Grocers' Goods / A Family Guide to the Purchase of Flour, Sugar, Tea, Coffee, Spices, Canned Goods, Cigars, Wines, and All Other Articles Usually Found in American Grocery Stores

by Frederick B. Goddard

Excellence of American Canned Goods.

M. Appert, of France, first patented (in 1810) a process for preserving animal and vegetable substances in close vessels of glass—after subjecting them to the action of heat—and an English firm soon after introduced provisions preserved in tin. But it was reserved for Americans to lead the world, not only in the magnitude of their canning industries, but also in the art of preserving meats, vegetables, and fruits, by processes so delicate and effective, as to retain their original shape and texture, as well as their freshness and flavor. And, moreover, while they have practically prolonged the “Seasons” for perishable food products throughout the entire year, and furnish them for the consumer at very reasonable rates, the producer has often thanked them for giving stability to prices in seasons of great “Gluts” and abundance.