Category "food-preservation"

Is it valid to claim that a jam contains no preservatives?

Some commercial jams state on the label that they contain "no preservatives", or are "preservative free". As I understand it, jam is a type of fruit preserve. L

Ways to Store Carrots for more days

I recently brought a whole 2KG bag of carrots. They seemed fine the day I brought, but eventually, the skin of the carrot evolved to a black layer. However, whe

How can I keep fruit salad fresh longer

I eat every morning fresh fruit, so every morning I peel and cut it. What can I do to prepare a big bowl and the fruit will stay fresh for a few days and which

How does irradiated beef spoil?

So I usually buy irradiated beef. From what I understand, the beef is packaged, sealed, and the absolutely blasted with radiation. I'm a nuclear engineer for

When do you hear the Ping sound of the lid sealing?

I am new to canning. I made applesauce this morning and I pulled them out of the water bath and put them on a towel on my counter to seal, but I never heard the

What to do with dehydrated potatoes tainted black?

I had many potatoes I wanted to preserve for a long time. Usually the potatoes I keep in my kitchen get rotten after a month or two (and I don't have a cellar t

How to seal a jar with a jam so that it can be opened without breaking the lid?

When I make a jam, I put it while it's hot into a jar, then close the jar with its lid (a single-piece, screw-on metal lid) and put in cold water. After doing t

Dehydrating herbs - leaves vs. stems

I use my dehydrator to dehydrate herbs such as parsley and dill. I use low temperature (95 F = 35 C) to preserve the taste. The dark-green leaves are usually co

Can alcohol and salt lengthen the shelf life of vegetables in room temperature?

My refrigerator is small, so often I have to keep some vegetables outside the refrigerator, in room temperature. I was wondering, whether spraying alcohol and/o

Would putting a dead animal in the freezer contaminate other food?

If you put a dead animal in the freezer, wrapped in a plastic bag, lay the dead animal on top of the other food in the freezer, can the smell of the dead animal

Do tinned foods go off (stale)?

This morning I found a tin of baked beans with a best before date of August 2014. A colleague of mine told me that it's perfectly safe to eat, and that tinned f

Why do bread and butter pickle recipes call for onions, mustard seed, and celery seed?

I recently made a jar of bread and butter pickles. I understood most of the rationale behind the ingredients and directions in the recipe - the cucumbers are sa

Storing onions and potatoes in the same cellar

Potatoes and onions have the same storage guidelines: store them in a a well-ventilated area in the pantry. However, I have read that onions should be kept aw

What can be used as a substitute for potassium nitrate as a preservative?

I want to substitute another preservative for an Italian antipasto recipe. The original recipe calls for granulated potassium nitrate (saltpetre). I had a 16oz

Best way to preserve a meat without using refrigerator

I don't have refrigerator in my apartment, this is because I want to prepare myself from traveling to many countries, doing job-related and church related activ

Does the quality of garlic degrades if I chopped, fried then use it after a week?

Here in the Philippines, most of the viands uses garlic, specially whenever we sauteing. Due to this I've found a shortcut in order to reduce the time I need wh

What are different methods of preserving chillies?

I've been given three chilli plants: Bulgarian Carrot Jalapeño Scotch Bonnet I'm not going to be able to use them fresh before winter arrives. What m

Freezing whole strawberries

I'd like to freeze strawberries for winter, I read online that a method is to sprinkle sugar on them and put into a zip-lock or plastic bag or an air-tight cont

Decoration food long-term preservation

I need to preserve some fruits (raisins, figs, pomegranates, and dates), in tiny bottles, so they last for years. I don't mind ruining the food, as it will anyw

Is it possible to re-use pickling liquid?

I have previously pickled some cucumber in a pickling liquid of mostly vinegar, which was kept in the fridge. I have now finished the pickled cucumbers, but wou