What Frozen Food Looks Like Around The World Slideshow

Many college students, hurried parents, and young professionals view frozen food as a go-to meal that does its part to lessen the stress in their busy lives. But Stouffer's lasagna, Marie Callender's chicken pot pies, and Ore-Ida French fries haven't been around forever. People living in very cold climates developed various food-freezing techniques long ago, but Clarence Birdseye is credited with inventing the quick-freezing method that first brought us modern frozen food in 1924. According to the Library of Congress, Birdseye was working as a fur trader in Canada when he realized that the fish he and a local Inuit caught together froze almost immediately after they pulled it from the water. Months later, he found the thawed-out fish to be no less tasty. Birdseye theorized that the best-tasting frozen food must be frozen very quickly, and this idea inspired his development of two different quick-freezing methods. Later on, he sold his company to Goldman Sachs for $22 million. The rest is history.

Frozen prepared food sales in the United States amount to over $14 billion, but it's important to note that frozen food isn't as popular in every country as it is in the U.S. In Italy, since fresh ingredients are available year-round, people often face a cultural difficulty in accepting the regular use of frozen food.

We looked up frozen food brands in other countries and expanded on a previous list of unusual frozen foods around the world to give you an idea of the way frozen food varies with these 13 different items.

Additional reporting by Nikkitha Bakshani.

The traditional version, made with reindeer, walrus, or seal fat, is high in omega-3 fatty acids, but nowadays, the fat used is commercially available vegetable shortening, which is heavy in trans fats. 

Some Americans might shudder at the thought of putting snails in the freezer, but in France, they're a delight for the last-minute party thrower — so long as he or she has the appropriate tongs to go with them. 

The 12-pack is manufactured by the company Ajinomoto. The dumplings can be reheated without water or oil.

They probably taste better fresh, but hey, if you can get your hands on some at the Indian grocery store, then you can skip the laborious process it takes to make them at home. 

This Inuit dish consists of little pieces of frozen whale skin or blubber. It is usually eaten raw, like sushi, although it's also enjoyed breaded and deep-fried.

These grilled onigiri rice balls found in frozen food sections in Japan come from the company Nichirei. They're flavored with soy sauce and make a great snack between meals.

Seafood beanskin is processed by default; you just won't find tofu mixed with seafood and pounded into rectangular cakes in the wild.

At a glance, seasoned sliced squid looks similar to spaghetti in marinara sauce.

Frozen-food brand Findus, which originated in Sweden, now sells products throughout Europe. One of its products, called Crispy Pancakes, is frozen pancakes with fillings and breadcrumb coatings.

Welsh rarebit sounds like something you're more likely to find at a grocery store in the U.K. — and you probably will — but it's nice to know we can get our fix of bread in Cheddar cheese sauce here, too, in a frozen, convenient way.

These flavors of ice cream — tomato-cherry and carrot-orange (not cherry tomato and orange carrot) — are neither sorbets, nor are they very healthy.