Mistakes with jars and vegetables. How we spoil our winter preparations | Master classes

Mistake #1: Poor selection of vegetables

Raw materials for canning are very important. Crumpled apples, rotten plums and berries that have begun to mold should not get into the jam. In caviar and lecho - spoiled vegetables from the “cooking” box, in which sellers specially put all the crushed ones. When canning cucumbers or tomatoes, you need to carefully inspect each one, do not take those whose skin is damaged: in pickling, such tomatoes will fall apart, and the cucumbers will not be crispy and tasty.

Save the zucchini harvest. Seven options for canned food for the winter Read more

Traces of COVIDa: in Russia there are people infected with Indian “black mold”

Mucormycosis (“black mold”), which has spread in India amid the worsening situation with COVID-19, is not just a problem in one region. Cases of infection with a dangerous killer fungus, which affects the nasopharynx, eyes and lungs of humans, have also been recorded in Russia, experts reported. In patients with COVID-19, mucormycosis usually develops against the background of diabetes mellitus and high doses of drugs from the glucocorticosteroid category. In India, there are many people with poorly controlled diabetes, so many infections are recorded there, experts explained. In Russia, cases of “black mold” associated with coronavirus infection will remain isolated, experts believe.

Mistake No. 3. Bad water

Water is one of the main components of homemade preparations. And it can ruin the taste. It is important that good filtered water is used for brining and soaking vegetables (if necessary). You can take a bottled one that suits your taste, you can use a good filter to trap chlorine and impurities. It is often recommended to use spring or well water; for safety reasons, we would also recommend filtering and boiling it.

Question answer

What to do if there is too much vinegar in home canned food?

Needed like air - this is not about them

Hermetically sealed cans prevent air from entering, protecting canned food from spoilage. This explains the ability of homemade preparations to be stored for a long time. But at the same time, it is under anaerobic conditions (without oxygen) that botulinum clostridia, a type of spore-forming bacteria that release a neurotoxin dangerous to humans during their life, are activated and begin to multiply. Of all the known poisons of bacterial origin, this is the most powerful. After all, in order to lead to poisoning and even death, a very small dose is required - less than 1 microgram.

The likelihood of product contamination is increased by poor processing of raw materials, because the microbe, which, sitting in a jar, releases a deadly toxin, lives in the soil and bottom silt. Therefore, it is important to ensure the ideal cleanliness of raw materials from particles of earth and dust, and good cleaning of the room where canning occurs.

However, even if you carefully wash off all visible contaminants from the food, even in five waters, and keep the kitchen as clean as in an operating room, the smallest bacterial spores may still remain. And the more of them that get into the jar, the more dangerous it is. In industrial conditions, the safety of canned food is achieved by sterilization - short-term heating to 120-140 degrees Celsius. In production, this occurs thanks to special techniques, most often autoclaving, which is carried out under high atmospheric pressure in sealed steam sterilizing vessels. At this temperature, clostridia and other microbes die almost instantly. But this is impossible to achieve at home, because even with boiling, the temperature will not rise above 100 degrees. To achieve a more or less similar effect, you will have to boil the jar on the stove for 6 hours. Naturally, after such processing you will not get an appetizing product.

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Mistake No. 5. Vegetables are not salted

If you are rolling large vegetables with skins, there is a chance that it will be difficult for them to salt. As a result, the brine in the jar may become cloudy. This is unsightly and raises concerns about the safety of the content. Therefore, on large cucumbers or zucchini, you need to make several punctures with a toothpick to make it easier for the brine to penetrate inside.

The same applies to whole apples, pears and other fruits that we put in compotes. They also need punctures in the skin in order to be properly preserved.

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Is it possible to drink moldy compote?

From a formal point of view, it is possible, but in the worst case scenario, you can only do this once, because mold can cause attacks of allergies and asthma, swelling of the respiratory tract and even cancer.

You can remove mold from compote, boil it, and then it will become relatively harmless to the body.

It sounds very optimistic, of course.

