Food preservation is the process or science of treating food in order to stop it from spoiling, for the purpose of prolonging its storage life. Today, there are many methods used in preserving food such as Drying, Smoking, Refrigeration, Freezing, using salt and sugar, Pasteurization, Canning, etc. While it is generally accepted and considered extremely normal today, the concept of food preservation was really born out of necessity. Historically, it traces its roots as far back as 1795 when the French Army and Navy, who at that time were engaged in numerous foreign wars, required an effective method of preserving their food in order to feed their vast army. It was such an important matter that there was even a prize prepared for whoever could accomplish the task. Unfortunately, the answer to this riddle would come only after 14 years when a Frenchman by the name of Nicolas Appert proposed that, in order to prolong the life span of food, it must be placed inside an airtight container. To achieve this, he placed the food inside glass jars and heated them to drive the air out and sealed it off by placing corks as the cover. This seemed to do the trick which led him to collect 12,000 Francs from Napoleon himself- and was then made responsible for supplying the French Navy with its food requirements.
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