A Brief History of Canning

9.6.25
by: Jill@321Oak
Pennsylvania, USA

In the early 1800s, Nicolas Appert invented the process of heat-treating food in sealed glass jars. He published his method in 1810{+ for food preservation}.
In 1858, John Landis Mason invented the Mason jar - a three-part system - a threaded glass jar, a rubber ring, and a metal lid that popularized home canning.
In the early 1900s in the United States, dozens to hundreds of botulism deaths per year were linked to home canning.
In 1917, the USDA began recommending pressure canning for low-acid foods.
In the 1920s and 1930s, research by Karl F. Meyer (UC Berkeley) and the USDA documented the heat resistance of C. botulinum (the bacterium that causes botulism) and the processes needed to inactivate it.
- They found that C. botulinum spores can survive 5–6 hours of boiling in low-acid foods.
In the early 2000s, 20–25% of U.S. households were home canning. (source)

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