Erasmus+ project "Food conservation" presentation about drying and fermentation experiments in Joniškis "Aušros" gymnasium.

1. Erasmus+
„Conservation of food“.
Drying and fermentation
Joniškis “Aušros” gymnasium, Lithuania

2. Food waste
The food we waste in our homes totals about 50kg a person each year, and rises
to as much as 100kg a year in some wealthy countries. This is the equivalent of
pushing every trolley of food strait into a skip. Your home could easily spend as
much as $1,000 a year on edible food that is never eaten. In the US the average
is $900 a year, in the UK it’s £700 and in Australia it’s over $1,000! We don’t
waste food on purpose, but somehow between the demands of our busy lives
and being bombarded with food on sale we’ve got into the habit of wasting a
colossal amount of food.

3. The beginning of conservation
In the past people lived and had to feed their families. Hunting prey was sometimes too big, so over
time people have thought of extending the duration of their food for a longer period of time.
Because of conservation techniques, people became sedentary and began to build a certain
civilization, settlements. Consider that before the advent of refrigeration, which was originally
devised in the 18th century, but was not perfected and widespread until the 20th century, most of
civilisation had to make do without refrigeration and freezing.
Many of these techniques are still in place today and are used for preserving the bounty of produce
during the summer months. Here's a look at the most common ways of preserving food:

4. FOOD PRESERVATION
Drying
• Drying, arguably the oldest food preservation method, is a great way of preserving herbs,
fruit, vegetables and meats. Since the beginning of time people have used the sun and nature
as a preservation technique for removing moisture. This practice is used throughout the
world, for example, Southern Italy is known for drying tomatoes, while India is known for
drying chilies, mangos and a host of spices using only the powerful rays of the sun. If
you've ever eaten a deliciously sweet, sun-dried tomato, you'll know just how much flavour
this technique can add to ingredients.
• To dry herbs, simply tie them together and hang in a sunny spot away from any humidity. To
dry fruits or vegetables, set them out on a clean surface and keep them in the sun for a few
weeks (this only works well in dry, warm climates). A more modern method of drying is to
use an electric dehydrating machine.

5. Fermentation
• Almost any vegetable can be fermented. By fermenting fresh, self-grown or organic
vegetables, you can ensure that you get useful nutrients throughout the year.
Vegetables are soaked in salt water or, if possible, better in their own juice. This
makes it possible to start growing sugar-rich bacteria in vegetables.
• Properly fermented vegetables treat the body - prevent the accumulation of toxins
and eliminate them. Fermented vegetables are very nutritious, they contain more
enzymes than green ones, they also have the necessary probiotics and minerals for
our body.

6. • The essential thing in each is the same: to
prolong the shelf life. They assure that
you maintain the nutritions all round year.

7. Drying pumpkin in
two ways.
• First, pieces of pumpkin were dried in the
temperature of 40°.
• Second, pieces of pumpkin were poured with
sugar 4:1, lemon was added. We waited for about
a day while the osmosis was happening. The
obtained liquid was brewed and poured over the
pumpkin. The mixture stayed for another day.
The pumpkin was dried in the temperature of
40°. It was dried in the oven for about 2 days,
brewing it 3 times a day.

8. Fermenting Rosebay
willowherb
WE:
• rolled the leaves slightly pushing them to get some juice;
• Put those leaves into the jar and pressed them not to leave any air inside;
• covered the jar;
• stored it upside down in a warm place for 3 days;
• took the leaves out, shook them and dried in the drier for 5 hours at the temperature of 30°.
• a part of the plants was ripened to get the higher fermentation and to get the black tea.
• the other part had the lighter fermentation thus to get weaker fermentation and flavour.
Without fermentation we could have got green tea.

9. Cabbage fermentation
Cut cabbage and carrots were:
• mixed in a big bowl with some salt;
• stored in the temperature of 18-24° for 10 days;
• the first 2 days lather appeared then we scraped it and we poked it with a
wooden stick as for the activated charcoal to come out and hydrogen to emit;
• 10 days later when the liquid became transparent, the dish with the cabbage
was stored in a cool place.