You might love to store foods and use it just in time for Thanksgiving or on any other special occasion. Sometimes, it can be difficult to store food with natural preservatives because of high quotient of chemicals.
In that case, you can take help of carrageenan, also called polysaccharides, to maintain the nutritional value and quality of your favorite food.
How to preserve your favorite food?
Let’s take an example of gel storage and preservation; the liquid used in the preparation of gel contain potassium, calcium, or a mixture of both that bind with the polysaccharide. When the base ingredient has a shortage of calcium or potassium, you can add calcium or potassium salts, like calcium chloride or potassium citrate to form dairy gels.
The quantity of polysaccharide depends on the type of liquid and firmness of the gel you’re planning to manufacture. If you’re trying to match the dairy gels then you can use the polysaccharide in a ratio of 0.4% to 1.6%.
The product along with the liquid is heated up to 75℃ to prevent hydration. They generally don’t hydrate with the mixture of salt and sugar; add the sugar once the hydration procedure is done.
Tips to use canned foods
- Make sure you store the canned food between 60 ℉and 70℉, which is the ideal temperature for canned foods.
- Avoid the usage of canned foods that are a year or two old. Use canned seafood and meat within three years from the date of manufacture and packaging.
- Use low-acid foods, like pickle, fruits, and vegetables within two years.
- Make sure you use canned foods well in time to be able to experience the taste of the food which includes its nutritional value and flavor.
Avoid using these foods
- Foods that don’t contain any label and signs of expiry details.
- Some food that holds the color and flavor for a long time. It’s highly recommended that you discard them because they might lack in nutritional value.
Choose your food wisely
Did you know that canned food can be stored and preserved for more than just one year? Yes, carrageenan helps in retaining the flavor and nutritional value of preserved food to a great extent.
There are many ways to store and preserve the canned foods using many chemicals. However, these chemicals can be harmful and toxic to some extent, depending on your health conditions.
Having said that, preserved food comes with time limits – they give you an exact calculation on how long the food quality can be maintained and preserved. The next time you go food shopping, make sure you pick something that’s high on quality and low on chemicals.
