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It appears on real hot summer days when we're canning tomatoes we
can blame or give credit to Napoleon who offered a prize of 12,000 fancs
to the person who could develop a method of preserving food which was greatly
needed during his constant campaigning known as the Napoleoic Wars in the
late 1700s and early 1800s.
The recipient of the prize was M. Nicolas Appert in 1809. He
didn't understand why his method of boiling food and placing them
immediately into containers followed by immeidate sealing of
containers worked. Appert and others knew noting of
bacteriology only that his methold appeared to be safe. It was not
fool proof. That would take time and the scientists to discover the
"dos" and "don'ts" of canning.
In England, Peter Duran with Appert gained a patent for preserving
foods in tin containers, pottery and glass.
It was not until Louis Pasteur worked in bacteriology in the 1860s
that he discover a living micro-organism, which are molds, yeasts and bacteria,
which are present when food is subjected to air, water and soil. This contact
is what causes spoilage UNLESS rendered inactive by proper
sterilization.
Just before Pasteur discover a man by the name of John L. Mason
invented a glass jar and a seal which was a metal ring, a metal lid
and a rubber gasket which would allow people to seal the jars. And,
in a short period of time these items became affordable .
Alexander H. Kerr in 1903 created a jar with a clamp and a lid
attached.
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