IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HERMETICALLY SEALED OR CLOSED NUTRITIOUS SUBSTANCES CONSISTING CHIEFLY OF BAKED BEANS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HERMETICALLY SEALED OR CLOSED
NUTRITIOUS SUBSTANCES CONSISTING CHIEFLY OF BAKED BEANS." A com-
munication from abroad by Cecilia Lewis, of Boston, Massachusetts, United
States of America.
Sealed the 1st September 1877, and dated the 12th July 1877.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th July 1877.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
HERMETICALLY SEALED OR CLOSED NUTRITIOUS SUBSTANCES CONSISTING CHIEFLY
OF BAKED BEANS." A communication from abroad by Cecilia Lewis, of Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in the preparation and putting up of
beans and other substances for the market.
In order to prepare beans for the table, it has heretofore been necessary to soak
then in water until they are thoroughly softened, then to parboil them and after-
wards bake them in an oven with pork and other seasoning. This preparation is
too tedious for general domestic purposes, and the object of the said Invention is to
obviate this objection and prepare and put up the beans with pork and other
seasoning, and supply the same to the market in condition for immediate use.
In practising the said Invention the beans are first well washed and then soaked
and parboiled in the usual manner; after being parboiled they are packed in tin or
other cans or other vessels of convenient size for use, with a suitable quantity of
pork and seasoning material, and are then hermetically sealed; the cans are then
subjected to a baking temperature by placing them in a suitable chamber and sub-
jecting them to steam heat for about six hours, or a sufficient time to thoroughly
bake the contents of the said cans or vessls; then they are allowed to cool, when
the said cans or vessels are ready to be labelled and packed for the market.
The advantages of having beans properly prepared, seasoned, and cooked, and

page_text: ready for immediate use will be appreciated by housekeepers and all persons who
have found it necessary heretofore to prepare and cook these articles; and further-
more, owing to their confinement during the baking process, the beans will be in a
much more palatable condition, and will have a better flavor than when baked by
the ordinary process.
In lieu of subjecting the cans containing the prepared beans to steam heat in a
chamber as above described, they may be placed in a receptacle containing water,
and the steam forced through the water by means of steam pipes or in any suitable
manner, or the cans or vessels may be placed in boiling water, the heat of which is
maintained in any usual or convenient manner until the beans are properly baked,
and if desirable the water can by the addition of salt or equivalent material be
made more dense, thereby aiding the baking process.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The processes or methods of preparing and putting up beans in a marketable
condition, as above set forth.
Second. The improved article of food consisting of baked beans and pork
prepared and put up in hermetically sealed cans or vessels, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
W.
ROB. LAKE. (L.S.)