Canning of fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs such as fish and ready-meals involves the airtight sealing of food in containers and then exposing the canned product to a heat treatment.
During this process, disease-causing microbes are destroyed with minimum change to the original product. Canning extends the shelf-life of products to well past the season of the produce’s normal availability.
Although the term ‘canning’ refers to the use of metal cans, the process also applies to the use of containers such as glass jars, laminated pouches, plastic trays and bowls.
By Marinda Louw
The French chef, confectioner and distiller, Nicolas-Francois Appert, is considered the father of canning thanks to his invention of airtigh...
Most of South Africa’s canning pears and peaches are also produced in the Western Cape, while guavas are produced in the Western Cape, Mpu...