A modern society, living in a city, relies more and more on the convenience of processed food. Living far from farms and having to commute to work leaves little time to cook at home and even less time to grow our own food.
Processing food saves time, is a convenient way to add nutrients to a diet and helps farmers to not only to diversify their product offering but also to utilise excess produce and extend shelflife and availability far beyond the growing season.
The processing of raw ingredients such as fruit and vegetables includes drying, freezing, juicing, fermenting and further processing into preserves, pickles and value-added products.
Similarly, raw materials like meat, milk and grains are further processed and preserved. This range of articles, however, will explain basic processing techniques of fruit and vegetables.
Canning of fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs such as fish and ready-meals involves the airtight sealing of food in containers and then ...
Drying removes the moisture, which encourages mould, yeast and bacterial growth, thus in effect enhances the shelflife of fruit....
Fermentation is a process during which micro-organisms convert starches (carbohydrates) and sugars into by-products such as alcohol (wines) ...
Freeze-drying is a highly technical way of food preservation. During this process, frozen foodstuffs are dehydrated under pressure to preser...
Processing may take place on the farm, as is the case with most dried fruit, or in proximity to the farm, as is the case with canned fruit....
As the world becomes more urban and people are living further away from where food is produced, there is a trend towards adding value to raw...
Pasteurisation was invented by Louis Pasteur, a French scientist. He discovered that heating milk to a high temperature and then quickly coo...
Pickles are foods soaked in salty or acidic solutions that help prevent spoilage. It also helps to preserve and change the taste and texture...
The smoking of foods is an ancient practice; one of the first methods of cooking and preserving foods like meat and fish. Modern application...