IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF MEAT FOR PRESERVATION, AND IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE SAME
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF MEAT FOR PRESERVATION, AND IN THE
PRESERVATION OF THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Azel
Storrs Lyman, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
Sealed the 14th December 1869, and dated the 7th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th July 1869.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention' for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF MEAT FOR PRESERVATION,
AND IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE SAME," a communication from abroad by
Azel Storrs Lyman, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, 1stly, to an improved mode of preparing meat
for preservation by removing the animal heat and deleterious gases

page_text: together with a portion of the water contained therein. This I effect by
placing the fresh meat in a closed vessel and submitting it to the action
of a vacuum so as to exhaust the deleterious gases and some of the
volatile constituents contained in the pieces of meat. The products thus
eliminated may, by being made to pass over ice or porous materials
saturated with sulphuric acid, be condensed and the production of a
vacuum be assisted. After the expulsion of the deleterious gases the
meat may be packed in cans or other vessels, or may be treated in
accordance with the second part of this Invention or otherwise. When
the meat is packed in cans I introduce them into a vacuum chamber,
and after having exhausted the air I introduce either nitrogen, carbonic
oxide, or other innoxious gas, and the receptacle is closed whilst in the
vacuum chamber.
The second part of this Invention relates to a new and improved mode
of preserving roast meat in a condensed or concentrated form, and con-
sists as follows:-Having deprived the meat of a large per-centage of its
water, the juices being concentrated in it, and the meat at the same time
roasted by means of a current of dry warm air which passes from the
heater through the meat chamber and off into the outer atmosphere,
carrying the moisture with it, I grind or otherwise reduce the toughest
parts to about the consistency of thick mortar or putty, and then pack
the best pieces in this reduced meat and press it all into a compact mass
in the can, the interstices being filled with the reduced meat firmly
pressed in so as to expel the air, instead of filling them with the gravy
or with water as by the common modes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JoHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middle- 3
sex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, "bearing date the Seventh day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third

page_text: year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my exe-
5 cutors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PREPARATION OF MEAT FOR PRESERVATION, AND IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE
SAME," a communication from abroad by Azel Storrs Lyman, of the City,
County, and State of New York, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, .my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:-
The said Invention relates, firstly, to an improved mode of preparing
meat for preservation by removing the animal heat, the deleterious
gases, and a portion of the water therefrom; and, secondly, to an im-
proved mode of preparing and preserving roast meat in a condensed or
concentrated form.
The flesh of all animals when recently killed contains more or less
of the decomposing products of the normal waste. It is the escape of
these impurities, composed principally of ammonia and other compounds
of hydrogen, which gives to recently dressed meat its peculiar rank
offensive smell. These decomposing matters act as a ferment or leaven
in the fluids of the meat, and cause the commencement of the process
of decomposition almost immediately, provided the meat is closely con-
fined as soon as dressed, so that the decomposing matters cannot escape.

page_text: When heavy beef or pork is killed in very cold weather, and allowed to
freeze at once, the pores on the surface contract and are closed against
the escape of these impurities, which as they do not freeze as readily as
water are driven to the centre of the meat, where being concentrated
they act as a powerful leaven, so that the meat is found to be very
offensive in its thickest part notwithstanding its frozen state, and to be
tainted as soon as thawed. When meat is dressed and allowed to remain
in very damp impure air these impurities escape but slowly, and the
meat consequently remains sweet but a very short time.
The object of this Invention is to remove these impurities from the
meat as soon as possible, and to this end the meat is placed in a vacuum
so perfect that water will boil at a temperature below blood heat, when
these products boiling at a lower temperature than water are distilled
from the fluids of the meat; but ammonia has a strong chemical affinity
for water, and consequently a large per centum of water is evaporated
with it, and consequently before the ammonia and other matters are all
evaporated from the centre of the meat the water near the surface has
evaporated until the meat is cooled from about blood heat down to thirty-
six degrees or forty degrees Fahrenheit by this evaporation, and has lost
from four to six per centum of its weight. It would be impracticable if
not utterly impossible to remove these vapors by the vacuum pump alone
for two reasons, first, on account of their enormously increased volume at
that low pressure, second, because when the piston comes down upon
them they condense in the cylinder of the pump instead of being forced
out against the pressure of the atmosphere, and when the piston rises again
they flash into vapor and fill the pump, so that the pump ceases to with-
draw either air or vapor from the vacuum chamber. These difficulties
are completely remedied by the introduction of a suitable condenser or
absorbent between the meat or vacuum chamber and the pump. For
this condenser a reservoir of fragments of ice may sometimes be used.
On these fragments the ammonia and some other impurities, together
with the vapor of water are condensed, while the air only passes on into
the pump. This pump, which may be of any ordinary or suitable con-
struction, should be so perfect as that when drawing off the air through
ice the meat will be cooled from blood heat down to thirty-six degrees
or forty degrees by its own evaporation within from five to ten minutes.
It will be found to have shrunk in weight from four to six per centum
during this time.

