General provisions

PREVENTION METHODS
FOOD PRODUCTS FROM SPASTE

CAUSES OF FOOD WASTE

As you know, food products of plant and animal origin cannot be kept fresh for a long time. The reason for their deterioration lies in the vital activity of microorganisms and enzymes.

Bacteria are the most significant group of unicellular organisms of various types and shapes. They reproduce by cell division. Most of them are harmful, causing diseases of the body and spoilage of food.
The exception is lactic acid bacteria, which are widely used in the production of lactic acid products, fermentation, salting and other processing of food raw materials.

Yeasts are single-celled organisms of oval, oblong or round shape. Yeast reproduces by division and budding, and in favorable conditions also by spores.
Yeast is also used in home canning. Under their influence, sugar, in the absence of air, decomposes into alcohol and carbon dioxide, due to which certain types of yeast are used to make wine, beer, kvass and other drinks.
Some types of yeast cause food spoilage and rancidity during storage.
A high content of salt or sugar in products stops the action of yeast, which is also used when salting fish, meat, cooking jam, etc.

Molds (mold fungi) have a complex structure in the form of a mycelium that forms on the surface of food products. Developing, the mycelium gives a large number of spores that are easily carried by the wind. It reproduces not only by spores, but also by division, especially well with the access of oxygen and moisture.
Accumulations of mold are clearly visible (for example, green and gray-black on bread, fruits and vegetables, white on sauerkraut).

For all types of microorganisms, there are certain temperature limits within which they can live and develop normally.

For most of them, the best temperature is between 20 and 40°C.

From 0°C and below, it does not kill microorganisms, but only suspends their vital activity.

At temperatures above 60-100°C, most bacteria die, and only a few species can withstand temperatures of 100-120°C.

Under favorable conditions, microorganisms multiply very quickly. It only takes a short time to produce millions of living cells from a few microbes.

In the course of their vital activity, certain types of microorganisms can produce potent toxic substances (toxins). That is why you should not eat raw materials and finished products of dubious quality.

Each type of microorganism feeds on certain substances that are soluble in water. They cannot exist without water.

There are microorganisms that require oxygen in the air (aerobic), and those that can do without it (anaerobic).

Fruits, vegetables and other foods of plant and animal origin with a high content of acids are an unfavorable environment for the development of bacteria, and yeasts and molds thrive in an acidic environment.

To kill molds, it is sufficient to heat the food product at 100°C (i.e., at the boiling point of water) for 1–2 minutes or heat it at 85°C for 5–6 minutes.

In food products with low or no acidity, other types of microorganisms can develop in addition to molds and yeasts. In this case, heating at 85°C or boiling at 100°C will not be sufficient, and exposure to higher temperatures of the order of 112–120°C will be required.
Therefore, raw materials with natural acidity are recommended for home canning. Otherwise, food acids (citric, tartaric, acetic, etc.) should be added to low-acid raw materials or mixed with other types of raw materials of increased natural acidity.

WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD FROM SPASTE

In an effort to protect food products from spoilage, a person in ancient times developed a method of preserving (preserving) them by drying, smoking, pickling and pickling, pickling, and subsequently cooling and freezing, canning with sugar or using preservatives and heat treatment.

Let's consider these methods.

Drying. The preservative effect of drying foodstuffs is to remove moisture. When dried, the dry matter content in the product increases, which creates unfavorable conditions for the development of microorganisms.
Increased humidity of the room and air can cause spoilage of dried products - the appearance of mold. Therefore, they must be packed in containers that exclude the possibility of increasing moisture in the product.

Smoking. This method is used for cooking meat and fish products. It is based on the preservative effect of certain components of flue gases, which are obtained by the slow combustion of firewood and hardwood sawdust.
The resulting sublimation products (phenols, creosote, formaldehyde and acetic acid) have preservative properties and give smoked products a specific taste and aroma.
The preservative effect of smoking substances is enhanced by pre-salting, as well as partial removal of moisture during salting and cold smoking.

Salting. The preservative effect of table salt is based on the fact that at a concentration of 10 percent or more, the vital activity of most microorganisms ceases.
This method is used for salting fish, meat and other products.

Souring. When fermenting food products, mainly cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, apples and others, biochemical processes occur in these products. As a result of lactic acid fermentation of sugars, lactic acid is formed, as it accumulates, the conditions for the development of microorganisms become unfavorable.
The salt added during fermentation is not of decisive importance, but only improves the quality of the product.
In order to avoid the development of mold and putrefactive microbes, fermented products should be stored at low temperatures in the basement, cellar, glacier.

Pickling. The preservative effect of food pickling is based on creating unfavorable conditions for the development of microorganisms by immersing them in a food acid solution.
Acetic acid is commonly used for pickling food.

Cooling. The preservative effect of cooling is based on the fact that at a temperature of 0°C, most microorganisms cannot develop.
The shelf life of food products at 0°C, depending on the type of product and the relative humidity of the air in the store, is from several days to several months.

Freezing. The basis for this storage method is the same as for refrigeration. Prepared products are subjected to rapid freezing to a temperature of minus 18-20°C, after which they are stored at a temperature of minus 18°C.
Complete freezing of the product occurs at a temperature of minus 28°C. This temperature is used for industrial storage, but in most cases it is not available at home.
When frozen, the vital activity of microorganisms stops, and when thawed, they remain viable.

Sugar canning. High concentrations of sugar in products of the order of 65-67 percent create unfavorable conditions for the vital activity of microorganisms.
With a decrease in the concentration of sugar, favorable conditions are again created for their development, and, consequently, spoilage of the product.

Preservation with the use of preservatives. Antiseptics are chemicals that have antiseptic and preservative properties. They inhibit the processes of fermentation and putrefaction and, therefore, contribute to the preservation of food products.
These include: sodium benzoate, sodium salicylate, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). However, it is not recommended to use them at home, since with this method of preservation, the quality of the products deteriorates. In addition, these substances are unacceptable in a constant diet.

Preservation by heat. Preservation, i.e., the preservation of food products from spoilage for a long time, is also possible by boiling them in a hermetically sealed container.
The food product to be preserved is placed in a tin or glass container, which is then hermetically sealed and subjected to heating at a temperature of 100°C and above or heating at 85°C for a certain time.
As a result of heating (sterilization) or heating (pasteurization), microorganisms (molds, yeasts and bacteria) die and enzymes are destroyed.
Thus, the main goal of the heat treatment of food products in hermetically sealed containers is the decommissioning of microorganisms.
Food products in hermetically sealed containers do not undergo changes during the sterilization process. With other methods of preservation (salting, drying, etc.), products lose their appearance, their nutritional value decreases.

General provisions

STERILIZATION AND PASTEURIZATION

Sterilization is the main way to preserve a food product without significant changes in its taste.

The method of sterilizing canned food in glass containers with immediate corking with tin lids after boiling is very convenient at home. It provides the necessary tightness and vacuum in a rolled up jar, contributes to the preservation of the preserved product and its natural color.

Sterilization of products at home is carried out at the boiling point of water. Fruit compotes and vegetable marinades can be sterilized at a water temperature of 85°C (pasteurization). But in this case, pasteurized canned food should be in the sterilizer 2-3 times longer than in boiling water.

In some cases, for example, for the sterilization of green peas, when the boiling point of water during sterilization should be above 100 ° C, table salt is added to the water.
In this case, they are guided by the table (indicate the amount of salt in grams per 1 liter of water):

Amount of salt, g/l Boiling point °C
66 ..........................................................101
126..........................................................102
172..........................................................103
216..........................................................104
255..........................................................105
355..........................................................107
378..........................................................110

Canned food prepared at home is sterilized in a saucepan, bucket or a special sterilizer. A wooden or metal grate is laid horizontally at the bottom of the dishes. It eliminates the clash of cans or cylinders during sterilization with sudden temperature fluctuations. Rags or paper should not be placed on the bottom of the sterilizer, as this complicates the observation of the beginning of the boiling of water and leads to the rejection of the product due to its insufficient heating.

