Peter Durand

Peter Durand was a British merchant who is widely credited with receiving the first patent for the idea of preserving food using tin cans. The patent (No 3372) was granted on August 25, 1810 by King George III of England.

The patent specifies that it was issued to Peter Durand, a merchant of Hoxton Square, Middlesex, United Kingdom, for a method of preserving animal food, vegetable food and other perishable articles using various vessels made of glass, pottery, tin or other suitable metals. The preservation procedure was to fill up a vessel with food and cap it. Vegetables were to be put in raw, whereas animal substances might either be raw or half-cooked. Then the whole item was to be heated by any means, such as an oven, stove or a steam bath, but most conveniently by immersing in water and boiling it. The boiling time was not specified, and was said to depend on the food and vessel size. Neither was the patent clear on the preservation time, which was merely said to be "long". The cap was to be partly open during the whole heating and cooling procedure, but right after that, the vessel should be sealed airtight by any means, such as a cork plug, a screw-cap with a rubber seal, cementing, etc.