Food Preservation
In grocery stores, you can find different kinds of food in cans or bottles. There are fruits, vegetables, meat and fish in cans. They are preserved food. In many homes in our country, food is preserved in bottles or jars.

Most of the food preserved at home are fruits. They are usually preserved with sugar or syrup. Food can also be stored for long periods of time in refrigerators and cold storage plants. Fresh food from Australia and other foreign countries are sold in cold stores. Adding salt, sugar, saltpeter or vinegar preserves some food.

Why are foods preserved? During certain times of the year, some food are plentiful. At times not all the fruit or vegetables harvested can be sold. In order that they will not be wasted, food is preserved. There are times in the year when these foods cannot be found in the markets and may be costly. This is when the preserved food can be used. Food is also preserved in preparation for a coming event like Christmas or town fiesta. They are prepared much ahead of time.

Ways of preserving foods

Food like meat, fish, fruit and vegetables spoil at once. When food is spoiled, it cannot be used. Food spoils because molds and bacteria find the food good for them: they eat the food and they live in the food.

To preserve food, the bacteria and mold should be killed. The growth of these mold and bacteria should be stopped. There are 5 ways of preserving food: 1) They are by keeping food at a low temperature, 2) By drying, 3) By adding some substances called preservations, 4) By sterilization and 5) By excluding air.

1. By keeping food at low temperature. When food is placed in the refrigerator, it does not spoil for some time. This is the reason why many of those who have refrigerators can buy food for a week. They keep the food in cold storage. Meat, fish, vegetable and fruit can be kept in the freezer for some time without spoiling. When you go to the market, you see some fish with ice in the container. This is a form of preservation so that the fish won't spoil easily.
2. By drying. Drying preserves some foods. You are familiar with dried fish and meat. Legumes are preserved by drying too. Mongos, beans, garbanzos and other seeds are dried seeds. They can be kept a long time. Raisins are dried grapes.
3. By adding substances called preservations. Substances that are used for preserving food are called preservatives. Sugar. salt, spices, saltpeter and vinegar are preservatives. Smoke also preserves some food. Ham and tinapa are two examples of food cured by smoking. Candied fruits are preserved by sugar.
4. By sterilization. Using heat to kill bacteria is a good way to preserve food. This is called sterilization. Canned food and preserved food in jars have been sterilized.
5. By excluding air. Food kept where air cannot reach them is preserving by excluding air. Canned food also keeps air out of the food. Canning is one of the most common ways of preserving food. Many foods can be canned. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy canned food than to can them at home. Preserving food at home is expensive if the food to be preserved is to be bought. The materials and equipment for preserving, like the wide-mouthed glass jars, the rubber used and the pressure cookers are costly. However, when there is good harvest, canning should be done so that the food will not be wasted. Canned products should be kept in a cool dry place. The jars of fruit, vegetables and other preserves should be labeled. Shelves should be kept clean and arranged well so that the cans and jars can be easily seen.

Methods of canning
There are 3 ways of canning, namely:

1. Open kettle method - The food is cooked until tender and sterilized. Then the cooked food is placed in sterilized jars and immediately sealed.
2. Cold pack method - Cold food is placed in sterilized jars. The jar is then filled with boiling liquid.
3. Hotpack method - The food is cooked or blanched. It is placed in the hot sterilized jars while still hot. The jar is then filled with boiling liquid.