So much water is poured into the pan to cover the shoulders of the cans, that is, 1.5-2 cm below the top of their necks.

The temperature of the water in the pan before loading the filled cans should be at least 30 and not more than 70 ° C and depends on the temperature of the loaded canned food: the higher it is, the higher the initial temperature of the water in the sterilizer. The pot with the jars placed in it is put on an intense fire, covered with a lid and brought to a boil, which should not be violent during sterilization.

The sterilization time of canned food is counted from the moment the water boils.

The heat source at the first stage of sterilization, that is, when heating water and the contents of cans, must be intense, since this reduces the time of thermal treatment of the product, and it turns out to be of higher quality. If we neglect the speed of the first stage, then the canned food will be digested and will have an ugly appearance. The time for heating water in a saucepan to a boil is set: for cans with a capacity of 0.5 and 1 l - no more than 15 minutes, for 3-liter ones - no more than 20 minutes.

In the second stage, that is, in the actual sterilization process, the heat source should be weak and only maintain the boiling point of water. The time specified for the second stage of sterilization must be strictly adhered to for all types of canned food.

The duration of the sterilization process depends mainly on the acidity, density or liquid state of the mass of the product. Liquid products are sterilized for 10-15 minutes, thick products - up to 2 hours or more, products with acidity - less time than non-acid ones, since an acidic environment does not favor the development of bacteria.

The time required for sterilization depends on the volume of the container. The larger the container, the longer it takes to boil. It is recommended to record the start and end times of sterilization on a separate sheet of paper.

At the end of sterilization, the jars are carefully removed from the pan and immediately sealed with a key, checking the quality of the seaming: whether the lid is well rolled on, whether it turns around the neck of the jar.

Corked jars or cylinders are placed neck down on a dry towel or paper, separating them from one another, and left in this position until cooled.

Steam sterilization
Canned food is steam sterilized in the same container where water is boiled for this purpose. The amount of water in the pan should not exceed the height of a wooden or metal grate - 1.5-2 cm, since the less water, the faster it heats up.
When the water boils, the resulting steam warms the jars and their contents. To prevent the steam from escaping, the sterilizer is tightly closed with a lid.
The time required to bring the water in the sterilizer to a boil is 10-12 minutes.
The steam sterilization time for canned food is almost twice that of boiling water sterilization.

Pasteurization
In those cases when it is necessary to sterilize canned food at a temperature below the boiling point of water, for example, for marinades, compotes, they are heat treated at a water temperature in a saucepan of 85-90 ° C. This process is called pasteurization.
During the heat treatment of canned food according to the pasteurization method, it is necessary to use only fresh sorted fruits or berries, thoroughly washed from dust; strictly adhere to the temperature and time of pasteurization; before laying the container thoroughly wash and boil.
Preservation of canned food prepared by the pasteurization method is facilitated by the presence of high acidity.
Cherries, sour apples, unripe apricots and other sour fruits can be pasteurized into blanks and compotes.

Re-sterilization
Repeated or multiple (two to three times) sterilization of the same can with food products containing large amounts of protein (meat, poultry and fish) is carried out at the boiling point of water.
The first sterilization kills mold, yeast and germs. During the daily exposure after the first sterilization, the spore forms of microorganisms remaining in canned food germinate into vegetative ones and are destroyed during secondary sterilization. In some cases, canned food, such as meat and fish, is sterilized a third time after a day.
For re-sterilization at home, it is necessary to first seal the jars and put special clips or clips on the lids so that the lids do not come off the jars during sterilization.
Clamps or clips are not removed until the cans are completely cooled (after sterilization) in order to avoid breaking off the lids and possible burns.

Sterilization of canned food, previously hermetically sealed
For this method of sterilization, it is necessary to have special metal clips or clips for fixing sealed lids on cans. This prevents their breakdown during the sterilization process as a result of the expansion of the mass of the preserved product, as well as the air remaining in the jar during heating.
The use of special clamps allows you to stack jars in the sterilizer in 2-3 rows.
In jars sealed hermetically before sterilization, a vacuum is formed. It should be remembered that the higher the temperature of the product in the jar at the time of capping, the greater the vacuum obtained.

Hot preservation of liquid products without post-sterilization
Preservation of liquid products, previously boiled or brought to a boil, can be done by hot packaging without subsequent sterilization. According to this method, tomato juice, crushed tomatoes, grape, cherry, apple and other juices, plum preparations for jam, fruit puree from sour fruits, etc. are prepared.
Glass containers - jars and lids for them - should be thoroughly washed and steamed in a steam-water bath for 5-10 minutes.
The temperature of the product before filling the jars must be at least 96°C. Banks at the time of filling with the product must be hot. Immediately after filling them with a canned product, they are sealed.
With this method of preservation, sterilization occurs due to the heat transferred to the product and container during their boiling, and the safety of canned food depends on the quality of raw materials and their processing.

Preservation of fruits and vegetables in a hot way without subsequent sterilization
This method is used for canned vegetables - cucumbers, tomatoes, as well as for fruit preparations and compotes from whole fruits.
For this method canning raw materials must be fresh, thoroughly washed and sorted.
According to this method, canned food is prepared in the following sequence: vegetables or fruits placed in jars are carefully poured with boiling water in 3-4 doses. After pouring a portion of boiling water, the jar is turned to heat the walls so that the glass does not crack from sudden temperature fluctuations.
Banks filled with boiling water are covered with a clean lid, wrapped in a towel and kept for 5-6 minutes. Then the water is drained and the jar is again filled with boiling water, again covered with a lid and incubated for another 5-6 minutes. If necessary, this operation is repeated a third time.
After the second and third exposure, the water is drained and immediately poured with boiling marinade - for cucumbers and tomatoes, boiling water - for fruit preparations and boiling syrup - for compotes.
Then immediately cover with a lid, cork and check the quality of the closure.
After capping, the jar is placed upside down. Cooling - in the air.

General provisions

SPICES, SPICES AND SPICES
FOR CANNERY

Seasonings and spices are used in home canning to improve the taste, aroma, and often the color of the prepared products. A moderate amount of them has a beneficial effect on the taste of food, and also increases the secretion of digestive juices, thereby contributing to better absorption of food.
An excessive dose of spices and spices can cause serious irritation of the gastric mucosa. Therefore, when using seasonings, spices and spices, it is recommended to be moderate.

Table salt is the main seasoning necessary for a healthy body and is most often used when preparing food at home.

Vinegar is also an indispensable ingredient in canning.
The most common types of vinegar are table wine, flavored tarragon, grape, apple, etc.
In most cases, the most successful, which does not give the product any additional flavors, is alcohol vinegar.
Most often, synthetic acetic acid (acetic essence) diluted with water is sold under the name "vinegar".
All vinegars labeled "flavored" are synthetic vinegars with some synthetic additives.
Store vinegar in a glass container with a tightly closed lid at a temperature of 5 ° C.

Citric acid is odorless, and therefore it is recommended to use it when preparing products whose taste does not match the smell of vinegar: compotes, jellies, etc.

Black and white peppers are the dried seeds of a climbing tropical shrub, harvested at various stages of maturity. They differ from each other in color, sharpness and sharpness of smell (black is more burning).
When harvesting products, pepper is used both in the form of peas and ground. The latter, during long-term storage, quickly loses its nutritional qualities, so it is recommended to grind the pepper as needed.
It is used for pickling, pickling, pickling, etc.

Allspice looks like black and is dark brown peas. It has a strong pleasant aroma and relatively low pungency.
Used in various types of home canning.

