How Can We Preserve & Protect Food Without a Refrigerator?
Although food can easily be preserved in refrigerators and freezer for long term storage, the stored food won't last very long during a power outage. However, canning and dehydrating food will allow it to be stored at room temperature with the use of a refrigerator. Most dried and home-canned foods will store safely on your pantry shelves for up to a year. Does this Spark an idea?
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Canning
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Back when every home had a vegetable garden, families would store up their harvested fruits and vegetables in canning jars for use through the winter. Sterilized glass canning jars were filled with a variety of jams, jellies, preserves, meats, soups and pickles. A special seal was set on each jar. The jars were then placed in either a water bath canner or a pressure canner depending on the type of food and processed in boiling water or under pressure for a specific amount of time. The heat of processing vacuum-sealed the jars for storage. Canning is as effective for preserving food today as it was for our great-grandparents.
Water Bath Canner
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Canning foods requires a lot of heat to kill the enzymes and bacteria that cause food to spoil rapidly if it isn't refrigerated. High acid foods like fruits and pickled vegetables can be processed in a water bath canner where boiling water heats the jars and their contents. The acid of the fruit and the vinegar in the pickled vegetables aids in killing bacteria; therefore, the boiling water is hot enough for safe canning.
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Pressure Canner
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Low acid foods like meat and fresh vegetable including tomatoes need even higher temperatures than boiling water can provide in order to ensure safe preservation. Low acid foods must be processed in a pressure canner where higher temperatures can be sustained. Pressure canners are sensitive to the differences in air pressure at different altitudes. Always adhere to any altitude adjustments in the recipe. Also, pressure canners need yearly check ups. Take your canner to your local extension office for a yearly gauge and gasket check.
Dehydration
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Drying foods is an ancient method of preserving food without refrigeration. Fruits, vegetables and herbs are dried to remove moisture that can harbor bacteria. The keys to dehydration are low heat and good air circulation. Drying food outside using the heat from the sun and a couple of window screens is just as effective as the modern electric dehydrator. The dried foods are easily reconstituted with boiling water. Meats are dried into jerky that can be eaten as is or rehydrated with boiling water. Dried meats will last longer if salted before drying. Dried foods must be stored in airtight containers to avoid rehydration during humid conditions.
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References
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