Food PreservationUse food preservative on daily food items to see its effect

Written By: Divya Singh

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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INTRODUCTION

Take some edible food (rice, bread etc) and make a paste of it by adding water. Make three partsand add Vinegar to one and Potassium Sorbate to the other and nothing to the third. Watch whathappens over 2-7 days.

TOOLS:Spoon (2)

Container (9)

PARTS:Potassium Sorbate (1)

4g

Vinegar (1)4ml

Food items (3)You could use any vegetable/fruit/salads/fruitjuices

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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— Precaution

Use adult supervision while chopping the vegetables/fruits.

Do not ingest any of the food items

— Step 1 - Chopping

Dice vegetables like carrot, cabbage, potato, radish etc

Make a juice out of any fresh fruit. Here we've used apple juice.

— Step 2 - Potassium Sorbate Solution

Take potassium sorbate and water in 1:3 ratio respectively, by volume.

Take a small quantity of potassium sorbate. A bottle cap or even a tablespoon will be ideal for thisexperiment's purpose.

Mix them well using a spoon to make the solution.

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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— Step 3 - Preservation

Take the food you intend to experiment with (here cabbage) in three different containers.

Pour 1/2 tea-spoon of potassium sorbate solution in one of the three samples and mix .

Pour 1/2 tea-spoon of vinegar in another sample and mix.

Leave the third container untouched

— Step 4 - Repeat

Repeat the previous step for the other vegetables/fruits you've chopped.

Do not forget to label the containers with the kind of preservative used.

Alternatively, you can mix a few fruits and vegetables together to make a salad and then add thepreservative to it.

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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— Step 5 - Preservation of Liquids

Take the fresh fruit juice in three different containers and repeat the previous steps.

You could use any edible liquid to experiment.

— Troubleshooting

Adding too much or too little preservative.

Avoid using certain processed foods like tetra pack juices / confectioneries / baked food items etcas they already contain preservatives.

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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— Observations

Download or copy the tabular columns in your note book.

Observe for change in odour, colour and formation of fungi in each sample every day and recordyour observations in the table.

One tabular column has been partially filled for your reference. Fill the remaining columns andtables accordingly.

— Day 1

The following pictures show the status of food on Day 1:

a) without preservative

b) with vinegar and

c) with potassium sorbate

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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— Day 2

Similarly, this is the status on Day 2

— Day 3

And Day 3

Food Preservation Release: 1.2 [minor] - 2017-10-25

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