Red pepper is the fruit of a herbaceous plant that appearance looks like a big pod. It contains many vitamins, in particular vitamin C, surpassing even lemon in vitamin content.
Depending on the amount of a special substance - capsaicin - which gives red pepper sharpness and pungency, sweet pepper (paprika) and bitter pepper are distinguished.
Paprika is a large, fleshy fruit.
The fruits of bitter pepper have an elongated shape. It can only be compared with black pepper in terms of its pungent taste and pungency. Can also be used in powder form.

Bay leaf is the dried leaves of noble laurel, which are highly aromatic. The main purpose of the bay leaf is to flavor food without adding any spiciness or bitterness to it.
An excess of bay leaves changes the taste of the dish for the worse, giving it a too pungent smell.
When cooking, it is added at the end, since with prolonged heat treatment it gives a bitter aftertaste.

Carnation is the dried unopened flower buds of the clove tree.
The specific aroma of cloves is due to the valuable essential oils contained in it.
It is used for pickling, salting and other types of canning.
It is recommended to add cloves shortly before the end of the heat treatment and in small quantities, since even a small dose of cloves gives the product a pronounced aroma.

Kolyuria. The smell of kolyury is close to the smell of cloves. In home canning, it is used instead of cloves in the form of powdered dried roots.

Cinnamon is the peeled and dried bark of the shoots of the cinnamon tree. It is used in the form of powder or pieces.
For home canning, it is used to flavor marinades, jams, compotes, etc.

Saffron is the dried stigmas of crocus flowers and has a specific aroma.
It is used as a flavoring and coloring agent.

Nutmeg. Nutmeg seeds, peeled and dried.
It has a very sharp and burning taste and aroma.

Vanilla and vanillin. The first is the fruit of a tropical orchid, in appearance resembling a pod with very fragrant small seeds inside. Vanillin is a synthetic powder that is a substitute for vanilla.
It is used for preserving fruits and berries that have a weak aroma of their own (for example, cherry jam).
Excess vanilla and vanillin gives the product a bitter aftertaste.

Ginger. Tropical nut root, peeled and dried. It is used in crushed form and has a pleasant smell and burning taste.
It is recommended to store it in a non-crushed form, which allows you to better preserve its aroma.

Dill. Young plants in the rosette phase are used as an aromatic seasoning for salads, soups, meat, fish, mushroom and vegetable dishes.
Adult plants in the phase of seed formation are used as the main type of spice for pickling and pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, and sauerkraut.

Mint is quite widely used in home preparations due to its pleasant aroma and refreshing taste.
Mint is added in the preparation of fish, meat, vegetables, in the manufacture of kvass. Can be used both fresh and dried.

Coriander is the dried seeds of the herbaceous coriander plant.
Used in pickling, flavoring vinegar, etc.

Basil has a delicate aroma with various shades.
It is used in fresh and dried form for laying in vegetable marinades.

Tarragon is the dried stems and leaves of the herbaceous plant of the same name.
It is used for salting, pickling, etc.

Sterilization- the main way to preserve food products without significantly changing their taste and color.
Sterilization of canned food in glass containers, followed by immediate corking with tin lids, is very convenient at home. It provides the necessary tightness and vacuum in a sealed jar, reaching 300-350 mm Hg, and ensures long-term storage of the canned product.
At home, canned food is sterilized mainly at the boiling point of water.
Fruit compotes and vegetable marinades can be sterilized at a water temperature of 85°C.
In this case, they need to be kept in the sterilizer 2 or even 3 times longer than if the water temperature were 100°C. Sometimes (for example, when sterilizing green peas or corn) it is necessary that the water boil at a temperature > 100°C. For this purpose, salt is added to it:

Sterilization is carried out in a special sterilizer or in a large saucepan.
A wooden or metal grate is preliminarily placed on the bottom of the dishes to avoid cracking the jars during sudden changes in temperature.
Pour enough water into the pan so that it covers the shoulders of the cans, i.e. was 1.5-2 cm below the top of the necks of the container. The temperature of the water before immersing the jars varies between 30-70°C and depends on the temperature of the canned food - the higher the temperature of the canned food, the higher the temperature of the water in the sterilizer should be.
The sterilizer with the jars placed in it is put on a strong fire, covered with a lid and the water is brought to a boil. The boiling of water during sterilization should not be violent (the fire must be reduced to a state that maintains the boiling of water), the sterilization time is counted from the moment the boil begins.
The start and end times of sterilization should be recorded on a separate sheet.
The time of the first stage of sterilization (bringing the water to a boil) should be as fast as possible in order to reduce the duration of the cooking of the product and avoid overcooking the canned food.
So, the time of heating water to a boil during sterilization of half-liter and liter cans no more than 15 minutes
for three-liter jars - no more than 20 minutes.
The duration of the second stage of sterilization depends on the acidity and consistency of the product - liquid products are sterilized for 10-15 minutes, and thick products for 2 hours or more.
Less time is needed to sterilize acidic products, because acidic environment is not conducive to the development of bacteria. The size of the container is also important - the larger it is, the longer the duration of sterilization.
After sterilization is completed, the jars are carefully removed from the pan with special tongs, immediately rolled up and the tightness of the seal is checked.
Stoppered jars are placed upside down on a dry towel for air cooling.

Steam sterilization.
Pour a little water into the sterilizer (so that the water covers the wooden or metal grate), put the filled jars, cover the sterilizer tightly with a lid and bring the water to a boil.
The resulting steam heats the jars and their contents.
The time of heating water to a boil is 10-12 minutes,
Steam sterilization time is twice as long as sterilization in boiling water.

Pasteurization
Some canned food can be sterilized at a water temperature of 85-90°C, i.e. without bringing the water to a boil. This type of heat treatment is called pasteurization. Cherries, some varieties of apples, unripe apricots and other fruits with high acidity are usually pasteurized. After all, it is acidity that guarantees long-term storage of pasteurized canned food, protecting them from the development of bacteria.
For pasteurization, only fresh, carefully sorted and washed fruits and berries, and carefully sterilized containers are taken. During pasteurization, the temperature of the water is monitored, from time to time measuring it with a thermometer with a scale of up to 150 ° C and strictly adhere to the time allotted for pasteurization.

Re-sterilization
Foods containing a lot of protein (for example, meat, poultry, fish, green peas) are sterilized at the boiling point of water 2 or 3 times. During the first sterilization, mold, yeast and microbes die. Spore microorganisms remain and germinate in a day. They are destroyed during the second, sometimes third sterilization. For re-sterilization jars are sealed with lids and special clamps are installed on them so that the lids do not fly off during sterilization. These fuses are removed only after the banks have completely cooled down.

Preservation of liquid products by hot filling without subsequent sterilization
Liquid, pre-boiled or pre-boiled products can be preserved by hot-packing without subsequent sterilization. This is how tomato, grape, cherry, apple and other juices, chopped tomatoes, fruit purees from sour fruits, etc. are prepared. With this method, sterilization occurs due to the heat that the product and container received during boiling, and the storage time of canned food depends on the quality of the raw materials and their processing.
With this method of packaging, a product is placed in a hot sterilized container, the temperature of which should not be lower than 96 ° C. Filled cans are immediately twisted.

Preservation of fruits and vegetables by the method of hot packaging without subsequent sterilization
This method is used when canning cucumbers, tomatoes, preparing compotes, etc.
Fresh raw materials are sorted, washed thoroughly, placed in jars and poured with boiling water in 3-4 doses, warming up the walls of the jar so that the glass does not crack.
The filled jar is covered with a clean lid, wrapped in a towel and kept in this way for 5-6 minutes. Then the water is drained, boiling water is poured for the 2nd time, the jar is covered with a lid, wrapped in a towel and kept for another 5-6 minutes. If necessary, the operation is repeated a third time.
After draining the water for the last time, the jar is immediately poured with boiling marinade (if you are canning cucumbers or tomatoes), boiling water (if you are harvesting fruits) or boiling syrup (when preparing compotes), cover with a lid, cork, check the tightness of the cork and put the neck down for air cooling.

