Hydrator (Vegetable Crisper)—A drawer-like section in refrigerators which protects fresh fruits and vegetables from drying out during refrigerator storage.
Low-acid Food—Food with pH above 4.6. A low-acid food requires processing at high temperature under pressure to destroy micro-organisms and insure a safe canned product. Includes all vegetables except tomatoes.
Micro-organism—Includes bacteria, molds, and yeasts, which when present in food can cause spoilage and even food poisoning. Therefore, they must be destroyed in canning foods or their growth prevented in freezing and drying foods.
Moisture-vapor-proof—Packing materials that prevent loss of moisture from foods during freezer storage. Examples include glass, rigid plastic, and metal freezer containers.
Moisture-vapor-resistant—Packing materials that protect foods from moisture loss during freezer storage. Examples include freezer wraps—paper, plastic, or foil—plastic bags, waxed freezer cartons.
Molds—Microscopic fungi which form air-borne spores (seeds) that may alight on food and grow into cottony mats or fuzz. Some molds or their end products may be harmful, and moldy vegetables or fruit should not be canned. Molds are destroyed by proper canning, but they may develop in leaky containers. Food from leaky containers or any canned food showing mold growth should be discarded without tasting.
Open-kettle Canning—Procedure whereby food is cooked in an ordinary kettle, then packed into hot jars and sealed. Jars of food receive no additional heat processing. This is a dangerous practice as spoilage organisms may enter the jar during the transfer of food from kettle to jar. In low-acid foods, temperatures obtained are not hot enough to insure destruction of all spoilage organisms that may be present in the food.
Pack—Designates how food is packed into containers. Specifies the temperature of food when packed into jars for canning, or the method of sweetening fruits for freezer packs.
Pectin—A substance occurring naturally in many fruits which causes the juice to thicken or gel after heating if the proper proportions of sugar and acid are present. Natural pectins are more prevalent in underripe fruit than mature or overripe fruit. Some fruits have enough natural pectins to make high quality jams and jellies. Others require addition of commercial pectins which are made from either citrus peel or apples.
pH—Measure of acidity of a product. The lower the pH the higher the acidity.