Question

Paheli watched her grandmother making mango pickle. After she bottled the pickle, her grandmother poured oil on top of the pickle before closing the lid. Paheli wanted to know why oil was poured? Can you help her understand why?

Answer 1

The oil poured on the pickles forms a layer of protection between air and pickle from the bacteria present in the air. This increases the shelf life of the pickle and don’t let the bacteria deteriorate the quality of pickle.

Preservation of food items

• Use of oil and vinegar prevents spoilage of pickles because bacteria cannot live in such an environment. Vegetables, fruits, fish and meat are often preserved by this method.
• Jams, jellies and squashes are preserved by sugar. Sugar reduces the moisture content which inhibits the growth of bacteria which spoil food.
• Common salt has been used to preserve meat and fish for ages. Meat and fish are covered with dry salt to check the growth of bacteria.
• Dry fruits and vegetables are sold in sealed airtight packets to prevent the attack of microbes.