Preservation of Foods by Heat: The History

Preservation of Foods by Heat: The History
Preservation of foods by heat may be considered as the first invented of preservation technology.

The origins of drying and chemical preservation by alcohol or acid (generated by fermentation) have been lost in history as is the use of ice.

Nicholas Appert, in the late 1700s, applied heat to acid and low acid foods sealed in bottles and eventually received a prize of 12,000 French francs from the French government or inventing a method for safety preserving foods for long term storage.

Appert established a food preservation business in 1812. Peter Durand in England, in the early 1800s, adopted Appert’s process to foods packed in tin coated steel canisters.

While the canisters were hand make, heating of foods in hermetically sealed, tinned steel containers, formed the basis for the first true manufacturing of acid and low acid convenience food products.

The tin can made heat preservation practical as metal containers were more compatible with package filling, sealing, heat processing and the subsequent rigors of storage and distribution.

Early heat preservation technology was constrained by the misconception that air caused food spoilage and by the lack of safe, reliable and properly instrumented steam pressure retorts.

Appert attributes his success at preserving foods by heat to the excellent packaging he developed using glass bottles of his own specification and his carefully prepared stoppers made from hand-cut and glued cork.

He assumed that air was responsible for the spoilage of food. His meticulous procedures for filling and sealing his glass bottles reflect this belief.

Appert was limited to boiling water baths for preservation and heating times were in the order of hours for some products.

Appert’s successor, his son, Raymond Chevallier Appert, adapted the steam autoclave so that packaged foods could be heated above 100 degree C.

The higher temperature allowed shorter heat treatment. Raymond Chevallier Appert could be considered among the first food engineers as he invented a manometer which allowed him to control steam pressure to provide temperatures accurate to 1 degree C.
Preservation of Foods by Heat: The History