I’m Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report.
People have always had to find ways to keep food safe to eat.Methods to dry, smoke and salt food were invented thousands of yearsago. The process of canning is much more recent. This storage methodkeeps food safe to eat for long periods of time. Today, canning isone of the most popular methods of storing food.
Canning uses heat to kill bacteria and other micro-organisms thatcause poisons to form in food. Canning also takes away the air thatthese organisms need to live. One popular method of canning uses awater bath.
Clean fruits or vegetables are placed in glass bottles. The foodcan be put into the bottles either hot or cold. The cold method isused for soft fruits and vegetables that could lose their shape ortaste. Firmer fruits and most vegetables are usually cooked. Theytake up less space in the bottles.
After the food has been placed in glass bottles, boiling water ispoured into the bottles to about three centimeters below the top.Then covers are placed on the bottles, but are not turned all theway. The bottles are placed in a large container filled with warmwater that is then brought to a boil.
The water must completely cover the bottles, from three to fivecentimeters over the top. When the water boils, any air in thebottles will be expelled. The boiling continues for several minutes.Then the bottles are allowed to cool. Finally, they are placedbriefly into cold water. This makes a strong barrier to keep the airout. In other words, a vacuum is created.
When the bottles are completely cool, notes can be placed on themto identify what is inside. The bottles can then be stored in acool, dark place at a temperature of between four and twenty-onedegrees Celsius.
Canning allows your family to enjoy foods that might not comefresh throughout the year. It is also a good way to store food forsix months to a year, or even several years, in case of anemergency. It does not cost much to continue canning every year oncethe equipment has been purchased.
You can get more information about canning food from the group,Volunteers in Technical Assistance. VITA is on the Internet atvita.org.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by GaryGarriott. I’m Gwen Outen.