Preserving the Past

The Evolution of Food Preservation in Early America

• Refrigeration technology was useful for transporting perishable items, but consumers lacked cold storage in their homes.
• Canned items allowed buyers to purchase food that remained edible for months or even years.
• Food preservation had traditionally been one of the American housewife's chief concerns.
• Early American settlers stockpiled grain and legumes and dried, pickled, and preserved fruits and vegetables.
• Both sugar and vinegar were used to help preserve food items during the period of winter scarcity.
• Preserving fruit required large quantities of sugar, which was expensive.
• The invention of the Mason jar in 1858 was the largest boon to home canning.
• The Mason jar had a zinc lid that could be screwed on and sealed tightly thanks to a rubber seal that kept out potentially contaminating outside air.
• These jars had the additional benefit of being reusable, which inspired many home canners to keep more summer produce than ever before.
• Many Americans were making the even less labor-intensive decision to stop relying on home canning and to buy newly available commercially produced canned goods.
• French chef Nicholas Appert invented the technique of hermetically sealing containers of food and then heating the containers, a process that kept the food from spoiling.
• English immigrant William Underwood was the first businessperson in the United States to attempt to can and bottle foods for the consumer market.

The Evolution of Food Preservation in America

• Refrigeration technology allowed transport of perishable items, but lack of cold storage in homes meant food had to be consumed quickly.
• Canning allowed buyers to purchase items that remained edible for months or years.
• Early American settlers used smoking, salting, drying, pickling, and preserving to stockpile food.
• Sugar and vinegar were used to help preserve food items during winter scarcity.
• Preserved food required large quantities of sugar, which was expensive for early colonists.
• The invention of the Mason jar in 1858 allowed for reusable, airtight, and tightly sealed jars for canning.
• Sarah Tyson Hester Rorer's 1887 instructional manual Canning and Preserving praised the new process for retaining natural flavor and being more economical.
• Many Americans began buying commercially produced canned goods instead of relying on home canning.
• French chef Nicholas Appert invented the technique of hermetically sealing containers of food and then heating them to prevent spoilage in 1809.
• Appert's technique was widely adopted by home cooks and culinary entrepreneurs.
• William Underwood was the first to attempt to can and bottle foods for the consumer market in the United States in 1821.
• Thomas Kensett filed a patent for tin cans in 1825, which quickly replaced glass in commercial operations.

The Rise of Canned Foods in America

• The American Civil War led to the government purchasing canned goods to feed the Union army, which inspired others to open canneries.
• New developments in producing and sealing cans made them less expensive and safer.
• Soldiers consumed canned milk, meats, vegetables, and fruits for the first time during the war and returned with an appetite for canned foods.
• The demand for canned foods soared, with 5 million produced in 1860 and 30 million a decade later.
• Canned products gave Americans access to a more healthful diet and contributed to the trend against regional foodways.
• The widespread adoption of canned goods freed many housewives from the task of preserving food at home.
• Canning required costly equipment, leading to the consolidation of the industry into the hands of a few large businesses.
• Canned goods are generally considered inferior in taste to fresh or frozen products.
• Gail Borden made a fortune providing canned milk to the military during the Civil War and prioritized portability over taste.
• Americans had the ability to purchase and consume food that was not only grown and slaughtered by someone else but also cooked by unseen hands.
• Campbell Soup Company capitalized on the American infatuation with convenience foods and developed condensed soup, which retailed at ten cents a can.
• By 1904, Campbell Soup Company was selling more than sixteen million cans a year.