" Such are the several processes, differing somewhat in detail, but substantially the same in principle, by which preserving by heat is effected. It is by one or other of these, with certain trifling modifications adopted by this or that manufacturer, that almost all the sohd meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, soups, stews, the variety of ' odds and ends,' such as kidneys, tripe, sausages, minced meat, and the several * made dishes,' both in this country and abroad, are preserved ; and it is by heat alone that it can fairly be said the food- preservation question has been solved, and then only in a certain modified sense. By all the above heat methods, however, preservation — simply as preservation — is perfect. As long as the tin or other receptacle in which meat, or any other sub- stance, has been successfully preserved by the creation of a perfect vacuum, remains sound and air-tight, so long will its contents remain sound also. Tins, with the meat perfectly good in them, though preserved nearly fifty years ago, are still in existence. At the London Exhibitions of 18.51, 1862, and 1863, tins of meat which had been put up from twenty-five to forty years before were exhibited and tested, and were found perfectly sound. Stores of preserved meat, &c., in tins, have been left in the Arctic regions for years, annually ex- posed to a temperature of 92 degrees below, and 80 degrees above zero. They have been brought back to this country, and the con- tents of the tins found to be as sound as the day they were put up. As a matter, then, of mere preservation, the heat processes are an unquestionable success, and by their agency Ave have in this country been able to obtain a large supply of sound, edible, and cheap beef and mutton from the very ends of the earth." Preserved meat in tins comes to this coun- try from Australia, New Zealand, and South America. It has failed to attain that popularity which was anticipated at first, though the con- sumption, it cannot be denied, is very consider- able. One of the chief reasons for receiving little notice at the hands of some people is its over- cooked state. "With all its imperfections, however," says one writer, " we hold it might bo much more widely used than it is ; for even, if it is admitted that, mouthful for mouthful, it is of less nutritive value than butcher's meat, yet the latter, after the deductions in weight for cooking and bono, costs really about twice as much as the preserved meat." The heat process has been applied with con- siderable success to the preservation of fish ; but this, however, is inclined to grow soft and pulpy after being some time in the tins. It should be eaten within a reasonable period of its preservation. Vegetables and fruit have also been subjected to the heat process, and are well worthy of attention. Preserved Fruit in Pastry. — Pre- served fruits ought not to be baked long; indeed, those that have been preserved with their full proportion of sugar require no baking. Bake the crust in a tin shape, and add the fruit afterwards ; or put the fruit in a small dish or tart pan, and bake the covers on a tin, cut according to taste.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

" Such are the several processes, differing somewhat in detail, but substantially the same in principle, by which preserving by heat is effected. It is by one or other of these, with certain trifling modifications adopted by this or that manufacturer, that almost all the sohd meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, soups, stews, the variety of ' odds and ends,' such as kidneys, tripe, sausages, minced meat, and the several * made dishes,' both in this country and abroad, are preserved ; and it is by heat alone that it can fairly be said the food- preservation question has been solved, and then only in a certain modified sense. By all the above heat methods, however, preservation — simply as preservation — is perfect. As long as the tin or other receptacle in which meat, or any other substance, has been successfully preserved by the creation of a perfect vacuum, remains sound and air-tight, so long will its contents remain sound also. Tins, with the meat perfectly good in them, though preserved nearly fifty years ago, are still in existence. At the London Exhibitions of 18.51, 1862, and 1863, tins of meat which had been put up from twenty-five to forty years before were exhibited and tested, and were found perfectly sound. Stores of preserved meat, &c., in tins, have been left in the Arctic regions for years, annually exposed to a temperature of 92 degrees below, and 80 degrees above zero. They have been brought back to this country, and the contents of the tins found to be as sound as the day they were put up. As a matter, then, of mere preservation, the heat processes are an unquestionable success, and by their agency Ave have in this country been able to obtain a large supply of sound, edible, and cheap beef and mutton from the very ends of the earth." Preserved meat in tins comes to this country from Australia, New Zealand, and South America. It has failed to attain that popularity which was anticipated at first, though the con- sumption, it cannot be denied, is very considerable. One of the chief reasons for receiving little notice at the hands of some people is its overcooked state. "With all its imperfections, however," says one writer, " we hold it might bo much more widely used than it is ; for even, if it is admitted that, mouthful for mouthful, it is of less nutritive value than butcher's meat, yet the latter, after the deductions in weight for cooking and bono, costs really about twice as much as the preserved meat." The heat process has been applied with considerable success to the preservation of fish ; but this, however, is inclined to grow soft and pulpy after being some time in the tins. It should be eaten within a reasonable period of its preservation. Vegetables and fruit have also been subjected to the heat process, and are well worthy of attention. Preserved Fruit in Pastry. — Preserved fruits ought not to be baked long; indeed, those that have been preserved with their full proportion of sugar require no baking. Bake the crust in a tin shape, and add the fruit afterwards ; or put the fruit in a small dish or tart pan, and bake the covers on a tin, cut according to taste.

Cassell's dictionary of cookery