Preserves, something of Napoleon in your kitchen

France, 1795. The newspaper Le Monde proposes a contest that rewards with 12,000 francs to whoever is able to present a method of food preservation, regardless of weather conditions. Napoleon, once in power, continues to sponsor this challenge with a more military than gastronomic purpose: to improve the autonomy of the armies in their prolonged movements through territories where they could not find food to requisition or steal (common practice at that time). A French cook named Nicolas Appert boiled some hermetically sealed glass bottles and succeeded, winning the contest that allowed him to open the first canning company in history. Years later, Louis Pasteur reasoned that the process worked by destroying the microorganisms present in the food, the environment… that corrupted the food. The pasteurization was a major step forward in sanitary hygiene. Fifteen years later, the Englishman Peter Durant patented the tinplate container (a thin steel), giving the container the appearance it has today and solving the problem of the fragility of glass. The steel sheet was then coated with a tin film to protect it from oxidation. The preservation in cans allows the safe preservation of a wide variety of foods, from vegetables and fruits, to dairy products, meats, pates, fish and vegetable oils, maintaining their flavor unalterable and preserving their nutritional properties in an optimal way. Being hermetic and opaque, it prevents the deterioration of its contents, avoiding the passage of light or air. It is inviolable and resistant to transport and handling. It guarantees an extended shelf life, without the need for preservatives.

It is practical, economical and easy to recycle, thus reducing its environmental impact.

However, if the canning pasteurization process has not been carried out correctly, there is a risk of botulism, a very serious foodborne disease, which can be avoided by identifying “bulging” cans. This bulging is due to the generation of gases by the fermentative metabolism of this pathogenic microorganism. Battered cans can break the tin film that covers the container, coming into contact with the food, which can alter it.

Once the can has been opened, the stagnation and sterilization of the can is broken, so it is advisable to transfer it to another clean container and not to put the open can in the refrigerator.

J.M.Berrio