A branch house was a
meat industry
The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
that combined a
sales office and
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
for the disposition of
packing-house products at a distance from the packing plant. Branch houses were typically located in densely populated areas, and received meat shipments from the slaughterhouse, often daily by rail. Some branch houses would do further processing, including
smoked meat
Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...
s, and
sausage making
The origins of meat preservation are lost to the ages but probably began when humans began to realize the preservative value of salt.
Sausage making originally developed as a means to preserve and transport meat. Primitive societies learne ...
.
In the 1940s, as the American highway system began to expand, the importance of branch houses in meat retail was overtaken by
meat jobber
A meat jobber, also known as a meat wholesaler or meat distributor is an entity that purchases meat products from producers, typically in large quantities, and sells them to retailers.
Meat jobbers came to prominence in the 1940s, as the American ...
s.
See also
*
Ice house
*
Meat broker A meat broker is an entity of the meat industry that brokers the buying and selling of meat
Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. T ...
*
Meat jobber
A meat jobber, also known as a meat wholesaler or meat distributor is an entity that purchases meat products from producers, typically in large quantities, and sells them to retailers.
Meat jobbers came to prominence in the 1940s, as the American ...
References
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Warehouses
Vernacular architecture
Meat packing industry