Tin-plated iron, which is called "tinplate" in later generations, appeared at the same time as a steam engine, which is what Yuwen Wen knew.

So, when the steam engine appeared in this era, tinplate cans appeared, and it was no big deal.

However, it is not easy to make a simple tin-plated can in large quantities, because it involves cost and yield.

Yuwen Wen is now introducing the production process of tin-plated iron cans to Xu Shao.

"A rectangular tin-plated iron sheet is rolled into a can, and a round iron sheet is made into a can bottom, and then soldered with tin soldering. A can with a bottom and no cover is finished. Of course, the specific process is not simple, so I won't say much."

"After having the can, put the almost cooked meat and appropriate salt water in the jar and put it in a steamer at high temperature to steam it, which is to sterilize."

"Then, leaning against the special sealer, cover the can while it is hot, that is, cover the round tin-plated iron lid."

"In this way, when the can is cooled, the lid will naturally be concave. After storage for several months or even a year, the food in the can will not rot. This was an experiment because the food and the bacteria in the can are killed."

"The lid of this can is very particular, which not only ensures sealing, but also makes it easy to open the lid, so there are hidden grooves left, and you can open the lid with a little touch with a knife."

"Of course, before opening the lid, the eater can judge whether the food inside it is spoiled based on whether the lid is protruding."

"This kind of canned food is more resistant to falling than fragile glass cans. It doesn't matter if it is usually bumpy during long-distance transportation. It's the most suitable thing to use as military rations."

During the introduction of Yuwen Wen, some experimenters opened a can, and then the laboratory was filled with a salty meat aroma.

When the jar was poured into the bowl, Xu Shao found it was a cylindrical piece of meat. He saw the experimenter cut the meat into several pieces with a knife, put it into a small bowl, and then brought it to the emperor and him respectively. He knew in his heart that this was to try it, so he quickly expressed his opinion:

"Your Majesty! Please let me taste it first, so as not to have an accident after eating it!"

It was normal for the minister to try food for the monarch to determine whether it was delicious or poisonous. Yuwen Wen nodded and looked at Xu Shao trying the stuffed meat.

Xu Shao savored it carefully and felt that the meat was not tough, and it was more like a piece of meat "pressed" with cooked minced meat. It was very salty and oily.

When I ate it, the taste was a bit strange. It was delicious at the beginning, but I felt greasy after eating too much.

Seeing that Xu Shao was eating with relish, Yuwen Wen asked, "How about this canned meat?"

Xu Shao put down the bowl, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and replied: "Your Majesty, is this meat pressed with minced meat? It's very salty and oily. I think the soldiers will like it."

Yuwen Wen nodded: "That's right, it's minced meat and pork. For the soldiers, marching and fighting are expensive, so the canned meat must be salty and oily enough, and it can be effectively replenished after eating."

"Your Majesty, I wonder how much this canned food is? I think it's not cheap, right?"

"Yes, the price is not low, it can be said to be a bit expensive." Yuwen Wen felt that there was nothing to hide, so he said the shortcomings: "So the court did not have the financial resources to supply canned meat to all the soldiers of the army."

"But, a few elites can carry cans for large-scale horse-riding battles."

"These canned meats are easy to carry and can be eaten immediately because the can can can be used as cooking utensils, or they can be directly placed on the fire and heated to eat. A few elites carry cans and lightly chase the enemy. They can last at least a few more days without killing horses to satisfy their hunger."

"At the same time, various land and sea expedition teams can carry canned food as emergency supplies and support for a few more days."

"This is the wonderful use of tin-plated iron cans, not as large-scale distribution of food, but to supply teams with special needs."

Due to the limitations of technical capabilities, the production cost of canned food cannot be reduced too much. It is unrealistic to promote tin-plated iron cans as military supplies on a large scale. Yu Wenwen thought it very clearly.

In later generations, during World War II, only the United States could supply canned food to the army in large quantities, and other countries could not do it, which tests a country's industrial strength.

Therefore, Yuwen Wen's expectation for tin-plated iron cans is to use it for "special operations" of elite troops, as well as special needs of navigation fleets and expedition teams.

Cans that should be widely promoted as products are of course tin-plated iron-covered glass cans.

Just talking about canned fruits. In modern modern transportation, eating fresh fruit is not a problem for ordinary people in the city, but this is the result of a series of supporting technologies and complete facilities.

