Basic American Foods

in 1933, brothers jack and bill hume set up a modest dehydration processing plant in vacaville, california, using a technology that was later applied to potatoes. this was the beginning of basic american foods. in the mid 1950s, basic american foods established a potato processing plant in blackfoot, idaho, where the first instant potato product that could be rehydrated with boiling water was developed. this led to a series of innovative potato products for the foodservice industry that includes the brands potato pearls®, golden grill®, classic casserole® and savory series™. as the company grew, additional plants were built in idaho and washington. in response to a customer need for laborsaving quick-prep beans, basic american foods introduced santiago® refried beans in 1986. the technology that created this authentic-tasting bean product is now being applied to santiago® black beans and santiago® quick-start® chili. today, basic american foods is led by jack's sons, george and jerry.