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Quiz about Curious Comestibles in Cans
Quiz about Curious Comestibles in Cans

Curious Comestibles in Cans Trivia Quiz


A potted history of canned foods.

A multiple-choice quiz by Stoaty. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Stoaty
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
405,608
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
474
Last 3 plays: calmdecember (8/10), frinkzappa (8/10), rainbowriver (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Frenchman Nicolas Appert is often regarded as the first person to use the principles behind canning to preserve food and earned a 12000 franc prize from the French government in 1810 for doing so. The government reward was because they needed to ensure good food supplies to troops during which conflict? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The first process to use a metal can to preserve the food was developed by another Frenchman believed to be Philippe de Girard. The patent for Girard's technique was filed by Peter Durand in which city? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Although Durand registered a patent for canning he did not start manufacturing canned food. Instead he sold the patent to an engineer named Bryan Donkin. Is this true or false?


Question 4 of 10
4. As well as patenting the canning process Durand also filed a patent for a can opener at the same time. True or false?


Question 5 of 10
5. Following the success of canning food in the UK the process spread to other countries. In which year was the first commercial canning plant started in the US? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Which scientist with a food preservation technique named after him was the first person to explain the science behind why canning worked to preserve food? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Canning can preserve food safely for many years. In 1974 samples of canned food from the sunken steamboat Bertrand were examined and found to have no significant microbial growth. How many years had it been between the ship sinking and the food being examined? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. While canning can keep food preserved for many years there are potential hazards from canned food if the process is not done correctly. This is particularly a risk with home canned produce. Outbreaks of which foodborne illness have occurred due to incorrectly canned food? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. True or False: A modern, industrial, double seam canning machine can seal over 2000 cans a minute.


Question 10 of 10
10. The humble can has even been the subject of art. Which brand of soup featured in a 1962 artwork by American artist Andy Warhol? Hint





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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Frenchman Nicolas Appert is often regarded as the first person to use the principles behind canning to preserve food and earned a 12000 franc prize from the French government in 1810 for doing so. The government reward was because they needed to ensure good food supplies to troops during which conflict?

Answer: Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars is the name for a series of wars fought by the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte between 1803 and 1815. Ensuring food supplies for troops was a vital logistical part of the wars and a lack of being able to preserve food made it difficult to continue campaigns through the winter. Nicolas Appert found that sealing food into glass jars and then heating it preserved the food inside.

Although he used glass jars rather than metal cans Appert is still considered by many to be the first to develop canning as he developed the technique of heating food in a sealed container which is the central principle behind storing food in cans.
2. The first process to use a metal can to preserve the food was developed by another Frenchman believed to be Philippe de Girard. The patent for Girard's technique was filed by Peter Durand in which city?

Answer: London

The patent for preserving food using tin plated cans was granted to Peter Durand in London in 1811 however there is evidence that he was merely an agent for Girard who as a French citizen couldn't take out a patent in England while the two countries were at war. Girard came to London as he found it easier to conduct his experiments and attract investment which he did by offering his preserved food to members at the Royal Society.
3. Although Durand registered a patent for canning he did not start manufacturing canned food. Instead he sold the patent to an engineer named Bryan Donkin. Is this true or false?

Answer: True

This is true. Durand sold the patent for canning food for £1000 to the engineer Bryan Donkin who invested money from his papermaking business into producing canned food. After a couple of years spent refining the process for commercial use Donkin sent samples of his canned food to the British Royal Family for them to try. Donkin received praise from the Queen and Prince Regent which helped encourage others to try canned food including the admiralty who started using it to feed sailors on voyages.
4. As well as patenting the canning process Durand also filed a patent for a can opener at the same time. True or false?

Answer: False

This is false. Originally cans were large containers made from relatively thick metal and required the user to punch them open with a knife or, in the case of soldiers, a bayonet. This method of opening continued despite a can opener device being invented some years later when smaller, thinner walled cans were being made, however can openers didn't become popular until the modern two wheeled design was produced in the 1920s. Today many cans have a ring pull device on the lid which enables the can to be opened without the need for a separate can opener.
5. Following the success of canning food in the UK the process spread to other countries. In which year was the first commercial canning plant started in the US?

Answer: 1812

The first canning factory in the US was set up in New York City by Robert Ayars in 1812. Ayars used tin-plated iron cans to preserve many types of food including fruit, vegetables, meat and even oysters.
6. Which scientist with a food preservation technique named after him was the first person to explain the science behind why canning worked to preserve food?

Answer: Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a French scientist who made major discoveries in microbiology and whose research helped promote the germ theory of diseases. The technique of pasteurization for preserving liquids such as milk and wine by heating them is named after Pasteur who developed the technique. By demonstrating that heat killed microbores and sealed containers prevented recontamination Pasteur explained the science which underpinned the techniques used for preserving food by canning.
7. Canning can preserve food safely for many years. In 1974 samples of canned food from the sunken steamboat Bertrand were examined and found to have no significant microbial growth. How many years had it been between the ship sinking and the food being examined?

Answer: 109

The Bertrand sank on 1 April 1865 in the Missouri River near Omaha in the state of Nebraska. The ship was used to transport cargo on the Missouri river. Some of the cargo that was on board when the ship sank was recovered in 1968 and is housed in a museum in the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa.

Some of this cargo included canned food which was tested by the National Food Processors Association in 1974 to see how well it had remained preserved after being in cans for over 100 years. The canned food had no signs of microbial growth so would be safe to eat although the smell, appearance and vitamin content had deteriorated.
8. While canning can keep food preserved for many years there are potential hazards from canned food if the process is not done correctly. This is particularly a risk with home canned produce. Outbreaks of which foodborne illness have occurred due to incorrectly canned food?

Answer: Botulism

Although home canning can be a safe way of preserving food it is important that the process is carried out correctly otherwise the food will not be sterilised properly and bacteria can still grow. In 1931 in the US state of North Dakota twelve people died from botulism after eating improperly home canned food while an outbreak in Michigan in 1977 saw fifty nine people become ill with botulism after eating home canned jalapenos in a salsa at a restaurant. Botulism is an illness caused by toxins made by the clostridium botulinum bacteria.

The illness causes tiredness and muscle paralyses which can be fatal if the chest muscles are affected as this makes it impossible to breathe. Botulism can be treated with an antitoxin but even with treatment it is fatal in 5-10% of cases.
9. True or False: A modern, industrial, double seam canning machine can seal over 2000 cans a minute.

Answer: True

This is true. Modern industrialised canning facilities can safely seal over 2000 cans a minute whereas when Bryan Donkin first opened his canning factory he had a few employees who individually made six cans an hour. A modern factory making empty cans can make over nine million cans per day.
10. The humble can has even been the subject of art. Which brand of soup featured in a 1962 artwork by American artist Andy Warhol?

Answer: Campbell's

'Campbell's Soup Cans' is an artwork from 1962 by the American artist Andy Warhol. The work consists of thirty two individual canvases each featuring a painting of a can of Campbell's soup. Each canvas features a different flavour of soup as, at the time the artwork was created, Campbell's produced thirty two different flavours of canned soup.

Although the images look almost identical and the work was inspired by mass produced consumer goods each canvas was hand painted by Warhol.
Source: Author Stoaty

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