Canning is a storage method discovered by people to preserve food items for a long time and to maintain their freshness as the first day, without losing any flavor or producing any bacteria when they are put into use.
Since the existence of humankind, many methods have been tried to preserve foodstuffs for long periods of time. Finally, with the work of the world-famous scientist Pasteur, humanity was introduced to canned foods.
What is canning? To summarize a question asked, canned foods are used to preserve sterilized raw, half-cooked or fully cooked foods for a few weeks or a few years. They are packages. Canned foods are used to extend the life of seasonal and difficult-to-preserve foods.
What are the Canning Types?
Canned food has an important place in food consumption today. However, there are many types of canned foods depending on the nature of the food. The most popular of these are canned tomato paste, canned tuna, canned compote, canned roasted eggplant and peppers, side dishes, and legumes.
Just as we separate canned foods according to their content, we can also categorize them according to their preparation methods and preservation methods. For example; Canned tomato paste is produced and offered for consumption in vacuum-sealed metal cans, as well as being vacuum-packed and offered for consumption in glass or plastic containers. Foodstuffs can be canned without any cooking, undercooking, “semi-processed” or by full cooking methods. Every food item has its own canning story. For example; Canned tuna is fully cooked, usually stored in metal containers, and contains plenty of oil.
Are Canned Products Healthy?
Let’s open a perspective on canned products from a health perspective. Canned goods are completely healthy. Canned foods with expiration dates or recommended consumption dates printed on their boxes should either not be consumed after these dates or should be consumed with caution. Canned foods consumed in accordance with consumption instructions never harm human health. Canned varieties, which have proven their compliance with previously determined food production procedures in the laboratory environment, do not pose any threat to human health. The answer to the question under what conditions canned foods are harmful to health is as follows:
When the usage instructions stated on canned products are not followed,
When the boxes in which canned products are stored are found to be damaged and used,
When any odor or color change is detected that indicates that canned products have spoiled when opened for use,
Canned products may harm health. When we look at the issue in this context, not using canned products in accordance with the relevant instructions may cause harm to health; However, canned foods are not harmful to health when consumed correctly.
Although canned products are not as cheap as fresh products in terms of price, they are cheaper because they are easier to use. In terms of price, almost all canned foods are only slightly more expensive than fresh foods; But since they are pre-processed for you, you can consume them without any extra effort. This gives you marginal benefit. Since canned products are stored in containers suitable for their shape, they are also very easy to transport. To put it this way: Let’s say you want to make tomato paste. You must transport approximately ten kilograms of tomatoes, cook them and turn them into tomato paste in an amount of approximately one kilogram. Instead, it is much more logical to buy a kilogram of canned tomato paste.
Canned foods are generally long-lasting and can be consumed in all seasons, canned vegetables and fruits, which you can only find fresh in some seasons, are available for consumption in all seasons. A canned vegetable produced from summer-grown vegetables will taste as if they were in season, since they will be available for use in the winter.