Other Methods Of Food Preservation

Various and natural actions of different microorganisms lead to loss of nutritive food value and edibility. Through the years, people have become very familiar with common food preservation processes. These techniques are applied to prolong shelf life of foods and facilitate effective and reliable storage for future food consumption. The most common techniques of food preservation include drying, freezing, salting, pickling, and canning. The processes got so common that most of them are now used by many households even without the use of modern and sophisticated equipment. It would be interesting to know more about other food preservation processes other than those enumerated. Vacuum treatment or vacuum packing is the storage of food in a vacuum environment. This way, the perishable good is stored in very airtight containers, remove bacteria off oxygen. Consequently, growth of food spoiling microorganisms is arrested. This method is commonly applied to nuts to help lower loss of flavor due to oxidation. Sugaring is used for preservation of fruits. This method involves cooking the skin of certain fruits in sugar until there is crystallization, which when reached serves as a queue that the food could already be stored in a sterilized or dry environment. Sugaring is the common food preservation technique for pears, apples, peaches, plums, bananas, and apricots. Lye or sodium hydroxide is effective in making food attain alkaline for prevention of bacterial growth. The substance helps saponify fats to facilitate change in flavor and texture. Century egg recipes usually require lye. It is used in lutefisk and several olive recipes. Food could be preserved through cooking it into a mixture that eventually solidifies to form a gel-like structure. This food preservation technique is known as jellying. The materials used usually include agar, gelatin, arrowroot flour, and maize flour. Fruits that are preserved through this method are often called jelly, fruit preserves, or marmalade. Jellying also involves sugaring in jars. Jugging is a procedure when meat is stewed within a covered casserole or earthenware. The meat should be cut into pieces before being put into tightly-sealed jugs with either gravy or brine. In some instances, red wine or blood of the animal is added to the liquid used for cooking. However, this method is seldom used today. Some foods are preserved through burying in the ground. Salted and century eggs are produced this way. Burial in the ground could be a good food preservation method because of lack of light, optimal pH level, lack of oxygen, and cooler temperature in the soil.
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• Physical And Chemical Food Preservation
• Practical Advantages Of Food Preservation
• Preserving Food Through Drying
• Preserving Food Through Freezing
• Preserving Food Through Pickling
• Preserving Vegetables By Freezing
• Selecting Fruits For Food Preservation
• Some Types Of Food Preservation