Edward Tracy - Canning And Preserving For Beginners - An Easy And Ideal Beginners Guide To Canning And Preserving Food In Jars

In this chapter:

• Get to know the people behind canning
• Learn the history of the canning process
• The advantages of canning

The people behind Canning

Nicolas Appert the Father of Canning

Nicolas Appert was a confectioner and chef in Paris from 1784 to 1795. In 1795, he started experimenting with ways to preserve food. He was successful in preserving soups, juices, dairy produce, jams, jellies and syrups putting them in glass jars sealed with cork and placing them in boiling water.

The French Military in 1795 offered a reward of 12,000 francs to whoever can create a new method of preserving food. It took Appert some 14 or 15 years of experiment before he was able to submit an invention that won him the prize offered by the military. This was in 1810, the same year he published a cookbook on modern food preservation methods.

The House of Appert in the town of Massy near Paris became the 1st food bottling factory in the world. This was even before Louis Pasteur has proven that heat can kill bacteria. In honor of Appert, canning is sometimes called appertisation.

Peter Durands tin can preservation

Peter Durand was a British merchant who is widely credited for receiving the first ever patent for preserving food through canning. This was originally invented by Appert but was perfected by Durand. The patent was given to Peter Durand on August 25, 1810 by the King of England, King George III.

Durands patent was focused on the preservation technique rather than the vessel itself. In his process vegetables were put in the vessel raw while animal produce was either half cooked or raw. The vessel with the food is immersed in water and boiling it. The length of time was not specified nor the storage life of the result. The cap was half opened throughout the heating and cooling process but has to be sealed airtight by using either a cork plug a screw-cap or by cementing it.

Bryan Donkin and John Hall

They were two Englishmen who in 1812 bought the patent for food preservation through canning from Peter Durand. Bryan Donkin was involved in tinning iron and was keen on expanding the said to the food industry. Donkin with his partner John Hall started the commercial canning factory and started selling food in tin can for the British army in 1813.

Philippe de Girard

It was said that the idea of preserving food through canning, the idea which was patented by Durand in 1810 was actually a brainstorm of De Girard and was relayed to Durand, a good friend of his.

Thomas Kensett

Thomas Kensett was an English engraver who migrated to the USA in 1812. When Appert invented the method of preserving food in airtight containers, it was Kensett who visualized food in cans. He got the patent in 1825 and set up a factory where he produced cans made of 100% tin thus the name tin can.

History of Canning

The greatest challenge of the war was how to feed the army defending the country. This was the reason why Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte challenged the whole of France and gave 12,000 francs as a reward for anyone who could make a foolproof way of preserving food. Many inventors heeded the call, but it was Nicolas Appert, who successfully created the process of canning after 15 years of continuous experimentation. His method requires sealing food in a glass container and heating it in boiling water. He was able to prove that this is an effective way of preserving food for a long time.

It was Peter Durand in 1810 who patented the use of tin can in preserving food. It was said that a foreign friend of his, who was later named as Philippe de Girard, gave him the idea that blossomed into an industry. His method was bold enough to preserve a bulk of food compared to the original inventor who was only preserving a conservative amount of food at once. Durand was able to preserve 30 lbs of meat (equivalent to 13.6 kgs) in one can. Although his method never required a specific vessel, he mostly used tin cans rather than glass containers.

Thomas Kensett established the 1st US Canning facility for oysters, fruits, vegetables and meat in New York in 1812. He was an English engraver who migrated to the US and started the tin can industry.

Fifty years after Appert started the concept of preserving food through extreme heat Louis Pasteur sealed the deal by confirming that exposure to microorganisms is the main cause of food spoilage. When food is exposed to extreme heat microorganisms are killed thus ensuring the longevity of the food.

Why Tin Cans?

Canned food was introduced to man in 1810 and is up to now gaining popularity. There are several reasons why canning is the practical way of preserving food. Here are some of those reasons:

1. Long Shelf life a well processed and preserved food in a tin can, is still guaranteed consumable 2 to 25 years after it was processed. Do check the notification on the label of your food , though.
2. Great Stability tin cans are more stable compared to fragile glass containers. You would see any tin can shatter to pieces upon impact with another object.
3. Easy to Open tin cans nowadays have an easy open lid making opening a can a breeze. Even back then can openers were made to quickly manipulate and extract the content from any tin can. Edward J. Warner of Connecticut was the one to patent can openers in 1848.
4. No Refrigeration needed unlike other preserved food, especially those in glass or jar containers, tin can products need not be refrigerated when purchased.
5. Lower Energy consumed since tin can products are stored at room temperature, the amount of energy used to prepare it is less compared to those frozen inside refrigerators and coolers.

Nowadays, home preserving has become less metallic and glassier with the introduction of mason jars. Canning does not always refer to tin cans but to other forms of storage equipment like jars or bottles.