page_text: Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a sectional elevation
of an apparatus of the kind above referred to. The pipe C connects the
meat or vacuum chamber A with the condenser D, in which the ice is
held on a grating e. A pipe at the bottom serves to draw off the
matters which gather there, and a tube h at the top connects the con-
denser with the pump indicated in red lines. In place of ice in the
condenser other condensing or absorbent substances such as sulphuric
acid may be used. This can be effectively used by saturating pumice
stone with the acid and then pumping through it, and in various other
ways.
I have represented at Figure 2 a diagram of an apparatus which can
be advantageously used in this manner. The vacuum chamber is repre-
sented at D, while the pipe leading to the exhaust pump is shown at h.
This pipe opens into a receptacle E, which is also entered by another
pipe i leading from the sulphuric acid reservoir. The acid passing from
the pipe in a determinate quantity drops through a diaphragm k, and
percolates through a mass of pumice stone or coke l, which rests upon a
grating in the receptacle E. The lower end of the receptacle commu-
nicates with a coil of tubing n, each bend or fold of which dips or slants
somewhat so as to retain a sufficient quantity of the acid which flows
slowly through the coil. The bottom portion of the coil consists, in this
instance, of three pipes seen in plan, Figure 3, which have the bent or
curved form there shown in order to admit of the contraction and
expansion consequent upon the heating and cooling of the apparatus
taking place laterally and without deranging or damaging the parts of
the apparatus. The lower part of the coil communicates with a filter F
filled with caustic lime or its equivalent for the purpose of taking up
the offensive gascous and other matters drawn from the meat in the
vacuum chamber D, with which the filter is connected in the manner
represented. The box n' which unites the ends of the three tubes n
forming the lower portion of the coil is provided with a pipe p, which
leads into a reservoir G, and conducts there the dilute acid passing
from the coil. The acid is thence drawn off from time to time and
concentrated, so that it can be again used.
These apparatus are given as examples only of some of the modes of
carrying out the said Invention, but it is obvious that many other forms.
of apparatus can be devised to effect the same result, videlicet, the con-
densation or absorption of the vapor before it reaches the vacuum pump.

page_text: The mode of operation is as follows.-Immediately after the animal
is dressed, while yet warm and throbbing and before the pores have
shrunk, let it down into the vacuum chamber, and exhaust the air until
the mercury in the vacuum gauge has fallen to within about a fourth
of an inch of the level, under which pressure water boils at about
38 degrees temperature. If the meat is in large masses let it remain at
this pressure about eight or ten minutes, when it will be found to have
cooled by its own evaporation down to about that temperature. In case
the meat is to be cut up before being sold it is best to do this before
placing it in vacuo, and as quickly as possible, so that the ammonia can
escape more rapidly. If desired some parts of the beef or other meat
may be cut up into suitable size for cooking, and warmed to 100 degrees
or even 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and then introduced into the vacuum
chamber and cooled by rapid evaporation as above described. If the
vacuum be formed too suddenly the juices of the meat are driven out by
the gases and vapors escaping, and hence it is better to form the vacuum
in not less than two or three minutes, or a longer time with whole hogs
or quarters of beef. It is found in practice that by this method the rank
vapors are removed, so that the meat tastes as sweet after it has been
but a few moments in the vacuum, though killed but a short time before,
as it does after being hung for many days in the open air without having
been in the vacuum.
In some hot climates it is impossible by ordinary means to remove the
heat and vapors from the meat soon enough to prevent decomposition,
and in time for salt and other antiseptics to act upon it, but by this
process the gases and the heat can be removed so quickly that the meat
can be conveniently and effectively preserved by such agencies.
The process above described also renders it practicable and easy to
pack fresh meat in cans or other receptacles for preservation and trans-
portation. For this purpose the fresh meat is packed in cans or other
suitable receptacles and placed in the meat or vacuum chamber, which
is then exhausted of air as described. After the completion of this
operation the place of the air is supplied with nitrogen and carbonic
oxide, or other innoxous gas, which is introduced into the vacuum
chamber by means of suitable apparatus. After the requisite quantity
gas has been introduced the cans are scaled by suitable means while
still in the vacuum chamber, and they are then prepared and ready
of
for use.

