5 Things You Must Avoid When Preserving Food At Home

By Author: lewiseuan
Total Articles: 13
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Food preservation means the creation of a hostile environment for pathogens to grow, so food can be stored for longer. There are different ways to preserve food like exposing food to high heat, adding oil, and drying or eliminating moisture from the food. Moreover, removing oxygen from the food packaging and adding acid to the food are also used for food preservation.
But, whatever preservation method you are using, it is important to follow the recipe. Especially, when you are making jelly or canning food to sell, you must follow the direction. Moreover, food should be handled carefully at every step during the preservation process. You should wear gloves while cutting the fruits and vegetables to ensure food safety.
Canning, drying and freezing, all methods of food preservation that are well-practiced everywhere in the world. Drying can be said as the oldest food preservation method. And refrigeration can be said the latest among these methods. ...
... If you want the best technology with more space, you can buy a double door refrigerator and can freeze your food for months.
Whatever method you are using to preserve your food, there are a few mistakes you should avoid when preserving food at home.  
Never Use Jars That Are Not For Home Canning
Sometimes, people think that it is okay to can fruits and vegetables in any jar they have. But it is not true when you’re canning at home. So, if you want to preserve your delicious food right, always use a mason-type jar. Because they are specifically designed and approved for home canning.
Don’t go for commercial mayonnaise jars, they may break or seal properly in a pressure canner. In stores, you can find canning jars of different sizes. The most used size is pint and quart jars.
 Avoid Using One-Piece Lids
Single-piece lids are not appropriate for home canning. Because National Centre for Home Food Preservation didn’t approve single piece lids for home canning. Moreover, for bath canning, one-piece lids are not adequate. At home, it is not possible to apply the force required to tighten the one-piece lids. Usually, you will end up with under-tightened and sometimes over-tightened lids. 
Avoid Using Paraffin Wax to Replace A Lid
Do you have experience melting paraffin wax on your stove? If yes, then I can say with surety that at least once you may have burned yourself or started a fire. If you haven’t done this before, you may have seen the candles. Candles are made of paraffin wax and it burns.
The seal formed with paraffin wax is not reliable. Even if you form a seal with wax successfully, the risk of seal breakage is always there.
Avoid reducing Sugar in Jellies and Jams
Sugar performs many functions, so you shouldn’t reduce it in jellies and jams. It preserves the flavor, texture, and color of your food. In addition, sugar helps to form a gel in jellies and jams and increases flavor too. It also acts as a preservative and keeps your food safe.  
Never Process Figs and Tomatoes Without Acid
As we read earlier, it is important to follow the preservation directions fully. And you may have seen that it is mentioned in the direction to add acid or lemon to your tomatoes. It is a very important step when you are canning tomatoes at home, whether they are juiced, crushed, or whole. Do you know why it is important and why you shouldn’t skip this step?
When you are not using pressure canning, the required pH for safe canning is 4.6 or lower. All salsa products made from tomatoes and tomatoes themselves have a pH above 4.6 which is not safe for canning. So, adding lemon juice or citric acid helps you to lower pH and keep your canned products safe.