(based on the book I. Kravtsov "Home-preserved food products")

Home cooking and food preservation

Chapter:
Harvesting fruits, berries and vegetables
2nd page

General rules blanks
Part 2

STERILIZATION - THE MOST EFFICIENT
PRESERVATION METHOD

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT

The main advantage of sterilization is that at a temperature of 100°C, the microflora is completely killed, with the exception of spores, which can be destroyed only at 120°C and above. Currently, this method of canning is the most common. However, it also has its drawbacks. So, in some cases, high temperature adversely affects the quality of the product, the fruits can be boiled soft; vitamins are destroyed.

Sometimes you can do without sterilization:
1) if the products are intended for short-term storage;
2) if the preserved fruits contain a sufficient amount of acid.

We remind you that high concentrations of acid retard the development of microbes. Therefore, sour fruits and vegetables (tomatoes, sorrel, rhubarb, cranberries, mountain ash, lingonberries, currants, gooseberries, cherries, etc.) can be preserved without fear.

When processing low-acid products (carrots, beets, peas, cucumbers, beans, etc.), it is necessary to add food acid (acetic, citric, malic).

Canning with high temperature is carried out at home as follows.

First prepare and sterilize glass jars. To do this, they are thoroughly washed with hot water and soda, then boiled in water or kept over a boiling kettle for 20-25 minutes. You can also heat the jars in a hot oven (at least 1 hour). Tin cans are boiled in water for about 8-10 minutes.

Prepared fruits (they must first be sorted out, washed, peeled, cut, if necessary) are placed in jars and poured with hot syrup. The level of products in the jar, together with the filling, should be 1.5-2 cm below its upper edge. Then the jars are covered with boiled lids, put in a saucepan with warm water. The water level in the pot should not be lower than the contents of the jars. A wooden or metal grate is placed at the bottom of the pan; You can use fabric folded in half. This will help protect the jars from damage.

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan; it is from this moment that the sterilization time is counted down.

At the end of sterilization, the jar is immediately removed from the pan and, without removing the lid, is quickly corked with the help of a seaming machine.

Rolled jars are turned upside down to cool.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE FOR CANNING:
INVENTORY AND EQUIPMENT

First of all, of course, banks. For canning at home, standard jars are used, which are sealed with lacquered tin lids. Banks for canned food are made from special glass that is resistant to heat. With careful handling, they can last for many years.

Standard glass containers have a neck diameter of 82 mm, less often - 58 and 70 mm, but such jars are rarely used. The most convenient banks of 0.5; 1.0; 2.0 and Z.0 l. You can use glass jars from Bulgarian and Hungarian canned food. They also have a neck diameter of 82 mm.

In preparation for filling with products, the jars are thoroughly washed with hot water with the addition of soda ash. Very dirty jars are soaked in soda solution for several hours. After that, the jars are sterilized by keeping in a hot oven for 1-1.5 hours.

You can quickly and effectively sterilize dishes with a boiling kettle. The washed jar is placed on an open boiling kettle with the neck down. After 20-25 minutes, the dishes are removed and filled with food.

Canning lids - tin or aluminum, with rubber rings. The surface of lacquered lids is usually golden yellow. Unvarnished can lids are white. They are recommended to be used only for sealing cans with lactic acid canned food.

Lids are sterilized in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.

Naturally, in the manufacture of canned food, it is necessary to have a manual seamer.

Stainless steel knives are essential for peeling and cutting fruits and vegetables.
Special knives with slots parallel to the blade are very convenient. Thanks to them, the skin is thinly cut and the amount of waste is reduced.
To remove the core of apples and pears, a spoon-shaped knife or just a sharpened spoon is useful.

In the manufacture of marinades, carrots, beets, and other vegetables have to be chopped. Canned food will look unusually beautiful and appetizing if cut into curly plates using a special grater. If it is not there, then the usual one will do.

For blanching food, you need enameled pots with a volume of 3-5 liters and a wire mesh where food is placed. Blanching continues for 2-5 minutes from the moment the water boils. Thanks to the net, all the fruits will be covered with water, and most importantly, you will get rid of the tedious catching of fruits or vegetables from hot water.

If you decide to cook vegetable or fruit puree, then you cannot do without a colander or a sieve (for separating solid parts from liquid and rough rubbing fruits, as well as for separating pulp from large seeds and hard particles of the seed nest. It is convenient to wipe the fruit and vegetable mass through sieve with a small wooden roller with a handle.

When canning, it is very important to observe the necessary proportions between the amount of product and the weight or volume of sugar, salt, vinegar, etc. This means that you will need scales and measurements to determine the weight of additives and preservatives. As such measurements, you can use ordinary tin cans with a volume of 0.5 and 1 l, glasses, tablespoons and teaspoons.

In order to conveniently drain syrups or brine from jars, it is necessary to have a special lid with holes. A device that allows you to remove hot jars from boiling water during sterilization will not be superfluous. You can, of course, use an ordinary towel, but you can’t do without skill and dexterity - you can get burned quite badly.

Thus, if you intend to do canning, then you need to have certain equipment.

It must include at least the following:
Glass jars with a volume of 0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0 l
Caps for seaming
seaming machine
Colander
Sieve
Blanching Mesh
vegetable cutter
Graters for vegetables
Hot can pickup tool
Lid with holes for draining liquid from jars
Table and tea spoons made of stainless steel
Pans:
- enameled with a capacity of 3-5 liters for blanching
- high capacity 5-10 l for sterilization and pasteurization
Knives:
- kitchen
- for peeling fruits and vegetables
Measures, jars, glasses, measuring spoons
Household scales (spring or cup)
Thermometer (if pasteurization is in progress)
Watch
Sterilizer for jars (teapot)

Interestingly, there is a method of canning without lids, proposed by N. Suprunov.
Its essence is as follows: take clean paper and cut a circle out of it four centimeters wider than the neck - this is a blank for the future cover.
Soak a cotton ball in the white of a fresh egg, grease one side of the lid well and let it dry a little.
Then, when the jar is filled with the canned mass, smear the outer edges of the neck of the jar with protein, put a lid greased with protein again on the neck and tightly tie its falling edges in several rows with a harsh thread. Then coat the lid below the edges of the paper on top and sides with egg white.
When the protein dries, air will not get into the jar. Such a cover will successfully replace the metal one.
Try it - maybe it will help?

Containers used for the production of canned food. For canning fruits and vegetables at home, the most affordable and reliable is glass canning containers (Fig. 1, 2, 3).

Rice. 1. Glass jars used in canning. 1 - with a capacity of 0.35 l; 2 - with a capacity of 0.5 l; 3 - with a capacity of 1 l

Canning glass containers have a special shape, without sharp corners in the transition from the bottom to the walls and from the walls to the neck. This shape reduces stresses in the glass during its rapid heating and cooling, which increases the strength and stability of glass jars during sudden temperature changes.

Glass containers are resistant to the influence of the food product contained in it. This type of container can be used repeatedly and is the most hygienic.

Rice. 2. Glass balloons (bottles) used in canning. 1 - with a capacity of 2 l; 2 - with a capacity of 3 l; 3 - with a capacity of 10 l

Glass cans are strong enough and reliable for mechanized hermetic capping with a special tin lid.

Most glass jars (figs. 1 and 2) are hermetically sealed with tin lids of the same size, having an internal diameter of 83 mm. On fig. 3 shows 150 and 200 g glass jars and a 500 g wide-mouthed bottle. 150 g jars are sealed with a cap with an internal diameter of 48 mm, and 200 g jars and 500 g bottles with caps having an internal diameter of 58 mm. Glass jars with a capacity of 150 and 200 g are used for packaging canned baby food and various kinds sauces, and a wide-mouthed bottle for packaging fruit and berry and tomato juices.

