How food can be preserved by sweetening and salting?
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
During our discussion of topics for our upcoming event, Putting Food By Without Refrigeration, the question of salt was raised,
Salt is needed for so many of these processes; what will we do when we can no longer import salt from out of the area?
I ask our ESP community: Are there any salt licks or other natural sources of salt in our valley?
And it’s not just salt, but also sugar that is used in preservation of foods; here are just a few uses:
Salt and sugar are both used for brining to preserve meat, whether or not the meat will also be smoked;
Salt is used for salt pickles;
Salt is used for sauerkraut and most lacto-fermentation preservation; techniques (pickled cucumbers, beets, peppers, beans, asparagus, olives, etc.);
Sugar is used for canning fruits.
Not to mention the seasoning and flavoring of foods and baked goods! Or providing salt for livestock….
Indeed, one can list the basics that are required for survival:
sunshine, food, water, salt, shelter, flint and sugar.
Using Salt and Sugar in Preservation
Salt
Common table salt, primarily sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most important ingredient for curing food. At earlier times in history, salt was used as currency (He’s worth his weight in salt…).
Today, people avoid salt out of fear of hypertension and heart disease, but for most people, this should not be a concern, as only a minority of people are sensitive to salt in this way. [I believe highly processed foods are the greater culprit in these diseases].
We remember when Melanie showed us how to make sauerkraut last fall (Sauerkraut and Lacto-fermentation (10/22/08)), how much salt she used (3 tablespoons per 5 pounds of cabbage). Yes, quite a lot of salt is required for preservation.
Most commercial sources of salt are from salt water, such as the Great Salt Lake, or sheltered ocean areas. But salt can also be found inland, far from salty seas, in what are called salt licks, places where wild animals come to lick the rocks for salt. Per Wikipedia:
In an ecosystem, salt/mineral licks often occur naturally, providing the sodium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth in … wildlife, such as [deer], moose, elephants, cattle, woodchucks, domestic sheep, fox squirrels, mountain goats and porcupines. Harsh weather exposes salty mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for a taste of needed nutrients.
Sugar
Sugar is also much maligned in today’s weight-conscious society, but it is a basic nutrient needed for energy production by plants and animals. All plants use sugars (in the form of starches and fiber) to store the sun’s energy.
Sugar and Salt are known as preservative as they contains some water particles which helps the food to be preserved.