Questions tagged [food-preservation]
Questions about LONG-TERM food storage such as canning, pickling, freezing, and drying.
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What additional uses are there for a food dehydrator?
Recently browsing a certain online website I've discovered the cost of food dehydrators has fallen considerably since they first came to market. Realising that I may incur the wrath of my other half ...
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How to tell whether citrus marmalade is overcooked
I only ate commercially made citrus marmalades before and from this experience know that there may be variations in thickness, color and taste.
The kumquat marmalade I made came out thicker than ...
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Why can't I scale up jam/jelly recipes?
Pectin packages always explicitly state that jelly/jam recipes cannot be scaled up.
My own empirical evidence is limited but I did have a doubled batch not set so I no longer double the batches.
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Cutting the stems of banana instead of wrapping them when preserving them
I am searching for a ways to preserve the banana, and most of the time they said that I need to wrap the stems in a plastic or scotch tape so the gas wont come, they said that this gas is the reason ...
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How to preserve a sugar, oil free homemade chocolate spread? [duplicate]
I'm starting to make a business of selling homemade sugar and oil free chocolate spread, which will be sweetened with dates.
My ingredients are:
Sugar free cocoa powder
Hazelnuts
Dates
And water.
I do ...
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When to add preservative to hot sauce?
So I am currently trying on a recipe of homemade hot sauce, but I plan on adding either sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate as the preservative. I have figured out how much I would try using, but I ...
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What is the lowest temperature at which botulism spores are killed?
I am wondering if it's possible to pressure can low-acid foods in my Instant Pot. Now hear me out. I know it's not recommended because the highest pressure that can be guaranteed on it is 10.2 PSI, ...
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How to label jars so the label comes off easily?
I have made several batches of jam over this summer and would like to label the jars.
I am printing the labels on my laser printer for a more professional look. Also, I want to reuse the jars, so ...
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Can we keep alcoholic beverages indefinitely?
I have some never opened alcoholic bottles under the kitchen sink and has been there for years. The are basically whiskey, vodka and bacardi.
I always thought that alcoholic drink never go bad and ...
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How to preserve the "sugar syrup" without using a cold storage?
I prepared the Gulab jamuns few days back. Now there is a lot of sugar syrup remaining, what's the way of preserving it without using the fridge?
One way is to boil it daily, but that'll consume a ...
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Unopened wine bottles kept in fridge. Are they still good?
I have a couple of bottles of wine in my fridge that have never been opened (original packaging) and have been there for ~3 years.
Would that mean that the wine have become worse and hence should ...
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Preserving simple syrup for room temperature storage and use
I make and keep simple syrup on hand to use in my coffee.
Sometimes I will finish it fast enough but other times it starts growing mold before I have used it all up.
This guide that gets referenced a ...
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Orange juice preservation by chemical presevatives
How much Sodium Benzoate should I add to preserve 200ml of Orange juice?
CommunityBot
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Can salt and sugar be used simultaenously to preserve food?
For example, Amla (Indian gooseberries) can be preserved by candying them in sugar, or preserving them in brine and vinegar.
However, the candying makes them too sweet and preserving in salt makes ...
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Making jelly using erythritol & monk fruit extract in place of sugar
I'm making jelly. The box of pectin says not to reduce the sugar or it can cause 'set failure'. I want to use 'erythritol w/ monk fruit extract' in place of sugar (purchased from Costco). Will that ...
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How to decode some less common food Expiration Manufactured codes (US)? [closed]
How do I decode these codes?
206 X4A1 14:57 and 206V
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Can I purify / kill germs in a water to make it drinkable by putting it in a freezer?
I've conducted a research on how can I purify the water to make it drinkable and the results are many, but most of them says that drinking a freeze water can cause cancer to us.
I am using a freezer ...
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Preserving beef stock concentrate
I've been looking for the most convenient way to preserve stock at room temperature. It seems that Bovril preserves just containing a 14% of salt, while every powdered product contains 50% of salt. I ...
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Minimum procedure for sterilizing mason jars for canning
My wife and I are about to do some tomato canning tomorrow. We have a bunch of mason jars that we didn't have time to sterilize. She thinks that just washing them in hot water is enough. After ...
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Why is store bought frozen food worse than homemade?
I made multiple dishes following recipes and froze them, and they tasted a lot better than store-bought equivalents.
Why does it happen? Isn't current technology capable of doing the same procedures ...
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Why remove blossom ends for canned tomatoes / marinara sauce?
I was looking at recipes for canning marinara sauce and the Ball jar's recipe notes to remove the blossom end from the tomatoes.
In trying to search for the rationale I couldn't find anything. The ...
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When do you hear the Ping sound of the lid sealing?
I am new to canning. I made applesauce this morning and I pulled them out of the water bath and put them on a towel on my counter to seal, but I never heard the "ping" sound of them sealing shut. When ...
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Garlic with the olives... what happened?
Something strange (but nice) happened and I hope someone can explain.
Here is the story: I had a glass jar of olives (Kalamata Pitted). They come in a "brine" with the ingredients listed ...
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How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?
How do I know if a given food or ingredient I have is still good, or if I should discard it?
How can I best preserve a food or ingredient?
This broad question is intended as a "general reference" ...
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Fruit leather sticking to parchment paper
Having some trouble making strawberry fruit leather for the first time. I'm pureeing frozen strawberries in orange juice then spreading the puree on parchment paper that I put on a pan. I then put it ...
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How many times can you reuse bones to make broth?
I recently cooked a chicken and made chicken broth from the bones. I also kept a few pieces of meat to add to the broth to give it more flavor.