On fig. 4 shows tin lids with an inner diameter of 83 and 58 mm. The most convenient for home canning are glass jars and cylinders, indicated in Fig. 1 and 2 as they fit the same size of tin lids. In this case, only one manual seamer is needed for hermetic sealing of cans. The tightness of the capping of the glass jar is achieved with the help of a rubber ring inserted into the groove of the tin lid. When capping with a roller of a manual seamer, the edges of the lid are crimped, and the rubber ring is pressed tightly against the neck of the jar. In order to hold the lid with the rubber ring more securely, there is a rib (protrusion) on the rim of the neck of the jar, into which the rubber ring is pressed.

Jars with a capacity of 350 g are very convenient for canning vegetable caviar, for packaging jam from raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, etc. In home canning, jars with a capacity of 0.5 and 1.0 liters are more used. Glass cylinders with a capacity of 2 and 3 liters are very convenient for tomato juice, natural fruit and berry juices, pickled and pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, assorted vegetables (piculi), etc.

In addition to the listed types of glass canning containers recommended for use in home canning of fruits and vegetables, other types of glass containers can be used - milk bottles, bottles of champagne, wine and beer. However, their use requires special, more complex conditions and techniques, as a result of which they can be used in each individual case, at the request of those involved in home canning, without special recommendations. It should be warned that the use of these types of glass containers does not guarantee against any kind of accidents that could lead to mass spoilage of the preserved product, since all types of bottles are not heat-resistant, it is difficult and completely unreliable to hermetically seal.

When purchasing glass containers, it is necessary to ensure that the jars and cylinders are intact, without any cracks. The integrity of the container is determined by its light and careful tapping. If there is even an imperceptible crack, the sound will be deaf and rattling.

In addition to determining the integrity of the container, it is necessary to look at it so that there is not even a slight, visible chip of the neck, rim or rib (protrusion) of the jar or cylinder. Glass jars and cylinders with such defects are completely unsuitable for canning fruit and vegetable raw materials, since they do not guarantee the hermetic sealing of containers and the sterility of canned products.

It is necessary to store glass containers in a clean form, since any remnants of the previous contents dry out and are subsequently washed with great difficulty. This is especially true for oil - vegetable oil dries out during long-term storage of containers and a thin, durable film remains on the inner surface of cans or cylinders.

Before proceeding with canning, it is necessary to prepare glass containers. Contaminated jars are thoroughly washed. To do this, they are soaked in a solution of soda ash or washing powder (for 1 liter of water - 1 full teaspoon of soda or powder) for 30 minutes. and more depending on the pollution. After locking, the jars are rinsed with cold water and washed with a washcloth or hair brush with soap until their outer and especially inner surface is absolutely clean and transparent. For the second time, the jars are rinsed with clean, preferably hot water and placed with the neck down to drain the water. Banks can be dried in the sun by placing them upside down.

Dried jars or cylinders are placed neck down in clean, strong cardboard boxes or wooden boxes. If cans or cylinders are stacked in several rows, it is advisable to lay newsprint between the rows and between individual cans and cylinders in order to prevent them from hitting each other.

The use of glass lids for hermetic sealing of glass cans and cylinders. Behind last years glass lids are increasingly appearing in the retail network, complete with a rubber ring and a clamp made of an elastic steel plate for hermetically sealing all types of glass cans.

Glass lids are reusable. To seal jars with such lids, a seamer is not required. In addition, a glass lid has a great advantage over a tin lid, especially one made of unvarnished white sheet, in terms of hygiene. White unlacquered tin lids should not be used to seal glass jars with canned food made with the addition of acetic acid (fruit and vegetable marinades), or made from strongly colored berries and fruits - compotes, jam from strawberries, raspberries, black currants, cherries, cherries, plums and etc. The interaction of the metal from which the tin lid is made with the contents of the can changes the natural color and reduces the nutritional value of the product. Such interaction with the product at the glass cover is excluded.

The procedure for hermetically sealing glass cans with glass lids should be as follows. In well-washed and scalded glass jars, products prepared for canning are placed, if possible in a heated state. Filled jars are immediately covered with glass lids, into which a rubber ring is first carefully inserted. The ring must be elastic and have a smooth surface. If there are superficial, even small cracks on the ring, it is not recommended to use it, since with such a defect the tightness of the closure of the cans will not be reliable.

For glass jars, before filling, carefully inspect the outer surface of the whisk, so that there are no protrusions or chips on it. If even a small protrusion is detected (by touch), resulting from the casting of cans in molds, then the latter must be eliminated by grinding the surface of the rim of the cans on a carborundum grinding stone (grindstone). Jars with chips or cracks on the whisk are not recommended for preserving fruits and vegetables.

When the jars filled with hot product are covered with a glass lid with a rubber ring, the lid is secured with a clamp. The elasticity of the clamp should ensure that the lid and rubber ring are firmly pressed against the jar. To strengthen the cover, the clip must be put on from the side without stretching its end. The clamp should be located exactly in the middle of the lid and hold onto the bottom of the rim of the jar with its ends.

A jar with a lid is carefully placed in a bath of hot water for sterilization. During sterilization, the contents are additionally heated and expand as they heat up. At the same time, various gases, steam and air are released from the product, increasing the pressure inside the can. The pressure overcomes the elasticity of the clamp and lifts the lid, and an excessive mixture of steam, gases and air escapes into the resulting gap. If, when filling the jar, it was overflowing with the product, some part of the finished product will also go into the slot, especially its liquid phase (syrup, marinade or tomato filling, etc.).

After sterilization, the jars must be carefully removed from the bath (pan) and placed on a clean table surface or wooden board with the lids up (cannot be turned over) and, without removing the clamps, cool the jars. In the course of cooling, at the expense of the left gases, steam and air and the condensed steam in cans the lowered pressure - vacuum is created. Atmospheric pressure is much greater than inside the cans, it tightly presses the lids of the cans, the rubber ring is compressed, and the cans are hermetically sealed.

It must be remembered that the clamps can be removed from the jars after sterilization only when the jars with the contents are cool enough (not higher than 40-50 °).

After removing the clamp, the glass lid should be firmly attached to the neck of the jar or cylinder and some effort is required to remove it.

Store jars with the clips removed and only upside down. To open the cans, just pull the tab of the rubber ring. In this case, air penetrates into the cans, the pressure inside the cans will be balanced with the outside and the lid will be freely removed.

If there is no tongue on the rubber ring, then you can carefully press the ring into the jar or cylinder with a knife. In this case, the tightness will also be broken and the cover can be easily removed.

After removing the glass cover and the rubber ring, rinse thoroughly in warm water, dry and store in a cardboard box or other container that protects from dust and sunlight. Steel clamps during long-term storage must be lubricated with a thin layer of petroleum jelly or grease to protect against corrosion.

Container filling. Before packaging canned products, jars and cylinders must be carefully inspected and rejected if any defects are found - cracks, glass chips, contamination. good banks and cylinders must be rinsed well again with hot water and scalded with steam or boiling water.

If the glass containers are filled with jam, jam or marmalade, then the washed jars must be dried well in the oven or otherwise before filling, preventing them from becoming contaminated. When packaging jam, jam and marmalade in wet jars or cylinders, the product may become moldy, which will lead to its deterioration.

When packaging fruit and berry juices, tomato juice and various sauces, jars and cylinders can not be dried, but only allowed to drain the water remaining on the inner walls. You can not dry the jars when packaging canned vegetables and fruits, which are filled with syrup, marinade or tomato filling.

Jam, jam, marmalade and other types of products are recommended to be packaged in a boiling state. Also in a boiling state or at a temperature close to boiling, it is necessary to package tomato juice, fruit juices, tomato puree, fruit sauces, vegetable and other types of canned food.

When making compotes and marinades, it is recommended to pour fruits and vegetables placed in jars or cylinders with sugar syrups, marinade and tomato fillings only when hot, at a temperature of 85-95 °.

All types of glass containers should be filled with products as completely as possible, to the very top of the jars or cylinders.

