author
Nicolas Appert
1749–1841
Best remembered as the pioneer of modern food preservation, he changed the way people store and transport food by showing that heat and airtight containers could keep it safe far longer. His practical experiments, carried out long before microbes were understood, helped lay the groundwork for canning as the world knows it.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Châlons-sur-Marne, France, in 1749, Nicolas Appert trained in food trades and worked as a confectioner, chef, and distiller. He became fascinated by a problem that mattered hugely in his time: how to preserve food well enough for long journeys and military use.
After years of trial and error beginning in the 1790s, he developed a method of sealing food in containers and heating them to keep spoilage at bay. In 1810 he published a book describing the process, and his work earned him a prize from the French government. Although he did not know the microbiology behind it, his method proved remarkably effective.
Appert is often called the father of canning, even though early versions of his process used glass containers before metal cans became common. His ideas had an enormous impact on food storage, industry, and everyday life, and his name lives on in the term "appertization." He died in 1841 in Massy, France.