Food Preservation

Many food crop plants can only be grown during certain seasons of the year. In order to make sure that we have them in the season when they are not growing, we need to store and preserve them. We also store and preserve food from animals.

There are many ways of preserving food crops. Traditional ways of preserving food are: by salting, drying, smoking, and processing, modern methods of preserving food include refrigeration, bottling, and canning.

Salting: We preserve meat or fish by salting it. The salt prevents bacteria from growing on the meat, so bacteria cannot spoil the meat.

Smoking: We smoke fish and meat to prevent them from becoming spoiled and decaying.

Drying: We preserve meat and some vegetables, like leafy vegetables and onions by drying. Drying removes water that bacteria and other microorganismsMicrobes are organisms that are too small to be seen without using a microscope. They include organisms like bacteria, archaea, and single-cell eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have a nucleus e.g. amoeba... More need to live. By drying the crops, bacteria and other microorganisms cannot spoil them.   

Processing: By turning cassava into garri and yam and maize into flour, we preserve the crops. In processing, we change the food into different forms.

Refrigeration: Bacteria and microorganisms that spoil food are not active when the temperature is very cold. If they are kept in deep freezers, food crops do not lose their flavour and food value for a long time.

Canning: Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container, like steel and tin cans. Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under specific circumstances, it can be much longer.

Canned foods such as milk, sardines, tomatoes, etc are sold in cans in our markets, shops, and stalls. Canning is done in special factories.