Our new favorite clam chowder. Photo by Daniel Norman | IST.
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KAREN HOCHMAN is Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE.
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November 2007
Updated July 2008
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Bar Harbor Seafood
Page 3: The History Of Canning
This is page 3 of a three-page article. Click on the black links below to visit the other pages.
Herring, Kippers & Mackerel
Amidst all of the non-kosher lobster and clams, there are actually kosher-certified items in the Bar Harbor line. These are wild-caught fish:
- Wild Herring Fillets in Cabernet Wine Sauce and Smoked Wild Herring Fillets Seasoned with Cracked Pepper
- Smoked Wild Kippers
- Smoked Atlantic Mackerel
High in protein and omega 3-fatty acids, they make healthy snacks, quick hors d’oeuvres and gifts for kosher friends. The herring and kippers are the only non-Maine products; the smoked fillets are purchased from Canada and sauced by Bar Harbor foods. |
Two items from the kosher-certified line. |
The History Of Canning
We take canned food for granted, but like most things, it is a relatively recent invention—and we owe it to Napoleon Bonaparte. In his time, food preservation was basically limited salting, drying and pickling, techniques that had existed for thousands of years.
Needing a better solution for his troops, in 1795 the French general, known for declaring that “an army marches on its stomach,” had the French government offer 12,000 francs to anyone who invented a new way to preserve food.
The prize was finally won by Nicholas Appert, a chef, confectioner and distiller, who began experimenting when the award was announced and finally submitted his invention 14 years later, in 1809. He hermetically sealed food in airtight glass jars and heated them—a method similar to today’s home preserving in Mason jars. Appert thought that driving the air out of the containers prevented the spoilage, but 100 years later, Louis Pasteur showed that it was the elimination of bacteria through sterilization that did the trick.
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A simple solution to preserve food: It only took
14 years of experimentation for Nicholas Appert
to come up with the basic principle. Photo by
Ahmed Al-Shukaili | SXC. |
Napoleon tried to keep the new process a secret so that enemy armies would not have the advantage, but the word leaked out. Appert’s method was so easy that it quickly became widespread. The following year another Frenchman, Pierre Durand, patented a method using a tin container. In 1812, an English company purchased both patents and began producing canned preserves. Canning emigrated to America, where canneries began to preserve seasonal foods and perishables; but most Americans still cooked from fresh and dried staples, and canned food did not become the everyday food delivery system we known until the beginning of the 20th century (the company that produces Bar Harbor Foods was established in 1917). Appert is known as the “father of canning,” and also invented the bouillon cube.
But forget that bouillon cube and order yourself some chowder!
BAR HARBOR FOODS
Gourmet Canned Seafood Products
Fish items certified kosher by Orthodox Union
- Clam Chowder
15-Ounce Can
$3.95
- Clam Juice
8-Ounce Bottle
$2.65
- Newburg Sauce
10-Ounce Can
$3.95
Shop online* at
MainesPantry.com
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Gourmet products from Maine. |
For a retail store locator, visit BarHarborFoods.com.
*Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional. These items are offered by a third party and THE NIBBLE has no relationship with them. This link to purchase is provided as a reader convenience.
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