Durand?

Yes, Peter Durand.

Two hundred years ago today, King George III awarded Englishman Peter Durand a patent for preserving food in tinplate vessels.  Just think how that invention changed the world - for Napoleon’s armies, pioneer families heading west, shipmates at sea and generations of families around the globe.

In fact, it was Napoleon who jumpstarted the can revolution.  According to the Can Manufacturers Institute, the French government offered a 12,000 franc award in hopes that the brightest and best could find a way to preserve food and save armies from hunger and scurvy.  Nicholas Appert did just that by partially cooking the food, sealing it in bottles with cork stoppers and surrounding the bottles with boiling water.  Durand’s groundbreaking achievement followed.

We at Sip & Savor particularly note the arrival of aluminum beverage cans on grocery store shelves in 1965.   And we're proud to say that America's non-alcoholic beverage industry is committed to using products and containers that meet or exceed all government health, safety and quality standards. Our top priority is to ensure the safety and quality of our products and their packaging.

Today, we salute two innovators who made a difference that lives on.

And if you haven’t figured out all the ways in which the can transformed the world, check out the cover story earlier this week for The Washington Post's Style section, "Change the world? Can do. On its 200th birthday, this humble bit of tin should shine."