Photos of Pasteurization by Mario
Pasteurization is a process of preserving food, so it can be stored for a long time. You can pasteurize sauces, dips, fruits in stock syrup, jams, soups – basically all of the cooked food that can be stored in liquid or in a liquid form.
This is an easy process, however there are quite a few steps to go through. But if you think about it, it’s worth to spend about an hour of your time in order to preserve the deliciousness in a jar.
Below you’ll find a list of things you’ll need for pasteurization process. Bear in mind that depending on what you want to preserve, you might need different size pots or jars.
What you need:
Jars with lids (make sure the lids are matching the jars. Don’t use a lid that goes through the thread of the jar, otherwise it will not seal properly)
Big cooking pot
Kitchen towel
Food to pasteurize (it has to be hot or at least very warm. Do not put cold food into sterilized jars)
Preparation:
- Wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water, rinse them.
- Put the kettle on, then pour boiling water into the jars and lids, leave for five minutes (this will sterilize the jars and lids, and get them ready for pasteurization in a water bath).
- Place a kitchen towel on the bottom of your cooking pot, pour the water from the jars into the pot and put it onto the stove/induction hob, bring it to the boil (kitchen towel is to prevent the jars from touching the bottom of the pot – this could cause the jars to crack or break).
Pasteurization:
In the meantime, heat up your sauce/dip/marinade in a separate pan, then pour it into the jars, 3/4 way up. Put the lid on, but don’t screw it on too tightly.
Once the water has boiled in the cooking pot, place the jars inside. Now, there’s two really important things you need to remember: firstly, make sure the jars don’t touch each other’s sides (just like in the bottom of the pot and kitchen towel scenario, this could cause the jars to crack or break); secondly, don’t fully submerge the jars – the water has to be 3/4 way up the jars (if there’s too much water, just take some out).
Pasteurize the food in jars in simmering water for 15 minutes. Take the jars out of the pot (make sure you use a dry kitchen towel/oven gloves while doing it – the jars will be hot!). Tighten the lids and set aside on a flat surface, upside down, leave to cool.
After the jars have cooled down completely, turn them over and check the lids, they should feel solid and concave. If the center of the lid moves up and down, it means the jar is not sealed properly and you will have to repeat the whole process from the beginning (only with the jars that have not sealed).
Store the jars with pasteurized food in a cool, dark place (back of the cupboard is just perfect).
When opening a jar with pasteurized food, the lid has to click. If it doesn’t, we wouldn’t recommend to use the food from the jar.
And it’s done! Little bit of effort, but it’s worth it! Now you can keep your favorite sauces and jams for whenever you fancy them.
If you have any questions about the process or what to pasteurize, just leave us a comment.
