According
to Websters, BACTERIOSTATIC means:
of or relating to or causing bacteriostasis,
which of course requires a definition of BACTERIOSTASIS, which means:
The inhibition of growth, but not the killing of, bacteria.
The main idea is that these methods attempt to slow the growth of bacteria, thus extend the "shelf life" of food. The basic premise of these methods is to alter food or store it in a media that is inhospitable to bacteria.
The
major forms are:
Drying
Freezing
Pickling
Salting/Curing
Smoking
Jamming/Jellying
In
addition to a description of the methods, there are comments about which
methods are good for third-world use and some extra useful links that didn't
fit into the above catergories.
Useful
field methods
Additional
useful links
Foods
that are typically dried include meats, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and
grains. Wow, that
sounds like everything. Drying can be pretty low tech (although there
are complicated methods for drying, like freeze! drying), and can or cannot
be energy intensive. In warm sunny regions, drying can be fairly
simple, as often foods need only be cut to appropriate proportions and
placed in a sunny area. But
in colder regions, drying food can require significant energy inputs.
It's usually important when drying foods that it be done quickly, so that
the food doesn't have time to spoil. This is probably the most common
method of bacteriostatic food preservation in the world,and likely to be
the dominant method in any one country, mostly because grains are aprimary
staple, and drying is the primary method for storing grains. (Think
about all those grain silos everywhere).
Here are some useful links:
Freezing:To preserve (foods, for example) by subjecting to freezing temperatures.
Freezing is also fairly straightforward. Almost anything can be frozen, although not indefinitely. The freezing process slows down the process of food degradation, but does not stop it. Some foods can be frozen longer than others. Freezing is a very practical and easy method, when there is access to a refrigerator. However, this is not a common commodity in third world countries. Freezing foods has very little practicality outside of most developed nations.
Here
are some useful links:
To preserve or flavor (food) in a solution of brine or vinegar.
Ickle me, pickle
me, tickle me too. Went for a ride in a flying shoe...wait. I'm off the
subject again. Pickling is a fairly specific technique, is generally limited
to veggies, and sometime fruits and vegetables. Pickled foods have a distinct
taste, salty and sour, although a variety of herbs can be used to create
a bright bouquet of salty and sour tastes. It is a fairly simple method,
providing there is easy access to lots of salt and vinegar, typically key
ingredients in this process. It also has a very low energy demand, no heat
needed. It doesn't alter nutritional value any more than other methods,
other than making it SUPER HIGH in sodium. This increase in sodium (salt)
or acidity (vinegar) are not fun environments to live in, they suck the
water right out of the bacterial cell (it's osmosis). To pickle or not
to pickle is the question, but whatever you do, keep it kosher.
To cure or preserve by treating
with salt or a salt solution.
To preserve (meat, for example),
as by salting, smoking, or aging.
Salt. The spice of life. Salting is essentially the same
idea as pickling, but you don't need jars! However, salting and curing
is generally related to meats than fruits and veggies (who wants a salty
kiwi?). Salting and curing is a little more difficult in practice than
pickling, but is still simple, effective, and efficient. Salted and cured
foods are... you guessed it: salty. No need to ramble, all info above is
applicable here.
To preserve (meat or fish) by exposure to the aromatic smoke of burning hardwood, usually after pickling in salt or brine.
You think smoking is cool, do ya? Well, you're wrong! Look how few sites i could find on smoking. See, no one does it. You don't either. Unless it's the right time and place. The right place would be somewhere that's NOT short on fuel wood.
A soft, semisolid food substance with a resilient consistency, made by the setting of a liquid containing pectin or gelatin or by the addition of gelatin to a liquid, especially such a substance made of fruit juice containing pectin boiled with sugar.
A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar
Ever get the hankerin' for some toast and bacon jelly? No? Good. Making jelllies, jams, and preserves is a good, low energy method for preserving...FRUIT, you fruit. This is
All of these methods, with the exception of freezing,
are extremely applicable.
Drying, pickling, salting/curing, smoking, and jamming
and jellying are all low-
energy methods of preserving food and can be done
anywhere in the world. Drying
is probably the most feasible since it requires
little attention and small storage space.
Most people already dry much of their grain products.
As with canning, there will
be an initial cost for supplies to perform the other
methods.