An Improved Process of Preserving Meat and Fish.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 7th June, 1900-Accepted, 28th July, 1900
TRUYURA
DEMATICATION.
An Improved Process of Preserving Meat and Fish.
I, SIEGFRIED GIRONCOLI, of 14, Schiffgasse, Klagenfurt, in the Province of
Carinthia, Empire of Austria, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the preservation in a cooked state of meat
of all kinds, such as beef, fowls, venison, fish etc., during several years, in an
unaltered condition, without the addition of any chemicals, and without the
slightest alteration in the taste of the food.
According to my invention, the meat to be preserved is first subjected, during
about ten minutes, in a closed chamber, to the action of gaseous formaldehyde,
by which all germs of putrefaction which may have penetrated into the outer
layers of the meat are killed. The meat is, afterwards, prepared in any suit-
able way by roasting, broiling, boiling etc., when the heat wholly expels the
gas. Finally, the cooked meat is placed in cans or other suitable vessels, which
are filled with hot fat and tightly closed.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, SIEGFRIED GIRONCOLI, of 14, Schiffgasse, Klagenfurt, in the Province of
Carinthia, Empire of Austria, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the preservation of meat of all kinds, such as beef,
venison, fowl's, fish, etc., and has for object to allow meat, (cooked in such a
way as to avoid the formation of a bouillon, juice or gravy) to be preserved
during several years, without the addition of chemicals, and without any altera-
tion in its taste, so as to be suitable for eating at any moment.
According to my invention the meat to be preserved is first impregnated with

page_text: gaseous formaldehyde, which kills all germs of putrefaction existing upon and
within the meat and, afterwards, the meat is cooked in any known manner to
produce a dish without bouillon, gravy, broth or juice, that is to say, the meat
is roasted, broiled, stewed, boiled, etc. The formaldehyde is wholly expelled by
the heat to which the meat is subjected for performing the cooking operation.
Finally, the cooked meat, ready to be eaten, is placed in suitable cans, jars or
other receptacles and these receptacles are filled up with hot fat and hermeti-
cally sealed..
In carrying the said process into practice I proceed as follows:
The pieces of meat, the fowls, or the fish, having been dressed in the usual
way for roasting or otherwise cooking them, are laid or suspended in a chamber
adapted to be tightly closed, and within the said chamber gaseous formaldehyde
is allowed to act on the meat during about 10 minutes. For evolving the said
gas, methyl alcohol may be subjected to incomplete combustion in the well
known lamps, especially constructed for this purpose, or the products of con-
densation of formaldehyde, found in commerce, may be vaporized by heat.
Afterwards, the material thus impregnated with formaldehyde is prepared
ready to be eaten, by roasting. boiling, stewing, broiling, etc.
The cans, jars or other receptacles for containing the product to be preserved,
have a layer of hot fat (grease, suet, butter, oil, etc.) poured into them, where-
upon the pieces of cooked meat are placed into the said fat, and more fat is
poured in so as to wholly cover the meat and fill up the receptacle. When fats
are used, which harden in the cold state and consequently contract, the hot fat
poured in is allowed to harden, and the receptacles are again filled up with fat.
Finally, the receptacles are hermetically sealed; in the case of cans, this is
best done by means of solder.
The sealed vessels may be sterilized by heating them, but an experience of
many years has shown that sterilizing is not necessary.
Before eating meat preserved in this manner, the fat may be removed from
it by heating it.
i
I wish it to be understood that I do not lay any claim to the use of formal-
dehyde as an anti-putrefactive agent, nor to placing the previously sterilized
meat in hot fat for preserving it. My invention rather consists in the process
hereinafter claimed, and comprising four successive operations or steps whereby
the excessive heating under pressure, by which in other preserving processes the
relish and nutritious value of the food are destroyed, is avoided, and well cooked,
roasted or boiled food is kept in good condition ready to be eaten.
The special value of my invention will be better understood on considering
the fact that no real roast preserves have hitherto been known, as all were
canned with sauces and heated with these sauces after sealing, that is to say,
boiled and deprived of the relishing constituents.
It is a well known fact that, when raw meat is softened by allowing it to lie
a certain time, the softening is due to bacteria, for the killing of which a tem-
perature of 70° Cels. would afterwards be required. On the other hand, meat
roasted in large pieces, has its central portion heated to about 55° Cels. only,
whereby the bacteria are not killed, and consequently such roast meat is liable
to putrefaction. I provide roast meat free from bacteria by killing the same
by formaldehyde before the roasting operation, and by performing the roasting
operation immediately after the fumigation with formaldehyde, I wholly expel
this latter substance, which is strongly objected to by all physicians and directly
forbidden by all public hygiene institutions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
A process for preserving meat, the said process consisting in first subjecting
the pieces of meat to the action of gaseous formaldehyde, afterwards ' cooking

page_text: the meat whereby the formaldehyde is expelled, placing the cooked meat into
receptacles, which are filled up with hot fat, and finally sealing the said recep-
tacles, substantially as described.
Dated this 7th day of June 1900
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.