Erasmus+ project "Conservation of food"

2. Conservation with vinegar or
pickling
The process of preserving or
extending the shelf life of food
by immersion in vinegar. Pickling
is a method of preserving food in
an edible, antimicrobial liquid.
Pickling can be broadly classified
into two categories: chemical
pickling and fermentation
pickling.

3. In chemical pickling, the food is placed in an edible
liquid that inhibits or kills bacteria and other
microorganisms. Typical pickling agents include
brine, vinegar, alcohol, and vegetable oil. Many
chemical pickling processes also involve heating or
boiling so that the food being preserved becomes
saturated with the pickling agent.
Common chemically pickled foods include
cucumbers, peppers, corned beef, herring, and eggs,
as well as mixed vegetables.

4. 30-40% of vitamins and minerals remain in pickled
products. While choosing the pickling method it is
important to choose recipes containing only small
amounts of salt. Amounts of vitamins and other
active substances start reducing even during the
processes of peeling and cutting and they get
reduced most while heated in high temperatures.
For this reason it is advisable to prepare fruit and
vegetables and pickle them as fast as possible.

5. Experiment
For pickling pumpkins and
radish we used two vinegar
marinades of different
concentration. We used 100 g of
9%vinegar to 1l of water. Also
we used curcuma as
antioxidant. To get lower
concentration marinade we used
50g of vinegar per 1l of water.
In a week the process of
fermentation was observed in
the milder concentration
marinade.

7. Food pickled in alcohol
Food (usually fruits and vegetables) can be preserved in alcohol -
spirits such as vodka, cognac, brandy or even wine. Method consists
of steeping the fruit or vegetable in the alcoholic beverage for a
period of time - generally a few weeks. This method not only
preserves food but transforms alcoholic beverage into a new
concoction.
Spices are also a welcome addition. Allspice, cinnamon and cloves
are frequently used, some recipes also call for liquid flavoring agents
such as vanilla extract.

8. What makes alcohol a good
conservation product?
Alcohol kills bacteria and fungus. It does this as
its metabolism products cause damage directly
to the DNA, and directly to the cell respiration
process. It also happens to tend to dry it out.
We can drink alcohol safely because of our
alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, which breaks
the toxic alcohol into useful byproducts, that we
can use for energy.

9. Thanks for your attention! 