Notes of an experiment in canning meat

This page from Bryan Donkin's notebook describes his experiment in cooking meat and then sealing it into cans to preserve it. A Frenchman named Nicolas Appert (1749-1841) was the first person to invent a canning process using sealed glass jars to preserve food without the need for salt or sugar in the 1790s. He chose not to patent his discovery but eventually published a book explaining the process. In 1811 Peter Durand, a London broker, patented the process in Britain specifying that any material could be used for canning, including tin. He sold his patent to John Hall (1764-1836) who frequently collaborated with Bryan Donkin, and Hall asked Donkin to perfect the process.

Bryan Donkin (1768-1855) was a gifted engineer who enjoyed solving difficult engineering problems. He successfully perfected the process of preserving food in tin cans and in 1813 the partners of Donkin, Hall and Gamble established the world's first tin canning factory in Bermondsey, London, England.