Canned Food
In 1795, the French Directory or government of the period offered a substantial prize for an advance in food preservation. Improved food preservation was essential for long combat—troops could not fight effectively if they were not fed. Several years later, during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, a young French chef, Nicholas Appert, set out to solve this problem.
Appert first relied upon the longest-lasting and best-sealing container of the time, the champagne bottle. These bottles were sealed with a mixture of cheese and lime. By 1803, Appert progressed to wide-mouth jars, and began canning a variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and fish. These early, glass-container, canned foods were sent out with the French Navy beginning in 1804.
In 1804, Appert also began experimenting with the first tins, rather than glass jars. The tin for canned food was patented not long after by Peter Durand. Durand replaced the glass jars with more durable and lighter tins, soldered closed. By the time Appert died in 1841, canned foods were becoming commonplace, both on the battlefront and in shops throughout Europe and the United States.
Canned foods fed the enormous armies of the 19th century in the Crimean War, the U.S. Civil War, and the Franco-Prussian War. Canned foods could be shipped long distances to feed troops and provided quick access to essential foods. Local food supplies, with questionable availability, were no longer necessary to feed the troops. This improved the nutrition of armies, and allowed for longer battles without restocking of supplies.
Eventually, the U.S. Civil War led to the development of another essential technology to accompany canned foods—the can opener.