Food is the most important source of energy. It’s a basic human need for living things to survive. Ever since the evolution of mankind, humans have tried to develop their food culture by various means. Cultivation and gardening were great discoveries, humans after discovering fire and how to control fire, started making food by cooking it on the fire or heat, this tasted better. So ever since humans were always trying to think ahead of time. Fruits and vegetables are found plenty in summer seasons, these foods are fresh and nutritious, but when it comes to winter, vegetables are not found in abundance, so to avoid hunger and starvation, humans started to practice food preservation. 

Food preservation is the way to keep the nutritious element of the food for the desired period. That is where the ancient practice of food preservation started. In modern times, many technologies have evolved but still hunger is a major problem in some parts of the world. So to avoid wastage of food and to get the optimum use of the food produced, foods like fruit and vegetable preservation (การ ถนอม ผัก, which is the term in Thai) are very important. Some foods by using some microorganism can make many wonderful beverages like wine, beer, and pickles are made by food preservation.

In this era of the supermarket and good storage facilities, people lack knowledge about fruit and vegetable preservation because all types of food and fruits are available in all seasons in these supermarkets, but it is very important to know about the basic methods of food preservation. These methods are very useful and prevail even in modern times in rural areas and in some traditional households where supermarkets are not readily available.

Some Of The Most Common Methods Of Fruit And Vegetable Preservations Are:

Drying

Drying is the method where fruits and vegetables are dehydrated and all the moisture is taken out of the food completely. Due to the lack of moisture, bacterial and yeast growth are restricted and thus preserving the food. The food is either air-dried or sun-dried or sometimes through smoking or freezing.

Canning

Canning refers to storing into some containers, vegetables, and fruits are cut into small pieces and then kept in a jar where it is heated to a high degree to kill any microorganism which can spoil the food.

Sugaring Or Salting

Salting and sugaring is a great form to preserve food. Salt and sugar due to osmotic pressure all the water out of the food.