These requirements - packaging of canned products in the hottest possible state and maximum filling of glass containers are caused by the need to preserve the taste of the canned product, as well as vitamins.

In case of insufficient filling of glass containers, an air layer is formed inside it, the more, the less cans or cylinders are filled with canned product.

This residual air will not contain live microbes if the whole mass of the canned product is sterilized. From the point of view of the influence of this air on the possibility of bacterial contamination of the preserved product, there is no danger. But the air in its composition contains up to 21% oxygen, which has a detrimental effect on many substances that make up the canned product, they can quickly oxidize and lose their valuable qualities and properties.

Many canned fruits and vegetables, when the jars are not completely filled, have a top layer that is always significantly darkened due to the effect of oxygen contained in the air layer formed due to the incomplete filling of the cans. Air oxygen oxidizes and decomposes many vitamins, especially vitamins C, A, B 1 . The amount of vitamins in the process of storing canned food decreases, and they are depleted of useful substances.

In addition to the negative and harmful effect of the layer of air in the finished canned food, it is of no small importance that the use of the useful capacity of glass containers is reduced.

Sterilization. It was noted above that microorganisms are the cause of spoilage of any food product. To preserve perishable food products for a long time, they are preserved in hermetically sealed glass containers. But it is not enough just to isolate perishable food products from external influences. This spoilage cannot be prevented, since the product itself contains microorganisms that, despite hermetic sealing, will live and develop using the valuable substances of the preserved product.

In order to not only isolate food products from the effects of the external environment, but also destroy all living microorganisms in them, after hermetically sealing them, they are immediately subjected to heating to a high temperature, that is, they are sterilized.

As a result, a completely sterile food product can be obtained, which will no longer be spoiled, since the tightness of the closure eliminates the possibility of ingress of microorganisms from the external environment. On these basic principles - hermetic sealing and heating at high temperature (sterilization) - the canning by sterilization of various perishable foodstuffs is based.

Thus, sterilization is the most responsible process. If the recommended sterilization regimen (temperature and duration) is not observed, then live microbes or their spores may remain in the manufactured canned food, which will subsequently cause spoilage of the finished canned food.

At canning enterprises, according to this scheme, all production processes. Canned food products, properly prepared, are packaged in clean tin or glass containers, which are hermetically sealed with the help of special sealing machines. Closed cans with products are immediately sterilized for a certain time and at a given temperature (100, 116, 120°, etc.). After sterilization, jars with products are cooled and canned food is considered ready for both consumption and long-term storage.

At home, according to this scheme, it is not possible to conduct the process of preserving food products, due to the lack of the necessary equipment.

Why can’t glass jars with a canned product be hermetically sealed at home and then sterilized, as is done in factories?

As you know, after hermetically sealing glass jars filled with a canned product, some air remains inside the jars. During sterilization, the jars and their contents are heated to the set temperature. In the process of heating the entire mass of the canned product, the air contained there is displaced from it and its total amount inside the can increases. When the temperature inside the jar reaches 100°, the process of evaporation of moisture, which is part of the product, intensifies. As a result of heating, the air expands, vapors are additionally formed from the evaporated liquid of the product itself, and the pressure between the tin lid and the product inside the can increases and reaches significant sizes - much higher than one excess atmosphere, as a result of which the tin lid rolled to the rim of the neck of the glass jar breaks and flies off (breaking covers). The canned product becomes unusable for food purposes.

In order to avoid breaking off the lids during sterilization when making canned food at home, it is necessary to change the sequence of the technological process and carry it out in the following order.

Prepared fruits and vegetables are placed in glass containers, poured hot with sugar solution, marinade or tomato filling, immediately covered with boiled tin lids and placed for sterilization in a bath or pan filled with hot water with a temperature of 50-60 ° or higher. A wooden grate is placed on the bottom of the bath or pan according to the size of the bottom of the bath or pan. It is not recommended to lay a piece of cloth and put cans or cylinders on it. The fabric is a poor conductor of heat: in contact with the heated bottom of the pan and pressed against the bottom of the jar or cylinder, it warms up more strongly in one place and weaker in another. Temperature differences lead to the fact that glass jars and cylinders burst very often.

For sterilization, a tin bath can be made in a mechanical workshop (Fig. 5 and 6). Tin bath dimensions: length 600 mm, width 260 mm, height 300 mm. The material for the manufacture of the bath is sheet iron 1-1.5 mm thick. Such a pan can hold 12 glass jars with a capacity of 0.5 liters or 10 glass jars with a capacity of 1 liter, or 7 glass cylinders with a capacity of 2 liters, or 4 glass cylinders with a capacity of 3 liters. The bath has a lid, with which it is closed during sterilization. It is freely placed on two burners (burners) of a gas home stove. Sterilization can also be done using two kerosene gas or two electric stoves.

For sterilization, you can use any type and size of a pan. The saucepan should be of such a size that glass jars or cylinders can be freely placed in it in height and it would be freely closed with a lid for quick and uniform heating of canned food (Fig. 7). At the bottom of the pan, you need to put a wooden grate. Banks or cylinders with a canned product are placed in a sterilization bath or a pot with hot water, the temperature of which should be 15-20 ° higher than the temperature inside the glass container. The water level in the sterilizing bath or pan should be no more than 2.5-3 cm below the upper edge of the jar (Fig. 5 and 7).

Pasteurization. Sterilization of all types of canned food produced at home, as a rule, is carried out at a temperature of 100 ° for a certain time for each type of canned product.

Some types of canned food made from berries, fruits and vegetables, during sterilization at 100 ° for even a short period of time, become very softened and their taste is reduced. These types of canned food include compotes from berries, apricots, grapes, pickled or canned cucumbers, squash, small-fruited tomatoes, etc. temperature 85-90 ° (not higher), but with a slightly increased heating time.

The time of sterilization or pasteurization is counted from the moment the water in the bath begins to boil or when the set temperature is reached, for example, when pasteurizing 85-90 °.

During sterilization, the rapid boiling of water in the bath should not be allowed, as it causes intense boiling of the preserved product. which will spill over the edge of the cans.

Hermetic sealing of glass containers. At the end of sterilization or pasteurization, glass jars or cylinders must be carefully removed from the bath so as not to burn themselves and not open the lid and immediately hermetically sealed using a manual seaming machine.

You can remove the jar or cylinder from the bath with a clean rag or towel. It is best to use special devices for this purpose (Fig. 8 and 9).

For hermetic sealing of glass jars and cylinders with tin lids, it is necessary to have a special manual seaming machine. The most convenient and reliable seaming machines are shown in fig. 10.

The manual seaming machine has a fungus 1, a cartridge 2, a seaming roller 3 and a screw handle 4. With the help of a roller, the edges of the tin cover are crimped (running in), into which a rubber ring is inserted. Seamers are sold with one cartridge for sealing cans with a 83 mm tin lid (see fig. 1, 2, 4). To seal the jars shown in fig. 3, tin caps with a diameter of 58 mm are required. For this purpose, it is necessary to have a replaceable cartridge and roller 5.

To hermetically seal glass jars or cylinders with tin lids using a manual seamer, use the following method.

At the end of the sterilization process, jars or cylinders covered with tin lids are carefully removed from the hot water bath and placed on a stool (Fig. 11). First, you need to put a piece of board about 20x30 cm in size, 3-4 cm thick, on it.

Carefully put on the tin lid so as not to move it and open the can, the cartridge of the seamer, holding it with the left hand by the fungus, then focus with the whole body on the straight (not bent) left hand, which, with the help of the fungus and the cartridge, press the tin lid against neck of the jar and thus held without movement in one position until the capping process is completed. With a free right hand, using a screw handle, the seaming roller is fed forward until it rests lightly in the tin lid and a full turn counterclockwise is made around the can, with the right hand over the left, without loosening the emphasis on the seaming machine fungus. During the entire time of capping, the left hand should not change its position and possible pressure on the cartridge, tin lid and jar. Bank must be in one position.

