Canning is a method of preserving food by first heating it to a temperature that destroys contaminating microorganisms, and then sealing it in air-tight jars, cans or pouches. Because of the danger of botulism and other pathogens, the only safe method of canning most foods is under conditions of both high heat and pressure, normally at temperatures of 240-250°F (116-121°C). Foods that must be pressure canned include most vegetables, meats, seafood, poultry, and dairy products. The only foods that may be safely canned in a boiling water bath (without high pressure) are highly acidic foods with a pH below 4.6[1], such as fruits, pickled vegetables, or other foods to which acid has been added. Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavor. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... Botulism (from Latin botulus, sausage) is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin, botulin, that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. ... Pressure cooker redirects here. ... Vegetables in a market Tomatoes growing in a vegetable garden Venn diagram representing the relationship between fruits and vegetables For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ... Various meats Meat, in its broadest modern definition, is all animal tissue intended to be used as food. ... Spaghetti with seafood (Spaghetti allo scoglio). ... Ducks amongst other poultry The Poultry-dealer, after Cesare Vecellio. ... Dairy farm near Oxford, New York A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk (mostly from cows, sometimes from buffalo, sheep or goats) and other farm animals, for human consumption. ... It has been suggested that strong acid be merged into this article or section. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... Pickling is the process of preparing a food by soaking and storing it in a brine containing salt, acid (usually vinegar), or both, a process which can preserve otherwise perishable foods for months. ...

History

Bottling

During the early Revolutionary Wars, the notable French newspaper Monde, prompted by the government, offered a hefty cash award of 12,000 Francs to any inventor who could come up with a cheap and effective method of preserving large amounts of food. The massive armies of the period required regular supplies of quality food, and so preservation became a necessity. In 1809, the French confectioner Nicolas François Appert developed a method of vacuum-sealing food inside glass jars. However, glass containers were unsuitable for transportation. It has been suggested that Revolutionary be merged into this article or section. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nicolas François Appert (1750 - 1841) : French inventor of airtight food preservation. ... Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary For other uses, see vacuum (disambiguation) A vacuum is a volume of space that is empty of matter, including air, so that gaseous pressure is much less than standard atmospheric pressure. ...

Tinning

Glass jars were replaced with cylindrical tin or steel cans. Tin-openers were not to be invented for another thirty years — at first, soldiers had to cut the cans open with bayonets. The French Army began experimenting with issuing tinned foods to its soldiers, but the slow process of tinning foods and the even slower development stage prevented the army from shipping large amounts around the Empire, and the war ended before the process could be perfected. Unfortunately for Appert, the factory which he had built with his prize money was burned down in 1814 by Allied soldiers invading France. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the process was gradually put into practice in other European countries and in the United States. Based on Appert's methods of food preservation the packaging of food in sealed airtight tin-plated wrought-iron cans was first patented by an Englishman, Peter Durand, in 1810. Initially, the canning process was slow and labour-intensive, making the tinned food too expensive for ordinary people to buy. However, increasing mechanisation of the process, coupled with a huge increase in urban populations across Europe, resulted in a rising demand for tinned food. Early methods employed poisonous lead solder for sealing the tins, which had disastrous consequences for the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic ocean. The US Marine Corps OKC-3S bayonet A bayonet is a knife- or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allies: • United Kingdom, • Prussia, • Austria, • Russia France Casualties Full list Full list The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... Peter Durand is also known as Pierre Durand, and in 1810 was a citizen of France. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... A solder is a fusible metal alloy (often of tin and lead, although lead-based solders were outlawed in many parts of the world in the 1980s), with a melting point or melting range below 450 °C (840 °F) and is melted to join metallic surfaces, especially in the fields...

A number of inventions and improvements followed, and by the 1860s, the time to process food in a can reduced from six hours to 30 minutes. Thomas Kensett established the first U.S. cannery for oysters, meats, fruits and vegetables in New York in 1812 and also patented an improved tin canister method. Urban populations in Victorian era Britain demanded ever-increasing quantities of cheap, varied, good-quality food that they could keep on the shelves at home without having to go to the shops every day for fresh produce. In response, companies such as Nestlé, Heinz, and others emerged to provide shops with good-quality tinned food for sale to ordinary working class city-dwellers. Demand for tinned food skyrocketed during the First World War, as military commanders searched for cheap, high-calorie food which could be transported safely, would survive trench conditions, and which would not spoil in between the factory and the front lines. Complete meals in a tin appeared in 1916, but throughout the war soldiers generally subsisted on very low-quality tinned foodstuffs, such as the British "Bully Beef" (cheap corned beef) and Pork and Beans produced by the MacConnaughy Corporation. Shortages of tinned food in the British Army in 1917 led to the government issuing soldiers with cigarettes and even amphetamines to suppress their appetites. After the war, companies that had supplied tinned food to national militaries improved the quality of their goods for sale on the civilian market. Canned foods were soon commonplace, and today tin-coated steel is the material most commonly used. Some food firms are currently dabbling with self-heating cans. Laminate vacuum pouches are also now used for canning, such as those found in an MRE. // Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States is built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Nestlé S.A. or Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, is the worlds biggest food and beverage company. ... Heinz has several meanings: Heinz is the common trading name for the H. J. Heinz Company, known for their pickles, ketchup, baked beans and soups. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Corned beef is beef that is first pickled in brine and then cooked by simmering, like braising without browning. ... Pork and beans is a dish largely thought of as a part of American cuisine. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... Amphetamine is a synthetic drug originally developed (and still used) as an appetite suppressant. ... A self-heating can is an extension of the common food can. ... An MRE packet, containing a main course or entrée of spaghetti with meat sauce. ...

Other home food preservation methods

• Drying
• Pickling
• Smoking

Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ... Pickling is the process of preparing a food by soaking and storing it in a brine containing salt, acid (usually vinegar), or both, a process which can preserve otherwise perishable foods for months. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Smoking Smoking is the process of preserving, cooking, or flavoring food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. ...

Canning companies

• Ball Corporation
• Vanee Foods Company, Inc.

Ball Corporation, earlier Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co. ... Vanee Foods Company, Inc. ...

External links

• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• How to can fresh produce
• The history of the Norwegian Canning Industry