God is so merciful that even without asking him, he gave us everything. Have you ever thought of those who are deprived? We waste lots of food on a daily basis may be because we have bought it more than our requirement; or, we do not like what we have bought or cooked. What about those who do not have even sufficient food to take for one meal? Statistics show that approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted all around the world each year. Even if you do not take it from a moral perspective, it is unhealthy for the environment and a big loss for the economy. The resources are being wasted for nothing good. Environmental hazards like pollution, deforestation and water scarcity is even result of such wastage.
To your surprise rotting food leads to emission of methane, this is merely responsible for worst climatic changes. It is also the most dangerous greenhouse gas. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it works 20 times faster in eroding the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. Therefore, now things are in your control and you can contribute to healthy and safe living. Do not waste food, rather preserve them. Through this excerpt, you can enlighten yourself with the importance of preserving food.
There are ample amount of ways through which storing food safely is possible. The easiest and common ways of doing so include:
1: Freezing Food:
Many times, it happens that you end up bringing extra fruits, vegetables and bread. Don’t dump it into the dustbin after 3 days. In fact, you must go for storing food in refrigerator. It does not require much effort and you may end up using the same fresh food after weeks and even a month time period. At lower temperature, vegetables and fruits retain their essence and freshness. If your intention is preserving fruits like kiwi, berries and peaches, simply add toss them in a jar, add sugar (1 tablespoon for a cup fruits), wait until the fruits release their juice, and add the entire thing in airtight jar. In this way, all the soft fruits can be preserved up to 9 months.
If you want to protect pear and apples or any other harder fruit, simply in the covered pot, add the desired fruits, add 1 lemon juice, 1-tablespoon sugar and some water. Add this mixture in an airtight jar and leave in refrigerator.
2: Drying Food:
You must have heard about Dehydration – it is one of the simplest yet oldest methods of proper food storage. Drying keeps all the germs and bacteria’s away from the food as the water content is low. Common ways of drying include:
- Sun drying – grains and beans can be used for preservation under this method.
- Air drying – it can be done to preserve herbs like summer savory, sage, rosemary, thyme. Make bundles of the herbs and let them dry in the air (indoor).
- Oven drying
- Dehydrating
- Smoking – it helps in preserving meat and seafood.
3. Canning.
This is the process in which food is sealed in airtight containers; it helps in keeping away bacteria, unwanted enzymes and oxygen that can destroy the food. You can do anything that you want, but do not forget to look into the right ways of doing. Canning food preservation can be done in two ways:
- Pressure canning
- Water-bath canning
4: Pickling:
Pickling is an old process that is used to store food by using vinegar or salt brine. It involves processes of fermentation – you can save the food up to months with this process. It is an ideal way to preserve vegetables and fruits in jars and enjoy them whenever you want.
5: Salting:
When you salt fish and meat (both red and white), you tend to reduce the water concentration and kill the presence of microorganisms. This process is also known as curing. You can preserve pork, poultry, seafood and meat for later consumption through this process. However, you may find this process daunting. You can go through easier ways of doing so over the internet. Many consider dehydration a much easier way of preserving raw meat.
Other ways:
These might not be common, yet they can help you a lot in preserving excess food, or while you are preparing to store for bad time:
Burial
Burying food storage method includes controlling the oxygen flow and light. It is a way of storing the food at low temperature in a natural way.
Vacuum-packing:
Vacuum-packing process leads to storing food in an airtight environment, like a bag or bottle.
Irradiation:
It is also known as cold pasteurization. It helps in keeping the molds and bacteria’s away. This can help in preserving vegetables and fruits in a jar without ripening or any spoilage.
