The History and Importance of Food Preservation in the Military
Napoleon is rumoured to be the man behind the quote above: “An army marches on its stomach.” However, armies of the Napoleonic era were fed some stomach upsetting food. Soldiers were given hard tack, salted pork and beef, and whatever fresh meats and vegetables they could hunt and forage on the march. Those fresh cuts of meat were prized but often cooked in unsanitary conditions and regularly undercooked!
Napoleon’s Food Preservation Prize
To tackle this issue, Napoleon offered a prize of 12,000 francs to anyone who could invent a better way to store and preserve food. This incentive led to an important development in food preservation techniques that are still used today.
Nicola Appert’s Revolutionary Invention
Nicolas Appert is the man who rose to the challenge. This chef spent years experimenting until he eventually perfected a method of putting food in jars and submerging said jars in boiling water. This process led to the food being preserved for years afterwards. He basically invented canning!
Incredibly, this gentleman has faded into obscurity despite being responsible for one of humanity’s most important inventions!
-RBM.
