During the 18th century, the French government organized a competition to discover improved methods of food preservation. The victorious innovation revolutionised global eating habits.
Since ancient times, humans have utilized various methods such as pickling, salting, smoking, and drying to prolong the shelf life of food. However, by the 18th century, an efficient and truly effective method of preservation remained elusive.
In 1795, the French government took action to address this challenge. With France engaged in military campaigns across Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and the Caribbean, there arose a pressing need for a reliable food source for soldiers and sailors deployed far from home. In response, French leaders established a 12,000-franc prize through the Society for the Encouragement of Industry to incentivise breakthroughs in food preservation.
Nicolas Appert, a young chef hailing from the Champagne region, was driven by a fierce determination to succeed. Having previously served as a chef for the French nobility, Appert delved deep into the exploration of food preservation. His relentless efforts culminated in a groundbreaking innovation: packaging food in champagne bottles and sealing them tightly with an unexpectedly effective mixture of cheese and lime. Appert's breakthrough represented a significant advancement over previous methods, which either eliminated air or preserved food through heat, but failed to accomplish both simultaneously.
Managing a bustling laboratory and factory, Appert swiftly transitioned from champagne bottles to wide-necked glass containers. By 1803, his preserved foods, which included vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy, and fish, underwent sea trials with the French navy. In 1804, his factory began experimenting with meat packed in tin cans, which he soldered shut and monitored for months to detect any signs of swelling. Those cans that remained unaffected were deemed safe for sale and long-term storage.
In 1806, the renowned gastronomist Grimod de la Reynière praised Appert, highlighting that his canned fresh peas were "green, tender, and more flavorful than those eaten at the height of the season." Three years later, Appert was officially awarded the government's prize, with the condition that he publish his preservation method. He complied in 1810, releasing "The Art of Preserving, for Several Years, all Animal and Vegetable Substances."
Appert's method, quickly adopted by canners across the English Channel, was remarkable, considering it preceded Louis Pasteur's discoveries of germ growth and sterilization by over 50 years. Additionally, canned food itself predated the invention of the can opener by approximately 30 years. Initially, metal canisters were made of tin-plated steel or even cast iron, featuring heavy lids that had to be chiseled open or punctured with soldiers' bayonets.
Following his prize win, Appert dedicated many more years to refining his method amid the tumultuous aftermath of Napoleonic France. Despite his factories' innovative advancements, they struggled financially, and Appert died impoverished in 1841, laid to rest in a common grave. By then, variations of his process were utilized to can a wide array of foods, ranging from New York oysters and Nantes sardines to Italian fruit and Pennsylvania tomatoes.
The availability of canned food played a pivotal role in the 19th century, feeding the vast armies of conflicts such as the Crimean War, the U.S. Civil War, and the Franco-Prussian War, while also providing explorers and colonialists with familiar tastes in foreign lands. Following the global depression of 1873, U.S. exports of canned foods surged, led by companies like Campbell, Heinz, and Borden. In 1904, the Max Ams Machine Company of New York patented the double-seam process used in most modern food cans. Today, a double-seam machine can safely seal over 2,000 cans per minute, a far cry from Appert's initial pea-packed bottles.
BY: NATE BARKSDALE