Preserving Food:
Q.1. What is food preservation?
Ans: Fresh foods make us healthy and provide us energy. But spoiled foods would make us sick and weak. Food spoils because of pests and microorganisms getting into food. Food preservation involves a food processing method which prevents the growth of microorganisms.
Q.2. In which ways do we preserve food?
People have used scientific methods to preserve foods. There are many ways to preserve food are as follows:
a) Drying:
Drying is the process of taking away the moisture (removing the food's water) by heating in the sun or an oven. Crops such as rice, wheat, pulses etc. can be preserved by sun drying.
b) Canning or Bottling:
Canning is the process of heating food at a specific temperature for a specific period. Jam, Jelly, and pickles are processed from fruits and preserved in an airtight pot.
c) Refrigeration:
Refrigeration is the process of keeping food in a cold place. Fish, meat, vegetables and fruits can keep in good condition for some days in the refrigerator.
Besides, fishes can be preserved by using salt or ice. We can also use sugar, vinegar or oil to preserve olives, plums, mangoes etc. for a long time.
Q.3 What are the benefits of food preservation?
Ans: The importance of food preservation are-
a) stop wastage and slow down the spoilage of food.
b) helps prevent the growth of bacteria that causes spoilage.
c) makes the seasonal food available throughout the year.
d) makes it easy to transport food to far places.