page_text: The second portion of this Invention, as herein-before specified, relates
to a new and improved mode of preparing and preserving roast meat in
a condensed or concentrated form. By the ordinary mode of preserving
meat in cans it is stewed or boiled or roasted, the pieces packed in cans,
and the interstices filled with the gravy or juices of the meat or with
water, so as to displace the air from the vacant spaces. It is then
heated to about 212 degrees to expel the air that is left, then soldered,
or again heated to convert any free oxygen that may be left into carbonic
acid, which is innoxious.
The improved condensed roast meat differs from the above in its
preparation as follows:-Having deprived the meat of a large per-
centage of its water, the juices being concentrated in it, and the meat at
the same time roasted by means of a current of dry warm air which
passes from the heater through the meat chamber and off into the outer
atmosphere, carrying the moisture with it, the toughest parts are to be
ground or otherwise reduced to about the consistency of thick mortar or
putty, and the best pieces are then packed in this reduced meat, which
is to be pressed into a compact mass in the can, the interstices being
filled with the reduced meat firmly pressed in so as to expel the air,
instead of filling them with the gravy or with water as by the common
modes. Sometimes the whole of the meat is ground and the can packed
with it, compressing it into a solid mass; the can is then heated and
sealed up from the air, and reheated to combine any free oxygen that may
possibly be left in the can. In the preparation of the meat preliminary
to packing it in cans it should be deprived of the herein-before men-.
tioned products of the normal waste. While the pump and condenser
are valuable in thus preparing this product, it can, however, be prepared
by the usual means of evaporating the liquid from the meat in temperate
climates. When the meat is thus prepared it is placed in an oven, where
it is both roasted and dried by means of a current of heated air which
is let in from below, the air passing upwards through the meat and
thence directly off into the outer atmosphere. The current of hot air is
induced by forcing the previously heated air through the oven by means
of a fan or equivalent means for causing a constant circulation of the
warm dry air through the meat with such force and in such quantity as
may be desired. The flue or flues through which the heated air passes
to the oven should be provided with a filter of lime, charcoal, or other
absorbent for the purpose of purifying the air previous to its admission

page_text: into contact with the meat, and the same flue or flues should be provided
with screens of cloth or other suitable material to exclude dust and
other mechanical impurities. The meat as the cooking progresses passes
downwards in the oven, and fresh meat is put in, so that the drip from
that which is but partially cooked will fall upon that which has been
longer in, and will keep the latter thus bathed until the juices are con-
centrated in the meat. When the operation is completed the whole or
a part of the meat, as before specified, is ground or otherwise reduced,
packed in air-tight cans or other receptacles, and sealed up. Beef,
mutton, fish, or other meat can readily be treated in this manner. By
this process a new product readily distinguished from and in some
respects superior to any other form of canned meat is obtained. The
meat thus treated remains sweet for a much longer period after the can
is opened than when the juices of the meat instead of being condensed
in it are left in a fluid state and turned in to exclude the air from the
interstices. Moreover, this process requires for a given quantity of meat
less that one-half as many cans as are necessary in the ordinary modes of
treatment.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The method of preparing meat for preservation by placing it in
a vacuum chamber while yet warm, and exhausting the air from the said
chamber substantially as described, and keeping the meat in such vacuum
until properly cooled, all substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination with the meat chamber and pump of a
condenser or absorbent situate between the said pump and chamber, and
operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Third. As a new manufacture fresh meat prepared substantially as
herein specified, that is to say, fresh meat that has been placed in a
vacuum, and has there been deprived of its ammonia and some other
products of the normal waste, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
Fourth. As a new article of merchandise fresh meat treated as herein
described, and packed in cans or other suitable receptacles, and then
introduced into a vacuum chamber, the air exhausted and its place

page_text: supplied with nitrogen and carbonic oxide or other innoxious gas, and
the receptacle closed whilst in the vacuum chamber, in the manner and
for the purposes substantially as specified.
Fifth. Removing the products of the normal waste, roasting and
drying the meat as herein specified, grinding or otherwise reducing
it, or a part of it, and finally sealing it up in air-tight cans, substantially
as and for the purposes described.
Sixth. As a new manufacture concentrated roast beef, mutton, fish, or
other meat prepared and preserved substantially as specified.
Seventh. Preserving meat by roasting and drying it at one and the
same time, such roasting and drying being effected by passing a current
of warm air through the meat, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of January
One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)