Food and nutrition.pdf

248 Chutneys, Pickles, Salted Vegetables and Saucespasteurised or the sugar/salt/vinegar mixture can be heated, added to thevegetables and the jars filled while product is still hot. lit this way the hotproduct forms a partial vacuum in the jar when it cools and further aidspreservation.Glass jars are the most commonly used packaging material, but if ashorter shelf life is expected, pickles may also be packed in small quantitiesin polythene pouches and sealed with an electric heat sealer.To avoid seepage of product, which can damage paper labels andmake the package unattractive, a double pouch can be used comprisingan inner pack that contains the product and an outer pouch with a labelbetween the two.SaucesSauces are thick viscous liquids, made from pulped fruit and/orvegetables with the addition of salt, sugar, spices and vinegar. They arepasteurised to give the required shelf life, but the basic principle ofpreservation is the use of vinegar, which inhibits the growth of spoilageand food poisoning micro-organisms.Other ingredients such as salt and sugar contribute to the preservativeeffect and the correct Preservation Index (Section 2.2.4) ensures that theproduct does not spoil after opening and can be used a little at a time.Some may contain a preservative such as sodium benzoate, but this is notnecessary if an adequate Preservation Index is achieved. Sauces can bemade from almost any combination of fruit or vegetables, but in practicethe market in many countries is dominated by tomato sauce, chilli sauceand to a lesser extent, mixed fruit sauces such as 'Worcester' sauce, whichcontains apples and dates in addition to tomatoes.Depending on the scale of production, pulping and sieving out seedsand skins can be done by hand or using special pulper-finisher machinesThe process for making sauce is outlined in the process chart below, usingtomato sauce as an example. Similarly, at a small scale, sauces can be madeusing simple open boiling pans, provided that care is taken to heat slowlywith constant stirring to avoid localised burning of the product, especiallyat the end of heating. At a larger scale, processing is done using steamheated, stainless steel' double jacketed' pans.Pulper Finisher Used Extract Fruit Pulp Without Seeds or SkinsBottled and Canned ProductsBottling and canning are essentially similar processes in that food isfilled into a container and heated to destroy enzymes and microorganisms.Fruits can be packed into jars with a hot, sugar syrup and