food preservation: Exclusion of Air

The exclusion of air, nowadays accomplished by hermetic sealing, is an old device, formerly practiced by pouring hot oil over potted meat or fish, by coating or mixing food with melted fat, as in pemmican, or by burying vegetables in the earth or in sand. The use of melted paraffin achieves the same result. Eggs may be preserved by preventing air from penetrating their porous shells, usually by coating them with an impervious substance.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Irradiation
• Exclusion of Air
• Preservatives
• Drying and Heating
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Food and Cooking