Spring/Summer 2010 - Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products ...

Preserving food
“An army marches on its
stomach.”
Napoleon
The step our ancestors took from
hunting and gathering food to
cultivating and growing was significant.
However, the accompanying
achievement of being able to preserve
it is equally important.
Prior, one of the tasks near the top
of our ancient ancestors’ daily list was
procuring the next meal. Significant
amounts of time were spent, not only
during the actual hunt, but also preparing
for the next one.
Ancient agriculture and subsequent
preservation techniques would
have broken this cycle and in the process
would have given our forebears
the precious commodity – time.
There would have been more time
to think, to invent, to explore, and to
build. Without methods for storing the
food, they were only slightly better
off than the early hunters, who would
have been stuck in a cycle of hunt, eat,
sleep, hunt, eat, sleep…
It is interesting to note many of
the early techniques worked for preserving
food also worked for preserving
other things.
Archeologists working in Egypt
around 1800s unearthed a large sealed
earthen pot. After breaking the seal,
they looked inside and found a dark,
viscous liquid.
18 | fapc.biz
Curious, they inserted their fingers
and carefully tasted honey. They enjoyed
several handfuls of the ancient
treat before noticing something just
beneath the surface. After carefully
tipping the pot over and pouring out
the remaining honey, they discovered
perfectly preserved human remains.
Not all preservation discoveries
were quite that macabre. During
the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815),
the French government offered a reward
for an inexpensive and effective
method for preserving large amounts
of food.
Sugar, often used as a preservative,
was in short supply because of
the war, and there was a general desire
to reduce dependence on foreign imports
of food.
Ultimately, the reward would be
claimed by Nicolas Appert, a French
chef who was responsible for developing
the basis of modern canning.
He would place food into specially
designed glass containers (initially
champagne bottles), which were then
sealed and placed into canvas bags.
The bags protected the containers and
captured broken glass. Should any of
the bottles explode during processing,
they were then placed into boiling water
baths.
Glass containers were commonly
used until 1810, when Peter Durand
patented the use of “tinplate canisters”
in Britain.
While these containers would have
roughly resembled the cans we use
today, they were certainly not identical.
Large, bulky, and sealed with lead
solder, they had to be opened with a
hammer and chisel or smashed open
with a rock.
It wasn’t until 1855, the first can
opener was patented by Robert Yates
in Britain. Ezra Warner patented the
first can opener in the United States in
1858.
However, the first major demand
for canned food in the United States
didn’t occur until the Civil War in
1861.
Canned foods consumed by Union
and Confederate soldiers included
meat and vegetable stew, pork and
beans, condensed milk, oysters, and
green beans.
While there are many different
methodologies used, all food preservation
techniques share the same basic
goal of providing a safe, stable product,
which can be eaten at a later date.
However, they also have played
a role in the development of human
society.
References:
Pickled, potted, and canned: How the art and science of food preserving changed the world.
2000. Shephard, Sue. Simon and Shuster Paperbacks. New York, NY.
Pickled to perfection. September 1996. Brandt, Laura. Food Product Design.
Rediscovering ingredients of antiquity. October 2010. Pszczola, Donald. Food Technology.