American biochemists insist that the vegetables and fruits harvested during the season at the peak of succulence are much more nutritious than greenhouse even if we consume them canned. Their colleagues compared fresh vegetables and fruits with their packaged in iron or glass analogs and came to the conclusion that the content of vitamins and fiber in them is approximately the same, and sometimes canned food even benefits. The reason is that fresh fruits and vegetables are usually harvested unripe, then transported and stored for a long time in the warehouse. And all this time the quantity of vitamins decreases. But the fruits for canned food are harvested and prepared immediately, within a few hours. We will tell you the recipes for pickles, preparations for the winter.
Vinegar, salt, sugar ...?
Three traditional natural preservatives - salt, vinegar and sugar - cope well with microbes. But still, in terms of health from them, more harm than good. So try to reduce their number in the bank to a minimum. Let your creation be less durable, but more useful. Use all the reserves of natural pantries! Instead of table vinegar, take lemon juice, juice of sour berries, citric acid, and apple and white wine vinegar. Replace useless in terms of trace elements and vitamins, table salt to Himalayan pink or sea salt. To strengthen the sweet taste and aroma, apply clove and cinnamon. But do not overdo it: excess spices and spices can easily start the process of decay.
Sauerkraut without salt
1) 3 kg of cabbage
2) 4 liters of water
3) black pepper ("peas")
4) bay leaf
5) 1 medium carrot (grate)
6) slices of Antonovka, cranberry and cumin (to taste)
First, prepare a cabbage "marinade": chop 1.5 kg cabbage, place in a sterilized jar (4 liters), pour boiled water and leave for 2-3 days at room temperature. Get cabbage, wring out, strain the resulting solution. Chop another 1.5 kg of cabbage, add grated carrots, herbs and spices to taste, densely put in a sterilized jar (4 liters) and top up with a sour cabbage solution. Leave it under the press for 1-2 days at room temperature, then move it to the refrigerator and keep it at + 5C for 3-5 days.
Industrial or household
Cans from store shelves, like those rolled up with their own hands, have their minuses and pluses. The main advantage of industrial canning is a high-tech manufacturing process that allows you to save a maximum of vitamins and reduces to zero the risk of damage and contamination of the product. Home opportunities do not allow you to properly sterilize canned food (under pressure and at 120C, as they do in factories). And in general, to comply with all the conditions of preservation and storage in an ordinary apartment is almost unrealistic. On the other hand, manufacturers, which it is important to push back the inevitable "death" of the product, usually put in it too much salt, sugar and vinegar. And the way of tomato cucumbers from the garden to our table in this case is longer. Instead of the refined sugar in domestic preparations use cane sugar, honey, stevia. With the same functions, the decoction from the sweet licorice root will also be perfect. It will also save your jam from fermentation and reduce their calorie content.
Sun-dried tomatoes
1) 300 g of tomatoes (medium-sized)
2) 1 tsp. volcanic or sea salt
3) 2 cloves garlic (grate on a small grater)
4) 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
5) thyme, rosemary or any Mediterranean seasonings to taste
Cut the tomatoes in circles or in half. Mix with the other ingredients in the bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for the night. Place the slices on a baking sheet on baking paper and dry for several hours in the oven at 60 ° C. Store in a glass jar with a lid-lock and rubber gasket. Finished dried tomatoes should not be soft, otherwise they will become an ideal hotbed of bacteria and at the same time dried up - it's good if they bend and barely break, but do not break.
Green Tkemali
1) 1 kg of green plum (cherry plum or similar acidic variety)
2) a handful of coriander, basil, tarragon, mint and ombalo
3) 5-7 cloves of garlic
4) 1 pod of hot green pepper
5) a pinch of sea salt
Wash the plums, put them in a saucepan, pour water, boil and cook for 5 minutes. Throw it in a colander, peel it off the bones and peel, save the broth. Pour the plum into a saucepan, add a little broth and cook. Sprinkle the herbs, garlic and pepper with salt, add to the plums and simmer for 2 minutes. Keep in the fridge.
Russian roulette
The risk of poisoning canned food is always there. And with home preparations, alas, as a rule, higher. The main danger is botulism, an infectious disease that affects the nervous system. The culprits are microbes that tolerate and warm up to 100C (and 120C for them - a sure death), and the lack of oxygen in sealed vessels, and serious doses of salt and acetic acid. At the same time, the "infected" banks do not differ in appearance from the "healthy" ones.
What can I do to protect myself:
Refuse to experiment with mushrooms, fish and meat: the chance to earn the most severe food poisoning, including botulism, with such canned foods above all. Canned without fat: it gives the forces of putrefactive bacteria (and you - extra calories). The most dangerous for the stomach vegetable blanks - with the addition of oil: stew, caviar.
Without regret, throw out:
Swollen cans (do not digest their contents). Canned food with traces of mold, cloudy solution, gas bubbles, foam, with sugary grains, - compotes with a sharp vinegar or spirit smell. In the case of industrial preparations, select banks with the GOST sign and check the production date and expiration date. The content is "younger", the better. The product produced more than 6-8 months ago is best left in the store. The bank itself should be free from damage, swelling and rust.
Berry left-handers
1) 3 cups of forest raspberry (or other berries)
2) a pinch of cinnamon, powdered sugar if desired
Rinse the berries, put them in a deep baking tray and put in the oven (100C) until softened. Wipe through a sieve, puree pour over a flat baking sheet, made with baking paper, and at 60C dry until thickened. Fold in a tube, sprinkle with cinnamon (or sugar). Store in a cool, dark place. Recipes of pickles, blanks for the winter - can not be considered all over the world, because the main thing is not even skill, but quality and work for results!