I know you can freeze the broth and use it for later ...
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Why are my salt cured egg yolks still wet?
I've been trying to cure egg yolks in salt. They've been in it for 2 weeks now, but they are still too wet. At this stage they look more like a very thick paste than something I could actually grate ...
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Packaging/Bottling and Uncooked Hot Sauce
Forgive me for the post being long! I make a buffalo sauce/marinade that all my friends and family rave about. I’d love to be able to give some to them to keep in the pantry, especially the ones that ...
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Does cooking food inside a pressure cooker and then leaving it locked preserve it similar to canning?
I have made some food in my pressure cooker and left it in room temperature for over a week. When I opened it, there was no mold. I threw it out because it might have still been bad, but this got me ...
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Can I freeze ice cream base before creaming it?
I recently acquired an ice cream maker, and successfully used it to make sone chocolate and coffee ice cream. The ice cream maker is actively cooled, but I doubt it makes a different.
Most ice cream ...
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Is it advisable to cook cilantro or mint leaves and store them, instead of blanching them?
The problem:
The grocer only agrees to give a large bunch of cilantro (coriander) or mint leaves, and I need it to last a month or more, because I don't use the herbs as frequently.
What I've tried ...
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Cloudy sediment in home canned pickles
I've home-canned some pickled vegetables recently and there is a cloudy sediment in the brine. I'd like to know what causes it and how to prevent it.
It is not spoilage. It only seems to affect the ...
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Where can I purchase calcium disodium edta preservative?
I'm trying to make homemade mayonnaise with a longer shelf life. I see all the commercial brands list calcium disodium edta as a preservative so I was wondering where I could find this ingredient.
I ...
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How do pastry shops get away with displaying cream filled pastries without a display fridge? [closed]
I see many French and Italian pastry shops displaying and serving pastries that are filled with creams and custards, but these were not stored in a display fridge.
Don't all these need fridges because ...
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Can flavoured syrups be dried to powder, and if so how?
I've made some rather good ginger syrup by simmering chopped ginger root in equal parts sugar and water, then straining. I made rather a lot, nearly half a litre, and used less than planned. Most is ...
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Shelf life and preservation of Bánh chưng
It's Tết again and I'm about to buy this traditional Vietnamese delicacy. However, since I'm currently trying out a Joylent-only diet, I'll only be able to eat it after a couple of days.
So my ...
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Preserved lime is browning and fading inside the brine
I read a lot about preserved lemons (TLDR: quarter them, and keep them in a mix of lemon juice and salted/brined water for 10-30 days), and I'm trying it with limes. But...
Two things concern me ...
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Would putting a dead animal in the freezer contaminate other food?
If you put a dead animal in the freezer, wrapped in a plastic bag, lay the dead animal on top of the other food in the freezer, can the smell of the dead animal contaminate the other food in the ...
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How can I get a very thick or viscous paste (e.g. caramel, ganache, thick mayonnaise) into small-necked squeeze bottles without heating it up?
This is a problem I've had with several types of food/sauce.
I'll make a big batch of something like a thick caramel sauce or an extra-thick mayonnaise and it simply won't pass through a funnel into ...
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Best way to preserve guanciale (or other cured meats) in the fridge
I have a 1.2 KG piece of guanciale currently still vacuum sealed. It will take a few months to eat so, once opened, what should it be wrapped it in to maximize it's lifespan in the fridge?
Are the ...
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How long to soak white buckwheat?
I like to soak white buckwheat and do some raw recipes from it.
It is said that the optimal time for soaking is 1.5 days. I'm not changing the water
because of rutin preservation. What is the maximum
...
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Food preservation in refrigerator [duplicate]
I am an international student in France and as I live alone, products are put in fridge for later use after being opened. Two months in and I never had a problem with storing food in it but today I ...
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Do you have to refrigerate Pickles?
So last weekend the wife and I got a huge jar of pickles at Costco. The thing is bigger than a gallon of milk (the wife really loves her pickles). There really isn't any room for it in the fridge, ...
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Deterring mold on bakery bread [duplicate]
Lately we've been finding that we can only keep quality bakery bread loaves on the counter for about 5 days before they start to mold. We'd like to get a little longer out of them -- say 8-9 days -- ...
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How does the size of the ginger affect the candy process?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-MFpM74SNw&ab_channel=Carolineartiss
I'm interested in candying ginger, like in this video. I want tiny candied ginger pieces to use in ginger biscuits. I'm just ...
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Can my freezer be too cold?
The FDA recommends a freezer temperature of 0˚F (-18˚C). Warmer temperatures risk bacterial growth and quality problems. But what are the reasons not to set the freezer colder? My Bosch freezer can be ...
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I am making duck confit this weekend and will refrigerate it. I am curious though; what are the concerns for leaving it in a cool room?
I've made duck confit many times before and used it fresh. This time, though, I'd like to try to age it in the fridge a bit to see if I notice a difference.
To do this I've purchased some earthenware ...
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How can I prevent discoloration in lactic fermented vegetables/sauces?
I make lactobacillus fermented hot sauces and have noticed that they get a slight brownish discoloration over time. I'm curious if there is something I can do to keep the original color of the food.
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What is the process of storing food in toothpaste'ish tubes?
You know what I'm talking about, these food tubes that are popular for tomato paste, or pesto.
Searching for 'food in tube' or 'how to make your own tomato paste in tube' yields mixed results, so I'm ...
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Popped lid in pressure canning
One of the lids on a quart jar of green beans "popped" after sitting on the kitchen counter for two days. It was one of a batch of a dozen jars canned in that session. The others are fine ...
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