When Did Food Start Being Canned?

The canning of food is an important milestone in the history of food preservation. It was first developed in the early 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1850s that it became a widely used method for preserving food.

The French were the first to develop a canning process. In 1810, Nicolas Appert invented a method for preserving food by boiling it in sealed glass jars. Appert was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs by Napoleon Bonaparte for his invention, which spurred further development of the canning process.

In 1813, an Englishman named Peter Durand patented a method for preserving food in tin cans. He originally made cans out of wrought iron and then later switched to tin plating over iron to make them lighter and easier to transport. This new canned-food technology quickly spread throughout Europe and eventually made its way to the United States.

In America, John Mason developed an improved version of Durand’s canning process in 1825. He also developed a better sealing method called the “Mason seal” which was widely adopted and used throughout the 19th century by commercial canners.

Despite these advances in technology, most canned foods were still not very palatable until well into the 20th century. It wasn’t until World War I that canned foods became popular with consumers, as soldiers had become accustomed to eating canned rations during their service. In addition, advances in sterilization techniques allowed for more flavorful and longer-lasting canned goods which helped increase their popularity even further.

Conclusion: The canning of food has been around since the early 1800s, but it wasn’t until World War I that it became widely popular with consumers due to improved sterilization techniques and soldiers being familiar with canned rations while serving abroad.