In order for young housewives to perfectly master the art of home canning, their skills need to be backed up not only by a theoretical base and effective practice, but also by culinary secrets that give a zest to any dish and which every lady must know. What else, besides the basic principles of canning, tell the students?

Secret number 1. Water quality.

Most often, the taste and safety of homemade preparations depend on what kind of water you used to make marinades and pickles. The canning water should be clean, not too hard and free of chlorine. It is best to buy special water for these purposes, but if this is not possible, you can also use ordinary water, having previously filtered it or letting it settle for several days.

Secret number 2. Experiments with spices.

Horseradish leaves, dill umbrellas, garlic, black currants and cherries, oak bark, bay leaves - these aromatic ingredients give canned vegetables spicy notes and a peculiar taste. Tell your students how to skillfully vary the ingredients with these ingredients, and experiment with them in class.

Secret number 3. Do you need acid?

Some vegetables contain organic acids and do not need additional acidifiers for canning recipe. These include, for example, tomatoes. But cucumbers, zucchini, peppers and squash do not contain their own acids, and when rolling them, be sure to add citric acid or juice.

Secret number 4. Choosing salt.

Chefs and nutritionists have come to a consensus: sea salt is best suited for cooking dishes and homemade preparations, because it contains 28 times less insoluble precipitation. This allows you to store the workpieces much longer, and the trace elements contained in sea salt make them, moreover, more useful.

Secret number 5. Dill or onion?

Often, when preserving vegetables, we use dill and onions at the same time. According to many recipes, these ingredients complement each other really well, but not every cookbook specifies that they should not be used in equal proportions. If both onions and dill are used in canned food, then you should put more onions, otherwise the dill will "eat" the onion aroma.

Secret number 6. Choosing a pot.

When preserving, you must use stainless steel dishes, glass and ceramic are also suitable. Enamel pots are less suitable for these purposes, because the salads in them can easily burn, but if there are no other options, you need to check for cracks and chips on the pans. Aluminum dishes are not at all suitable for preparing salads and vegetable snacks: they impair the taste and color of the dish.

Secret number 7. Choosing cucumbers.

Pickled cucumbers should not be large, but must be fresh and with black thorns. Cucumbers with white thorns are not suitable for canning - these are perishable varieties. Jars of these cucumbers often explode. Sluggish cucumbers that have been lying for too long are also not suitable for seaming.

Secret number 8. We select the oil.

Sunflower oil for canning should be of high quality and natural so that you do not need to worry about the taste and preservation of the blanks. Oleina is the best choice for home preservation. She will retain all the benefits and taste of vegetables to delight us until next season.

Secret number 9. We protect against explosion.

In order not to have to grieve because the blanks, prepared with such love and diligence, did not live up to their finest hour, you can play it safe a little: add mustard seeds or a few aspirin tablets to the jars before rolling. In this case, the likelihood of keeping the cans intact will increase, although, of course, to a greater extent it depends on how sterile the dishes were and whether the seaming was done well.

Interesting Facts

• During the excavations of the tomb of Tutankhamun, products were found in earthenware dishes, embalmed and poured with olive oil, and the top of the vessel was sealed with a special resin. Believe it or not, the oil-soaked roasted duck has been waiting in the wings for three thousand years and turned out to be quite edible!
• Napoleon Bonaparte issued a decree looking for a way to preserve fresh food. He promised 12,000 francs to whoever would invent such a method. And the inventor was soon found! It turned out to be a certain Upper, who presented to the French a canned soup made six months ago.
• Initially, glass containers were used for canning. But soon the Englishman Durant patented an iron sealed can, and then replaced the iron with tin coated tin. Soon, machines for the manufacture and automatic sealing of cans were invented.
• In Russia, the first canning factory was opened in 1870. She produced several varieties of canned food: porridge, stews, fried meat with peas, and pea soup.
• In 1966, a sample of Russian stew made 50 years ago took place. The experts unanimously passed the verdict - canned food is good for food.
• In some European stores today you can buy canned air from the mountainous Alps.