For more reliable seaming of the can, for each full turn of the handle with the roller around the can, make no more than half a turn with the screw handle counterclockwise (turn to the left) to gradually press the roller on the edges of the tin lid and roll it evenly (crimping). The lid is rolled up gradually, not less than 6-8 full turns of the handle with a roller around the can. Seaming crimp seam must be even, smooth, without burrs.

When rolling cans, the screw handle with the seaming roller must be turned counterclockwise around the can to avoid unscrewing the fungus and the cartridge, which are connected using a threaded connecting bolt.

The seamer chuck is connected to the fungus by screwing it counterclockwise. At the slightest unscrewing (and this is possible if you turn the handle with the roller around the can in a clockwise direction) of the cartridge, excessive play will form between the cartridge and the fungus, and the roller with the handle will move in the vertical plane, which will lead to incorrect running in of the edges of the tin lid with rubber ring, and consequently, to non-hermetic sealing of cans.

Before capping the jars, it is necessary to lubricate all the rubbing and rotating parts of the machine with petroleum jelly or grease, and after use, rinse with hot water and lubricate.

Self-sterilization. Some types of canned food are packaged in a hot (boiling) state, and the jars or cylinders are immediately hermetically sealed, turned upside down, placed on a tin lid, and they are cooled without additional sterilization. Preparing canned food in this way is called self-sterilization. To guarantee the sterility of canned food, it is necessary to prepare (scald) jars or cylinders, pack and seal them very quickly and carefully. Corked products should be installed in a place where there is no draft, while the jars or cylinders should be covered with a clean bag, a tablecloth, in order to keep the heat inside the canned food longer.

The self-sterilization method is used in the manufacture of tomato juice, fruit puree, tomato puree, fruit juices packaged in 2- and 3-liter glass bottles. This method can be used to prepare various berry and fruit jams, jams, marmalade, etc. Canned food prepared by self-sterilization is of good quality, and this method greatly reduces labor costs and facilitates the production of canned food.

Cooling of canned food after sterilization. After sterilization and hermetic sealing with tin lids, the jars with the canned product are turned upside down and placed on an unpainted table, floor or plywood sheet for cooling. Some types of canned food (apricot compote, natural canned or pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, white cabbage, quince and pear puree) should be cooled quickly after sterilization so that the fruits and vegetables do not soften too much, do not lose their natural color. In this case, the jars or cylinders must be placed as far as possible in a cold or cool place (on the floor, in the yard or in a cold pantry), but not in a draft, as they may burst. It is also possible, after hermetic sealing, to install the jars with their necks down in the bath (pan) in which they were sterilized, and cold water is added to the hot water and the temperature of the contents of the jars is gradually brought to 35-40 °, and then cooled in air.

Inventory and equipment needed for home canning. To organize the preservation of fruits and vegetables at home, it is necessary first of all to have a manual seamer, a bath or pan for sterilizing canned food, glass jars or cylinders and tin lids for hermetic sealing.

Having the above, it is already possible to start the production of various types of canned food from fresh berries, fruits and vegetables.

However, everyone involved in home canning will certainly encounter a number of difficulties caused by the lack of certain household items, inventory and equipment, which are difficult to do without in their work.

When making canned fruits and vegetables at home, it is necessary, if possible, to strictly observe the recommended technological regimes, as well as the recipe, which indicates how much by weight and what products, materials and spices must be added so that canned food is tasty and nutritious.

Sugar syrups for pouring compotes are prepared in various concentrations depending on the type of raw material used. A certain amount of sugar, salt, acetic acid and other foods and spices are also added to the tomato or marinade filling. It is not recommended to add all this “by eye”, since the manufactured canned food can turn out to be very sour or bland, oversalted or undersalted, etc.

For weighing fruits, vegetables, various products - sugar, salt, oil, it is desirable to have a home table dial scale (Fig. 12). Many foods can be measured with glass jars, glasses, a tablespoon or a teaspoon (Table 14).

To accurately determine the volume, measured chemical utensils are used: a beaker, a measuring cylinder or a glass with a capacity of 100-250 cm 3 with a division scale (Fig. 13). On the graduated cylinder, divisions are marked with an accuracy of 1 cm 3, which approximately corresponds to 1 g in weight, if the specific gravity of the liquid being measured is not taken into account. The division scale on the beaker and measuring cup is applied every 25 cm 3.

>
Rice. 13. Measuring chemical utensils: a cylinder, a glass and a thermometer for 200 o

To determine the temperature when blanching vegetables and fruits, and especially when sterilizing, calcining vegetable oil and filling jars produced by self-sterilization, it is necessary to have a thermometer with a division scale of up to 200 °. They need to be used carefully.

For peeling and cutting fruits and vegetables, use special stainless steel knives with slots (Fig. 14).

When peeling apples, pears, quince and others, as well as some vegetables, with the help of such knives, a thin skin is cut off and the amount of waste is reduced (Fig. 15).

Ordinary kitchen or table knives cause darkening of fruits and vegetables at the cut points, contribute to the destruction of vitamin C and impart a metallic taste to finished products.

To remove the core from apples, pears and quince, use a stainless steel teaspoon with pointed edges.

To remove pits from cherries and sweet cherries, you can use an ordinary female hairpin. There are also special stone-beating machines that are easy to use (Fig. 16).

In order for apricots, plums, cherry plums, kok-sultan, during sterilization, the skin does not crack (burst) and the shape of the fruit is not lost, they are pricked. To do this, use a needle hedgehog (Fig. 17), which you can easily do yourself: take a cork from a champagne bottle, cut off a plate 1.5-2 cm wide; pierce it with pins (at least 25-30 pieces) so that all the sharp ends of the pins come out through the plate through and through.

When canning, most fruits and vegetables are cut into slices (apples, pears, quince), into circles (zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, onions), in the form of straws or noodles (carrots, etc.). Cutting fruits and vegetables should be done on a special board, which should always be kept clean. On fig. 18 shows how to cut fruits and vegetables.

Rice. 19. Manual meat grinder with spare grids. 1 - grating with a cell diameter of 2.5 mm; 2 - grating with a cell diameter of 6 mm; 3 - grating with holes 7x21 mm in size; 4 - grid with holes 10x22mm

In the manufacture of tomato juice, puree, natural fruit juices, fruits and vegetables are first finely crushed, and then pressed to obtain juice or heated and rubbed through a sieve to obtain puree. Crushing berries, fruits and vegetables can be done using a meat grinder that has spare grates with cells of different diameters and sizes (Fig. 19).

For chopping white cabbage during its canning or pickling, they use a manual shredding machine (Fig. 20), which is easy to do with your own hands. It is a wooden trough 1. Part of the bottom of the trough has a slot into which several sharply sharpened blade knives 2 are inserted. An old band saw blade can be used for the knives. The knives are set at a small distance from each other, somewhat at an angle, so that the cabbage is shredded with thin chips 5-6 mm wide. A box 3 without a bottom is inserted into the chute installed above a large enameled basin, which should easily move back and forth along the chute. Cabbage heads in whole form or cut into pieces are put into a box, with the help of which the cabbage is shredded. A wooden cover 4 is inserted from above, with the help of which the cabbage is pressed against the knives, and it also protects the hands from cuts.

Many fruits and vegetables are blanched before canning. Plums are blanched in boiling water to apply a net and prevent them from boiling and cracking. Squash, white cabbage are blanched to give them elasticity and preserve their natural color. Eggplants are blanched to remove excess bitterness. In apples, pears, and quinces, blanching softens the tissue of the fruit, improves the color, which makes it easier to make jams and compotes.

Blanching is usually done within a few minutes in boiling water. To do this, it is necessary to have a saucepan (preferably enameled) and a colander or a mesh basket, which would be somewhat smaller in size than the saucepan and, when filled with fruits or vegetables, would fit freely into it (Fig. 21 and 22).