I wouldn’t risk drinking compote with mold, otherwise there will be indigestion, which will lead to diarrhea. If you really hate to pour it out, try boiling it, removing the mold first

You can remove mold from compote, boil it, and then it will become relatively harmless to the body.

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I wouldn’t risk drinking compote with mold, otherwise there will be indigestion, which will lead to diarrhea. If you really hate to pour it out, try boiling it, removing the mold first

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Mistake #6: Forgetting about hygiene

Canned fruits and vegetables should last a long time, and the longer they sit, the more likely it is that bacteria will grow in the can over time. If you haven’t washed the food for canning properly, poorly sterilized the jar (or neglected this operation altogether), then the canned food can spoil very quickly; bacteria will get into them, which will multiply in the brine or sweet syrup.

Therefore, we thoroughly wash all the vegetables and fruits, remove all the soil, and cut off the stems of the mushrooms if they are dirty in the soil.

We carefully sterilize all jars in boiling water, steam, or in the oven, after, of course, washing them very well with soap or soda.

And you should wash your hands well before canning, and you can also wear disposable gloves when you put vegetables in a jar.

Article on the topic

Confitures and preserves. Guide to fruit and berry preparations

Acid and cold

The potential danger of workpieces made from different types of raw materials is not the same. It's all about their properties. The more acidic the preserved product, the lower the risk of developing Clostridium botulinum spores, which are very sensitive to the acidity of the environment. If the pH level of the product is above 4.5 units (neutral pH is 7), then in such an environment clostridia will reproduce more readily. The most dangerous canned food (with the exception of meat and fish) is made from mushrooms. They have low acidity and “anatomy” is such that it is easy for spores to hide between the plates in the caps.

Among fruits, peaches and pears have low acidity; among vegetables, peppers, eggplants, carrots, pumpkins, and cucumbers have low acidity. However, when canning cucumbers, lactic acid is formed during the pre-salting process, and in addition, vinegar is often added to jars of pickles, and both of these substances prevent clostridia from multiplying in canned food, which reduces the likely danger. But if the housewife pickles cucumbers without vinegar, the risk increases. And then the only hope remains for safe storage, which will not allow microbes to become active.

The favorite temperature of clostridia is the temperature of the human body. Well, or at worst, room temperature, because the activation of bacteria in a jar begins at about 20 degrees Celsius and above. The warmer the room, the more actively microbes multiply under a closed lid. Therefore, keeping ready-made canned food under the bed or kitchen table (and even more so next to the radiator) is extremely dangerous. To reduce the risk, you need to ensure that the cans are continuously kept in the cold, where the temperature will not exceed +10 degrees Celsius. That is, either in the refrigerator, or in a country or village cellar.

Pickled vegetables: 12 signs that you shouldn’t buy a jar Read more

Mistake No. 8. Selection of containers

It often happens that in winter you open a jar of jam or compote, but you cannot eat or drink it right away because the jar is too large. And as a result, all your summer work has to be thrown away, because the contents of the jar have fermented or soured. To prevent this from happening, try to think about what size jars you will need at the canning planning stage. It is convenient to seal mushrooms in small jars, half a liter, for example. Then you can immediately pour the contents of the jar into a salad bowl, and your guests will eat it and there will be nothing left. It is better to do the same with jam, especially if it contains little or no sugar. It is convenient to preserve homemade adjika, tomatoes, and tomato paste in baby food jars to open and use immediately.

Maximum heating. 5 ways to sterilize canning jars Read more

How to prevent mold from appearing in compote

To avoid such an unpleasant phenomenon as mold in compote, just be careful and take note of useful tips:

Before placing in jars, it is necessary to blanch the fruits, and while they are still warm, pour hot syrup over them. Thus, the steam escaping from the canning products will displace excess air and oxygen from the jar.
Be responsible when choosing fruits and berries for preservation. They must be whole, ripe (not overripe), free from worms and free from foreign damage.
Carefully inspect the preservation container. It must be free of cracks, chips and other defects.
Pay special attention to the cleanliness and sterilization of jars and lids used for seaming.
To create the correct pressure in the jar, when filling it with syrup, you must leave 1 cm of free space. This will ensure a tight seal.

