---
title: Book Pulls the Lid Off Canned Food’s History
date: 2022-04-19T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/book-pulls-the-lid-off-canned-foods-history"
section: Articles
---
# Book Pulls the Lid Off Canned Food’s History

*April 19, 2022* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Cupboard Staple’s Impact Goes Beyond the Dinner Table

*Canning 1920x1080 — A forthcoming book from historic preservation Professor Don Linebaugh highlights little-known ways that canning shaped American society, such as spawning the first store-branded goods and providing much-needed nutrition to troops during the world wars.*

Humble cans of peas, chicken noodle soup and chili got a little more respect during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people stocked up on shelf-stable foods to avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store. But canned goods have fallen far from their 20th-century heyday.

In his book, “Put a Lid on It: The Canning Industry in South Central Pennsylvania,” coming out in 2022, [historic preservation Professor Donald Linebaugh](https://arch.umd.edu/people/donald-linebaugh) takes a side trip from his archaeological digs in the region to explore the rise and fall of metal cylinder-packed food. It takes off with the introduction of the “Sanitary Can” in the 1890s, which kicked canning’s reliance on hand-crafted tin cans with poisonous lead soldering and dramatically increased production and safety.


*Archival photo of can of sugar corn*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [Food](https://today.umd.edu/topic/food), [Historic Preservation](https://today.umd.edu/topic/historic-preservation), [History](https://today.umd.edu/topic/history), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-architecture-planning-and-preservation)