Rice. 23. Enamel pot and mesh basket for steam blanching fruits and vegetables. 1 - scheme for installing a mesh basket in an enamel pan; 2 - enamel pot and mesh basket

Some types of fruits and vegetables are blanched only with steam to preserve vitamin C (green and red sweet bell peppers). To obtain juice from plums, they must be blanched only with steam. For blanching with steam, they take an enameled or aluminum pan and a mesh basket, which should be 10–15 cm lower in height and 2–3 cm in diameter than the pan (Fig. 23). The mesh basket is filled with vegetables or fruits and placed in a saucepan, into which water is poured with a layer of 6-7 cm. Between the bottom of the mesh basket and the layer of water there must be free space 3-4 cm. When the water in the pan is heated to a boil, steam is formed, with which the fruits or vegetables placed in the basket are scalded.

Rice. 24. Kaskan - aluminum utensils for steam blanching of fruits and vegetables. 1 - general form cascana; 2 - disassembled cascan

For blanching fruits and vegetables with steam, which should be preferred, since when blanching in boiling water, significant leaching of nutrients occurs, you can use aluminum utensils called kaskan (Fig. 24). It consists of four parts. The lower part is an ordinary saucepan where water is poured. The upper part is steam, inserted into the lower one and has a lid, and inside there are four or five flat aluminum plates with holes with a diameter of 8-10 mm. Vase-shaped stands up to 5 cm high are attached to these plates in the middle.

In the steam part of the kaskan, if you remove the plates, except for the bottom one, you can hold up to 5-7 kg of fruits or vegetables. If water is poured into the lower part of the kaskan and put on fire, then when the water boils, steam will form and heat everything that is in the upper steam part. For better preservation of steam, the upper part of the kaskan is tightly closed with a lid.

So that fruits or vegetables do not come into contact with each other, they can be laid out on plates, while heating and blanching are accelerated.

Rice. 25. Wiping sieve for fruits and vegetables: 1 - wiping sieve installed over an enamel basin; 2 - rubbing sieve device and wooden spatula for wiping

To obtain puree, fruits and vegetables are first scalded or boiled in whole or crushed form, and then subjected to rubbing. When rubbing from the fruit pulp, all inedible parts are separated - seeds, peel, and the fruit mass is obtained with a homogeneous consistency. You can wipe fruits and vegetables through a colander, a hair sieve or a special wiping sieve (Fig. 25). Two semi-oval "cheeks" are cut out and knocked down from wooden boards, along the bottom of which a wicker or punching sieve is pulled. It is desirable that the sieve be made of stainless steel with holes with a diameter of no more than 1.5 mm. In the middle, from the outer side of each semi-oval "cheek", longitudinal strips are nailed, with the help of which the sieve is installed on an enameled basin.

Wipe boiled or scalded fruits and vegetables in a hot state with a wooden spatula.

Fruit and berry juices or juices from vegetables can be obtained using manual screw presses or manual juicers (Fig. 26, 27).

Causes of spoilage and types of marriage of canned food. If in the manufacture of canned food all the recommended rules and techniques are observed - washing, cleaning, blanching, sterilization and hermetic sealing, then in good quality finished products there can be no doubt. If these rules and techniques were violated, then damage to canned food is possible. The main causes of spoilage of canned products are contamination of products during their processing, violation of the sterilization regime and unreliable hermetic sealing of glass containers with a canned product.

Processing fruits and vegetables in unsanitary conditions or using stale products results in a sterilization regimen that is completely insufficient to kill all microbes. As a result, after sterilization and hermetic sealing, live microbes or their spores may remain in the canned product, which will further cause their deterioration. If the sterilization mode is violated, the heating temperature is reduced or the sterilization time is reduced, then the consequences are the same.

Incorrect or unreliable hermetic sealing of glass containers can occur for the following reasons. Firstly, the rubber ring loses its elasticity due to long-term storage, more than 6-8 months, and when the edge of the tin lid is rolled up, it will not create a hermetic seal. Secondly, if the tin lid was put on and rolled up to the neck of the jar without a rubber ring, hermetic closure will not work. Thirdly, due to the incorrect operation of the roller of the seaming machine, the rolling of the edge of the tin cover with the rubber ring will be uneven and loose, as a result of which the tightness of the seaming fold will be unreliable. Fourthly, the tin lid itself may be defective - it may have a crack obtained during stamping, through which air with microorganisms can enter the jar with the canned product, which will lead to damage to the canned food.

The first signs of spoilage of canned food are swelling of the lid (bombing) under the influence of gas accumulated inside the can, which is a waste product of microorganisms. All bombed jars and jars with torn lids are considered defective and unsuitable for human consumption, especially canned vegetables. The bombing of cans is obtained from all poor-quality canned food that has a hermetic closure. Bombing cannot form in leaky sealed cans, since the gas will escape through leaks in the rolled lid and there will be no pressure inside the cans. In this case, spoiled canned food can be identified by clouding of the syrup or marinade filling, and mainly by an unpleasant, sour smell. Such canned food is not recommended. An exception is candied jam, which can be re-sterilized without opening the jars or open the jars and digest by adding a small amount of citric or tartaric acid (up to 2 g of acid per 1 kg of jam).

Storage of canned food. Canned goods can be stored anywhere. The best condition for storage is a temperature not higher than 20 °. It is highly undesirable that during storage, canned food experiences sudden temperature changes from minus to plus. In this case, in such types of canned food as jam, marmalade, prepared with a significant content of sugars, moisture condensation may occur inside the jars and molding of the product occurs on the basis of this.

Do not leave canned food in damp rooms, as tin lids can rust and undergo perforation during long-term storage, and complete spoilage of the product will occur. Many types of canned food - compotes, pickled fruits and canned vegetables lose their original taste when frozen, and jam is often candied. These preserves are best stored at room temperature. Heavily overfilled jars burst when frozen. Fruit and berry juices, tomato juice, various canned purees can be stored in colder rooms. It is good to have racks for storing all kinds of canned food.

Compliance with sanitary conditions in the production of canned food at home. A prerequisite for obtaining high-quality canned food is compliance with all the rules of sanitation and hygiene. The room in which the production of canned food will be made must be clean and ventilated. All equipment and utensils must be kept absolutely clean, and rinsed in hot water after use. For cooking syrup, preparing marinade or tomato filling, only enameled dishes should be used. When cleaning root crops, cabbage and others, it is necessary to ensure that their waste does not fall on clean vegetables and fruits. In the process of cutting, cleaning and processing raw materials, hands must be kept absolutely clean. Products must be washed either under the tap, or, repeatedly changing the water, in a clean dish. Use water only from the tap.

It must be remembered that the production of canned food in unsanitary conditions will lead to their partial or complete unsuitability for human consumption.

The next step in the sterilization process is to seal the jars tightly;

When using glass lids

a rubber ring should be placed between the lid and the neck of the jar so as to completely cover the upper cut of the neck. Next, the lid is pressed tightly against the jar with a clamp or spring;

In this case, the water in the pan should cover all jars with lids;

When the pressure in the jar is increased, excess vapors can escape through the lifted lid, which will then fall back into place under the action of the clamp, which will prevent water from entering the jar from the pan;

When the sterilization time is up, you need to remove the jars from the water to cool in the air or leave them in the water, where they will cool more slowly. During this process, the lids "stick" tightly to the jars. After that, you can remove the clamps and put the canned food in storage;

When using tin lids

jars with canned food at first are only covered with them and placed in a sterilizing pan. The water in it after the installation of all the jars should not reach the lids by 1.5-2 cm;

After the sterilization time has elapsed, the jars must be removed from the water and immediately, without opening the lids, closed with a seaming machine. If this is done before sterilization, the lids may be torn off due to the increase in intra-jar pressure;