The teacher wants to teach the concept of food preservation. Which of the following food items is best suited to teach this concept?

Option 1 : Jam

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in order to prevent or slow down food decomposition, loss of quality, edibility, or nutritional content and hence extend food storage time.\

•  Methods of food preservation-
  • Chemical method (adding preservatives)- This method involves adding salt and acid preservatives for preventing the attack of microbes. For example- Pickles.
  • By adding salt- Meat and fish are covered with dry salt to protect from the growth of bacteria. Salting is also used to preserve Amla, mangoes, tamarind, etc.
  • By adding sugar- Jams, jellies, and squashes are preserved by adding sugar which reduces the moisture content and inhibits the growth of bacteria.
  • By Oil and vinegar- The use of oil and vinegar prevents spoilage of pickles because bacteria cannot live in such an environment.

Hence, we conclude that the example of jam is best suited to teach food preservation techniques as children are familiar with it.

• Jam is made up of mashed fruits and is called so because of the crushing and squeezing of fruits to make it. By using food preservation techniques fruits are preserved in the form of jams. 
• Curd, ghee, and papad are not examples of preserved food.

Option 2 : Chips

Food preservation can be defined as the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage and prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavour.

• Chips is a small, thin, crisp, usually salty pieces of food typically prepared by frying, baking, or drying. which stays in edible condition without spoiling. 

Examples:

• Potato chips
• Banana chips
• Corn chips etc. 

• Potatoes or bananas get spoiled or rotten over time if they are left as it is.
• So ample amounts of preservatives are added to keep them edible for a long time in the form of chips.
• Preservatives are any of numerous chemical additives used to prevent or retard spoilage caused by chemical changes, such as oxidation or the growth of fungus.
• So potatoes and bananas stay for a long time in the form of chips in edible condition without getting affected due to physical conditions.

Hence chips are best suited to teach this concept of food preservation.

• Buttermilk and curd can not be preserved for a very long time just like chips even if we add preservatives to it.
• Unripe mango needs no preservative to store till a limited time.