Preserving food to last through the cold months or packaging or bottling it to travel long distances has long been a concern. Napoleon stated, "An army travels on its stomach." He was referring to the problems involved with transporting sufficient food to keep his men fed. The Napoleonic soldiers were often hungry, thanks to the difficulty of transporting fresh food. Just to show that he was serious about solving this problem, he offered a reward of 12,000 francs to anyone who could come up with a solution.
The award was given to Nicholas Appert in 1810. After trying a variety of methods