Food is very sensitive and hard to maintain due to the extent of its exposure to bacteria and heat that could affect its acidity and safety to consume. So for the last hundreds of years, many navigators and travelers tend to find herbs and spices to be used to prolong the lifespan and maintain the freshness of food and they started to call it preservatives.
Preservatives are those materials which can be used to prolong its freshness and lessen the risk of early deterioration or being rotten, maintain the natural taste and good presentation of the food. However, there are artificial substance used as preservatives which is synthetic and used for foods that is processed and packaged found in markets and grocery stores. But most of the times, it had health effect that could harm us if we consumed too much of it.
Now we would like to inform the readers of good source for natural preservatives for food that is harmless and may even contribute to good nutrients found in your food you planned to preserve.
The first and usually used preservative is of course – SALT – which was used since the beginning of time when people learn to eat cooked foods. This is usually used for meat and fishes to make the microbes or bacteria be dehydrated (osmosis) and reduce the emergence of other bacteria which makes the food became fresh for longer period of time.
Second is LEMON juice which has rich source of Vitamins C (or sometimes referred to as ascorbic acid) which provide antioxidant the reduce the risk for spoilage of food. Lemon juice is good in pH balance to avoid acidity and too much alkaline to be produced in the food.
Third is VINEGAR which came from water and sugar after being fermented and produces sour taste which is caused by acetic acid. The acetic acid is responsible for killing the bacteria found at the surface of the food and make it fresher for longer time.
Fourth in the line is the ROSEMARY Extract from the leaves which is very helpful in producing antioxidant (carnosic and rosmaranic acid or the 24 antioxidant component) that shields the food from decaying.
Lastly, the most popular natural preservatives is – SUGAR– which draw out water from the food to reduce the risk of forming bacteria and it also has the ability of killing other microorganism.
