvalde, Texas. The building located at 1107 Washington Street, where the first bottling took place

In the early days of soft drinks local bottlers (and they sere ALL local bottlers) purchased franchise rights to individual territories. The Biedenharn family owned the rights in a large hunk of the Deep South. The Coke plant in Monroe is now part of Coca Cola USA and still a huge part of the local economy. It is a syrup production (there are only a few of these) plant and a bottling facility. It is one of the few places where the traditional small bottles are still produced. THe Biedenharns may will have purchased permanent rights from the gentlemen in Chattanooga.

Old Coke plants, much like old milk packing facilities, are scattered all over the place in old downtown areas. The windows in these buildings were often made from glass blocks of the same color as Coke bottles and many of them still exist.

[bilrus]

I can undertand using Coke or Sprite or Dr. Pepper (Mr. Pibb Xtra? in Coke world) for the sweetness and even the flavor.

But why in the world would you use Diet Coke or Diet Coke with Lemon or anything diet for that matter. I drink Caffein Free Diet Coke or Diet Sprite almost every day, but I couldn't imagine that they would add anything to the taste of a dish except the taste of Diet Coke or Diet Sprite and / or artificial sweetness.

This made me shudder:

Lemony- Honey Glazed Pork Chops, made with Diet Lemon Coke®

You are already adding honey to the dish so the reason for using the diet soda is not caloric. I would rather make that with regular Coke and Lemon Juice.

Edited January 16, 2004 by bilrus (log)