How to Preserve Food
Knowing how to prolong the amount of time you can store various foods can help you to enjoy them for longer. Also, preserving them in the proper way can help to make their flavors more intense and create a new texture. 5-Minute Crafts wants to share some secrets of food conservation with you.
1. Take 2-3 fresh oranges and lemons, wash them, and then cut them into thick slices (around 3 mm or 0.1 inches thick). Make sure you use fruits that have an edible peel.
2. Take a medium-size saucepan with 237 ml (8 fl oz) water and place it over high heat.
3. Add 200 grams (7 oz) granulated sugar and 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
4. Stir well.
5. Cover the saucepan with the lid and let the syrup boil.
6. Remove the lid and stir one more time.
7. Add lemon and orange slices and let them simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Flip them once or twice during the process.
8. Transfer the slices to waxed paper and let them cool.
9. Add lollipop sticks to the slices to make a fun candy.
2. Sealing jam jars
1. Take a rack and place empty jars on it. Set the rack into a canner (a pot made for canning).
2. Pour cold water into the canner to fill and cover the jars. Put it on the stove over high heat. Let the water boil.
3. Place the lid over the canner and let the water boil for a bit longer.
4. Remove the jars from the hot water. Add jam to the jars.
5. Screw the lids on the jars.
6. Store the jam.
3. Making pickled garlic
1. Take 5-6 garlic bulbs and separate the cloves and peel them.
2. Take a 1-pint jar and fill it with cloves. Leave around 2.5 cm (1 inch) of space at the top.
3. Pour in enough apple cider vinegar to cover the cloves. You can also add some honey, spices, or different herbs to experiment with flavors.
4. Close the lid and leave the jar at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks to pickle. Then transfer to cold storage.
Tip: Sometimes you might need to open the lid and close it back during the first couple of days in order to release built-up pressure in the jar.
4. Preserving fresh eggs using salt
1. Take a container and pour some salt into it to cover its bottom.
2. Stack the eggs into the salt, small-side down. Make sure they don’t touch each other or the plastic bottom of the container.
3. Pour more salt onto the eggs.
4. Cover the container with the lid and keep it in a cool dry place. These eggs can be kept fresh for around 8-10 months.
Note: Only use fresh eggs that are not cleaned and that are no older than 24 hours.
5. Storing ginger
1. Take a cup or a jar and place ginger in it.
2. Fill the cup with water. You can cover it with a lid.
3. Store the cup in a fridge and change the water daily. You can keep the ginger fresh for up to 2 weeks.
6. Waxing cheese
1. Prepare a piece of cheese for waxing by wiping it with a cloth soaked in vinegar.
2. Heat some cheese wax (or beeswax) in a pot or a bowl.
3. Dip one-half of the cheese into the melted wax and let it cool. Rotate the piece and dip it into melted wax again. Repeat several more times from both sides to create a thick wax layer.
4. When done, let the wax harden.
7. Keeping parsley fresh
1. Rinse parsley and trim off the bottoms of the stems.
2. Take a glass or a jar and fill it with water. Place the parsley in the glass so that 3-5 cm (1-2 inches) of the stems are submerged in water.
3. Take a plastic bag and cover the glass loosely with it. The plastic bag will help to retain the moisture in the leaves. You can use a loose elastic to secure the bag.
4. Store in the fridge and change the water a couple of times a week. Trim the stems once a week.