Category: Food storage Storing canned food in the pantry, cellar, living room | 11-11-2017

Boiling of the fruit occurs:

in the production of compotes from overripe raw materials;
with a long time of bringing the heating of water during sterilization to a boil and
with excessive sterilization time.

Boiling of fruits is especially often observed when preparing compotes from apricots, strawberries, raspberries and other fruits and berries.

To eliminate overcooking, you should not eat ripe or overripe raw materials. Apricots for compotes should be firm, one side slightly orange, the other slightly yellowish. Strawberries and raspberries are suitable if they are dense, unwrinkled and not fully ripe.

Long-term (more than two years) storage of compotes made from dense, unripe fruits also causes them to soften and give them an unattractive appearance.

The time required to bring water in a saucepan to a boil when sterilizing canned food should not exceed 20 minutes.

It is necessary to strictly adhere to the sterilization time according to the recipe for each individual type of fruit.

Mold in the form of separate clusters of white, gray and yellowish colors appears on the surface of compotes due to non-compliance with the recommended conditions for preparing canned food.

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In addition, mold can form when jars are sealed carelessly and slowly after sterilization, which causes air to enter under the lid before sealing.

Jars must be sealed quickly. The remaining jars in the sterilizer, like the pan itself, must be covered with lids, and the required temperature must be maintained in the sterilizer until the last jar is removed for capping.

Compotes become moldy due to loose sealing of the jars. In this case, microorganisms can enter them along with the air.

Lids break off mainly for the following reasons:

a) use of stale, stale raw materials;
b) insufficient washing of raw materials;
c) non-compliance with the time of its heat treatment;
d) incorrect determination of the start of sterilization;
e) failure to comply with the established time and temperature for sterilization of canned food.

To eliminate these types of defects, it is necessary to: consume freshly picked healthy raw materials; wash it thoroughly with clean water until dust, sand, soil, etc. are completely removed; strictly withstand the thermal processing conditions according to the recipes.

To correctly determine the time at which water begins to boil in a pan during the sterilization process, it is necessary to use well-fitted wooden or metal grating stands and under no circumstances use rags or paper. Accurately adhere to the set sterilization time and temperature, during which the pan must be covered with a lid.

Sterilization of canned food that has been previously sealed (before sterilization) should only be done with special clamps.

Souring of canned fruits, berries and vegetables is caused by loose sealing of the cans. Microorganisms, penetrating along with air through the leaks of the closure, cause fermentation.

Sour canned food is not suitable for food.

Floating of fruits in compotes is observed when:

a) insufficient or loose filling of the jar with fruits or vegetables;
b) the use of ripe and overripe raw materials (apricots, plums, tomatoes, etc.);
c) long-term sterilization.

To eliminate the floating of fruits in compotes, it is recommended to fill the jars tightly, do not preserve ripe and overripe raw materials, and strictly observe the sterilization time.

Cracking of fruit skin.

Cracking of the skin of the fruit is observed mainly in ready-made compotes made from whole plums, mirabelles, redberries, cherry plums and apricots. To eliminate cracking of fruits after sterilization, it is recommended to blanch them before placing them in jars or prick them on all sides, and also ensure that the sterilization time is strictly observed according to the recipe.

Darkening on the surface of the fruit.

Darkening on the surface of fruits in finished compotes is caused by the presence of air in the jar.

Killer Spores

The coronavirus pandemic has led to outbreaks of various fungal diseases in all countries. In particular, COVID-19 can cause massive surges in infection of patients in hospitals with the fungus Candida auris, Izvestia wrote earlier. This pathogen is capable of rapid intrahospital spread and in most cases leads to the death of patients in intensive care. There have also been reports of mass infections in intensive care units with fungi of the genus Aspergillus.

