Food preservation

food preservation, Any method by which food is protected against spoilage by oxidation, bacteria, molds, and microorganisms. Traditional methods include dehydration, smoking, salting, controlled fermentation (including pickling), and candying; certain spices have also long been used as antiseptics and preservatives. Among the modern processes for food preservation are Related Article Summaries

Preserving food by canning or freezing may be a practice that goes back for generations, but anyone preserving foods at home needs to have the most reliable and current information available.Michigan State University Extension is a trusted source for research-based information and education on proper home food preservation methods and approved recipes. MSU Extension offers Live online sessions are offered weekly through most of the year. In-person food preservation sessions are held at various times/locations around the state. Click the Events tab above to see what classes fit your schedule. Another learning option is an Have a question? Not sure if the food in your fridge is safe after a power outage? Do you have questions about safely preserving food at home? Whatever your question, MSU Extension’s food safety experts can help. Call our Food Safety Hotline at 1-877-643-9882, Monday-Friday from 9AM to 5PM, EST. “I found this class very informational and interesting. It helped with the understanding of why we follow the steps of processing as directed instead of doing what we would like to do.” - Flint Farmers Market Canning Basics participant “This blanching and freezing class has helped me learn to save money by preserving fruits and vegetables I may otherwise have wasted if I had not been able to consume them before they began to go bad.” - Gladwin County Blanching and Freezing participant MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving ...

Historical Origins of Food Preservation Brian A. Nummer, Ph.D. National Center for Home Food Preservation May 2002 Introduction The astonishing fact about food preservation is that it permeated every culture at nearly every moment in time. To survive ancient man had to harness nature. In frozen climates he froze seal meat on the ice. In tropical climates he dried foods in the sun. Food by its nature begins to spoil the moment it is harvested. Food preservation enabled ancient man to make roots and live in one place and form a community. He no longer had to consume the kill or harvest immediately, but could preserve some for later use. Each culture preserved their local food sources using the same basic methods of food preservation. Drying In ancient times the sun and wind would have naturally dried foods. Evidence shows that Middle East and oriental cultures actively dried foods as early as 12,000 B.C. in the hot sun. Later cultures left more evidence and each would have methods and materials to reflect their food supplies—fish, wild game, domestic animals, etc. Vegetables and fruits were also dried from the earliest times. The Romans were particularly fond of any dried fruit they could make. In the Middle Ages purposely built “still houses” were created to dry fruits, vegetables and herbs in areas that did not have enough strong sunlight for drying. A fire was used to create the heat needed to dry foods and in some cases smoking them as well. Freezing Freezing was an obvi...

www.foodpreserving.org is your resource for home food preservation! We're Australia’s biggest food preserving resource for recipes and articles about home preserving, cheese-making, fermenting, dehydrating, sausage-making and more! This website was created and is still run independently by Megan Radaich, a W est Australian who is passionate about teaching communities how to preserve produce safely. I began my Food Preserving journey in high school, in home economics – learning how to make jams and preserves using locally sourced ingredients. During high school and then university (whilst studying education and science degrees) I continued to cook and create homemade gifts for family and friends.Having children led to more preserving at home – for convenient family meals, entertaining with little work/time/cost, eliminating unnecessary ingredients and helping to reduce grocery bills. I expanded my bottling/canning and cooking skills to include pressure canning, fermenting, dehydrating, yoghurt-making, cheese-making, sausage-making, green cleaning, crafts (like sewing, making candles and soap), gardening and permaculture. Incorporating prepping, homesteading and farmsteading with permaculture design to utilise maximum garden harvests naturally leads to many Food Preserving projects all year long. I've been a Food Preserver since 2002! With my background in home food preservation, I started community courses in Western Australia in early 2012. After completing 365 days of dai...

For thousands of years, humans have been using various methods to prolong the freshness and safety of their food to stabilize their food supply. While some of these methods are relatively new, many of them date back to ancient times. We may have refined the processes and come to better understand the mechanisms, but the basic concepts remain the same today. Here are a few of the most common ways to preserve food. Chilling and Freezing Bacteria and yeast grow best at specific temperatures, usually between 40 F to 140 F. By lowering the temperature below 40 F their metabolic and reproductive action is significantly slowed. While this may not kill the bacteria and yeast, it does slow the spoilage process. Although freezing food has been used in colder climates for hundreds of years, the expansion of electricity and home appliances in the early and mid-20th century greatly expanded the use of freezing as a food preservation method. Dehydrating Most microorganisms also require moisture to grow, so removing the moisture from food is a very effective method of preservation. The key to dehydration is to complete the process faster than the spoilage occurs. Evaporation is usually quickened with the addition of moderate heat, sometimes provided by natural sunlight. The bonus of sunlight is ultra violate rays, which also serve to kill microbes. Modern methods of dehydration use circulating air that is heated just enough to promote Salting Salting preserves food by removing the moistu...

Washington State University Extension offers a wide range of home food preservation and food safety resources on their publications website, including the Most can be downloaded instantly free of charge. Several are available in Spanish. • • • • • The Everything you need to know about canning is available in The free, 196-page publication can be downloaded from the The second section is a series of canning guides for specific foods, including recipes: Select from over 50 popular foods used in home canning—including vegetables, fruits, meats, jams, jellies, pickles, and seafood—to generate a checklist and timer for processing. This app lets set you set your jar size, pack type, canning method, and elevation. It also reminds you of the steps necessary to prepare jars and canning pots. The timer is based on the specific information you enter. Designed for people with previous canning experience. Our pages provide links to external sites for the convenience of users. WSU Extension does not manage these external sites, nor does Extension review, control, or take responsibility for the content of these sites. These external sites do not implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of WSU Extension. Pressure Gauge Testing We are not currently testing dial pressure gauges for canners. There are a couple of options available to you: Free, drop-in testing Bob’s in Longview does pressure gauge testing for free in their housewares section on a drop-in basis. 1111...

We are pleased to offer the 6th edition of So Easy to Preserve. Chapters in the 388-page book include Preserving Food, Canning, Pickled Products, Sweet Spreads and Syrups, Freezing and Drying. There are 10 new products and 2 revised product recommendations in this edition. Book Chapters Each chapter includes a list of most frequently asked questions and a table of problems, causes and ways to prevent the problem from happening again. Each chapter is followed by a pocket page that allows you to keep notes and favorite recipes at your fingertips. Preserving Foods Different methods of food preservation, how they work, the costs to consider and the amounts of foods needed are included to help you select the best method for your lifestyle and product. Canning The basics of canning...which method is safe, what equipment will be needed, how to actually perform the steps to ensure a safe product...are provided. Directions are listed for canning many different products. Pickled Products Ingredients and equipment needed for successful pickling are discussed. Recipes for cucumber and other vegetable pickles, fruit pickles and a wide assortment of relishes provide the opportunity to add spice to your meals. Sweet Spreads and Syrups Jellies, jams, preserves, marmalades, conserves, butters, syrups, refrigerator/freezer jams and jellies, products without added sugar...this chapter has it all. The variety of recipes help you choose the product that is right for you. Freezing Freezing is a...