Why sterilize jars for half an hour before placing non-sterile fruits and vegetables? In what cases do you need and do not need to spend expensive gas or electricity and your strength on sterilizing cans? These are very interesting questions that do not occur to us. We do as our mothers and grandmothers taught us.
Quite often, we preserve in dachas, where we use electricity or gas in cylinders for this, which must still be bought, refueled and brought. Jars are sterilized in various ways: by boiling, steaming, in a microwave oven. Then, in these jars, we put deliberately non-sterile vegetables (they cannot be washed from bacteria) with non-sterile hands. The costs of our efforts, money for useless sterilization are wasted. Some of the blanks deteriorate before reaching the house. Often, pouring a boiling product into sterile jars (jams), we then get mold growth. It is almost impossible to get rid of fungal spores. They can be suppressed by excess sugar or fractional sterilization.
How to minimize the percentage of spoiled homemade products?
The most reliable sterilization is final, when the products are finally placed in jars and semi-hermetically closed. It is then, by bringing the contents to a boil, we will kill all bacteria. By closing the jars after sterilization and turning them over, we will prevent new bacteria from getting inside and multiplying. Even preserves without preservatives will be well stored, for example, mashed potatoes for children, which are made without adding sugar and salt.
Not all workpieces can be sterilized by boiling. It is not necessary to sterilize what cannot be subjected to prolonged subsequent sterilization. For example, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes. But for these blanks, preliminary sterilization of the can is also not required. As a rule, such blanks are sterilized by three times pouring boiling water or marinade. In addition, vinegar is added to the marinade, which itself is a stabilizer and prevents the growth of bacteria, and other preservatives (salt and sugar). Lids for any workpieces should always be boiled.
Steam sterilization of workpieces
The most economical sterilization method. Banks must be sealed with a lid. Then they must be placed in a deep container (pan) of such a volume that the height of the cans does not interfere with closing the lid. You cannot put them close to each other, otherwise they may burst. At the bottom of the pan, usually put a newspaper or divider and pour some water. The water boils quickly. Steam appears and sterilizes the cans. Their contents heat up and boil. For 600-800-gram jars, 20-25 minutes are enough if these contents were hot before the start of sterilization. It is necessary to monitor the level of water in the pot so that it does not boil away in the process. It is necessary to add carefully (boiling water is better), without getting on the cans.
Separately, I would like to dwell on five-minute liquid jams. Sometimes you don't want to boil the berries, but such blanks are poorly priced, they often ferment. It is difficult to kill fungal spores at home. It is recommended to pour the jam into jars and sterilize them 2-3 times in the above way, allowing the jars to cool completely. During cooling, the spores of the fungi are activated and subsequent sterilization kills them.
It is difficult to change your habits, but it is enough to understand the principle of canning and preserving blanks in order to rebuild and learn to save your energy, time and money.
