Many people devote themselves to research activities in order to win prizes. One of them, a Frenchman named Appel, managed candied food, worked as a worker in a pickle factory, a winery, a candy store and a restaurant, and later became a chef. When selling fruit pulp, wine and other foods, he found that some often go bad, and some are not easy to go bad. He also happened to find that food sealed in glass containers would not go bad if heated properly, which greatly inspired him. Therefore, Appel responded to the government's reward and specially studied the method of preserving food.
After ten years of hard research, he finally succeeded in 1804. His method is: put the food in a jar, put it all in a boiling pot, heat it for 30 ~ 60 minutes, plug it with a cork while it is hot, and then reinforce it with thread or seal it with wax. In this way, food can be preserved for a long time without spoilage. This is the embryonic form of modern canned food.
In this way, the earliest cans appeared. Abel was rewarded by the French government and warmly welcomed by the sailors.
Shortly after Appel's glass cans came out, the Englishman Peter Duran specially made tinplate cans and obtained a patent in Britain. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, canning technology spread to the United States, and canning factories appeared in Boston and new york. 1849, American Henry Evans opened an unprecedented cannery. 1862, French biologist pasteur published a paper pointing out that the main cause of food corruption is the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Therefore, the cannery adopts steam sterilization technology to make canned food reach the standard of absolute sterility.
Canned food in China was applied to the people as early as 3000 years ago. The earliest agricultural book "Qi Yaomin's Book" has such a record: "First cut the meat of livestock into pieces, add salt and wheat flour and mix well, and then seal porcelain with mud." Although it is different from modern canned food, it is the same.
In recent years, the domestic consumer market is starting. A survey from China Food Industry Association shows that with the improvement of residents' living standards, travel and tourism are increasing, and the concept and mode of food consumption are changing quietly. Many families are trying to liberate themselves from the kitchen, reduce oil smoke pollution and reduce housework. Canned food is becoming more and more popular because it is convenient, hygienic and easy to store, which meets people's daily needs. In addition, the consumption level of canned food in China is still very low, 90kg in the United States, 50kg in Western Europe, 23kg in Japan and only 1 kg in China. It can be seen that the domestic market has not really started and has great potential.
At present, the canned food industry in China will focus on the domestic market in the next five years. A person in charge of China Canning Industry Association said that China's canning industry has the ability to meet the rapid growth of the domestic market. There are nearly 500 key production enterprises in the national canned food industry, with an annual production capacity of nearly 3 million tons and thousands of varieties; Raw materials such as agricultural and sideline products are adequately supplied; Formed a number of time-honored brands and leading enterprises; The regional advantages of Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanxi and other places are increasingly obvious.
In terms of taste, canned food is no longer a simple substitute when food supply is tight. Many enterprises strive to provide consumers with a "taste that can't be cooked at home" and let canned food enter three meals a day, including vegetarian dishes, fruits, meat and spices.
In terms of varieties, canning enterprises are vigorously developing canned food with China traditional flavor and local characteristics, such as curry chicken, oil hoof, Dongpo meat, mushroom meat sauce, lotus root soup and so on. Develop special canned foods suitable for the elderly, teenagers and children and various canned foods with health care functions; Develop full-time, nutrition, disaster relief, tourism, pets and other special varieties.
In terms of packaging, tinplate and glass cans that used to be the same are being replaced by more convenient and practical cans, aluminum two-piece shallow cans and plastic-coated cans that can be heated by microwave ovens.
In order to improve the hygienic standard, some enterprises have realized one-stop processing and automation, introduced advanced sealing equipment, meat cutting and mixing equipment and sterilization equipment, and established modern closed low-temperature workshops. Some specialized raw material bases, such as high-quality tomatoes, oranges and green beans, are also being cultivated.