Cases of infection of patients with Indian “black mold” against the background of coronavirus are also increasingly recorded in the scientific literature in different countries. In connection with the growing threat, specialists from the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) have prepared an article describing mucormycosis in patients with COVID-19, which will soon be published in The Lancet, said Nikolai Klimko, who represents Russia in the organization.

However, there is no threat of mass mucormycosis in the Russian Federation; regions with high temperature and humidity are more suitable for the widespread spread of this infection. In our latitudes, mucormycosis remains rare, Pavel Volchkov, head of the MIPT laboratory of genomic engineering, told Izvestia.

— This disease is typical for southern countries located in tropical zones, such as India. But in general, fungal diseases are spreading because they are associated with the use of antibiotics, the expert explained.

Fungal infection develops most quickly in intensive care. Often in the ICU, it comes in addition to the bacterial one: first, a person develops bacterial complications, which are treated with antibiotics, and then invasive mycoses are added, Sergei Yakovlev, professor of the department of hospital therapy at Sechenov University, president of the Alliance of Clinical Chemotherapists and Microbiologists of Russia, told Izvestia.

“During the worldwide swine flu epidemic, it was shown that in severely ill patients with viral infection, the risk of secondary infection with invasive mycoses increases,” he emphasized.

The most common mistakes encountered when preparing compotes and their elimination

Lid not pressed down after sterilization
The main mistake is air or water getting into the jar at the beginning of cooling in air or water. The reason for this is a loose lid that lifts up, especially when the jars are overfilled. Therefore, the shutter must act in such a way that during sterilization it can allow air to pass out of the jar, perhaps also liquid, but during cooling the lid must fit tightly to the surface of the neck, preventing air and water from entering the jar. As far as possible, several operations will be carried out already in the initial cooling phase to ensure that the valve is hermetically sealed during this phase:

- press (do not screw) the Omnia lids several times with a new, unworn closing device, which is necessary especially for lids that have already been used several times;

— place a suitable weight on the lid (weight, jar filled with water);

- turn over the jar with the Omnia lid, this can be done after repeated pressing;

- tighten the metal lids on the “meat” cans; install steel springs or add another on cans with a groove.

The lid does not fit tightly to the neck of the jar for other reasons, for example: when the rubber band is defective or damaged, the jar is cracked, low temperature inside the jar during sterilization as a result of damage to the thermometer, uneven contact surface of the jar and lid.

Souring and molding of compote

The main reasons for these phenomena are:

- low temperature and short sterilization,

- thermometer showing incorrectly,

- high levels of yeast and mold on fruit as a result of unhygienic conditions (insufficient washing, etc.),

— entry of air or water during compote cooling.

The compote begins to sour, as a rule, within one month after preparation; mold appears later. In both cases, the compote cannot be consumed, but the sour compote can be added to kvass, from which fruit distillate (slivovitz, etc.) is made. If only one fruit in the compote is affected by mold, and the remaining fruits are not soft and tasty, you can use this compote immediately.

Fruits in a jar or after opening begin to darken if they were not sufficiently warmed up during sterilization, and the enzymes were not inactivated. Darkening can also be caused by the presence of oxygen from the air, so the berries must be completely immersed in syrup, and the air must be removed from the jars during sterilization.

Signs of damage to homemade products

We often make homemade preparations, but they do not always turn out successfully. What is the reason for the spoilage of canned food prepared at home, and how to identify it? If you made home canned food in jars, then before storing them you need to let them sit for 10-15 days to see if everything is in order with them. During this time, the syrup in fruit preparations and the marinade in vegetable preparations will level out in the jars between the fruits and settle. During this period, defects in home-canned goods prepared for the winter will become apparent. If marinades and compotes were poorly heated during pasteurization, before capping, or if sterilization was not carried out for a short time, then microorganisms could survive. Harmful microorganisms enter jars if they are poorly sealed, poor-quality tin lids are used, or they are poorly sealed with a sealing key. That's why the jars are turned over after seaming. When products in jars are cooled, air penetrates into them, which leads to spoilage of canned food.