The transportation of fresh fruits has a high technical content (cold chain distribution), and transportation is also a big cost. The shelf life of fresh fruits is limited. Coupled with the collision during long-distance transportation, the fruit will also cause abrasions and rot.

The cost of transportation (preservation) is an obstacle that cannot be overcome, so in modern times, it was basically impossible for ordinary people to eat fresh fruits from other places. Only when wealthy families plant fruit trees in their own manors can they ensure that they can eat the fruits of the season.

However, there are restrictions on the origin of fruits. It is difficult for people in Chang'an to eat lychees. Even if they can eat fresh lychees, they cannot eat lychees from Lingnan.

The famous poem "A concubine riding on the world of the world laughs, no one knows that it is lychees coming." The lychees that Yang Guifei ate are actually lychees produced in Shu.

It’s different now. Fresh lychee pulp soaked in sugar water (high concentration sugar water itself has a sterilization effect), and can be transported long distances by putting it in a sterilized glass can.

Such canned lychees with canned sugar water are shipped to the Central Plains. Ordinary people will definitely not be able to afford them and cannot afford to buy them for food, but the rich people who have too much money have nowhere to spend are different.

Rich people eat not food, but pomp. As the saying goes, rare things are expensive. The more rare food, even if the taste is average, it can still have a good sales range. Therefore, the "target customer" of canned fruit is rich people. Doing business with rich people can still make a lot of money.

Lychees produced in Lingnan area and longan can be made into canned sugar water for export. Fruit production areas in various parts of the Central Plains can also develop canned fruits. Various fruits that are prone to deterioration and are difficult to transport (such as yellow peaches and peaches) can be made into canned sugar water.

Yellow peaches, honey peaches ripen quickly and have a short shelf life. They are very easy to get hurt, so they are difficult to transport. After being made into canned food, they can be stored for months or even a year, which is enough to ensure that rich people can also eat "off-season fruits" in other seasons.

To popularize this can of sugar water (relatively speaking), there are two prerequisites: wide-mouth glass bottles can be produced in large quantities and the production cost is low (relatively), and the second is that the workshop can buy a large amount of low-quality sugar.

With the large-scale import of sugar in Lingnan and Jiaozhou into Central Plains, the issue of sugar price is not a problem, and the production technology of glass bottles is not a problem with the rapid development of the glass industry.

Now, the production of tin-plated iron lids, with perfect sealing technology and ripe time, canned lychee, canned longan, canned orange, canned yellow peach and other canned fruits, and sell them as "light luxury goods" to earn money from rich people.

"As for this tin-plated can..." Yu Wen Wen picked up the bowl, took a bite of the can of meat stored in the can and pressed the meat pieces, "I have thought of another market for it, guess where is it?"

Xu Shao didn't know, so he could only answer: "I am stupid, please let Your Majesty make it clear."

"exit."

"Exit? Your Majesty, I am stupid and don't know what the purpose of overseas countries wanting this thing?"

Xu Shao felt that the nobles and chiefs of the foreign countries could eat fresh meat, and they did not need such "strange-flavored meat". Ordinary people could not afford it, so the sales of tin-plated cans were worrying, but he was not easy to say it.

Yuwen Wen could see that Xu Shao had any questions but did not say them out, and continued: "The selling point of this canned food is not the cured meat inside, that is only a gift..."

"It's salt, because many places lack salt and oil, and canned meat is very salty and greasy, but this is not the main selling point."

"The main selling point is the can. You have to know how valuable it is for areas where daily necessities are in short supply, a container, cooking utensil, drinking utensil, and a thin iron product that can be disassembled and grinded into blades, iron hooks, and arrowheads."

Xu Shao suddenly realized: "Your Majesty means...the can of iron is the pearl, and the food inside is just a beautiful 'bag'?"

"Yes, if you use canned meat as a selling point, it is to buy a box and return the beads."

Yuwen Wen picked up a can and weighed it: "The added value of industrial products is reflected here. A durable and non-corrosive small iron can with much added value than the cured meat inside. How can industrial products be more profitable by relying on exporting ordinary agricultural products?"

"Behind this industrial product is a whole industrial chain, and small tinned iron cans can feed a large number of downstream industries, metallurgy, food production and processing, transportation, etc."
Chapter completed!