Add preservative chemicals to your food to keep them fresh and unspoiled during storage. Food scientists at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University in Geneva, New York, remind cooks that food preservation with time-tested and trusted chemicals such as sodium chloride and acetic acid, or salt and vinegar, is an ancient science. Many modern chemical preservatives such as benzoates, sorbates, propionic acid and parabens are actually natural substances produced in common foods such as fruits and cheeses.
Pickling
Soak meat in salt brine, pack it in dry salt granules or store it in vinegar to pickle it for preservation against spoiling. Salt is sodium chloride, and vinegar is acetic acid. Both substances kill the bacteria that spoil food. Food historians at historical website Middle Ages describe salt or vinegar preservation by pickling as the key to over-winter survival for hungry peasants and royalty alike before the age of refrigeration and canning. Some vegetables are also preserved in salt or vinegar, such as pickles and sauerkraut.
In modern times, scientific research guides the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in regulating the use of more advanced preservative chemicals which do not alter the flavor and texture of foods the way salt and vinegar do, while still providing a high level of protection.
Benzoic Acid
Sodium benzoate becomes benzoic acid when dissolved in water. The acid has antimicrobial properties. It is found naturally in cranberries, apples, fresh and dried greengage plums, cinnamon and ripe cloves. The lower the pH, meaning a high acidity, of the solution containing sodium benzoate, the more effective it is as a preservative. Food must be naturally acidic or acidified for this preservative chemical to work. It kills yeasts and food-borne pathogens. Add no more than 0.1 percent sodium benzoate to food, the legal maximum.
Sorbic Acid
Sorbic acid and its potassium, sodium and calcium salts can provide antimicrobial activity to foods you want to preserve. Like benzoic acid, it is more effective in acidic liquids. Potassium sorbate kills yeasts, molds, and some bacteria. It is used in cheese, yogurt, sour cream and baked goods, and almost any food with an acidic quality. It is flavorless and can be used to stop fermentation of sweet wines. The maximum legal level is 0.1 percent.
Propionic Acid
Propionic acid and its salts provide selective anti-microbial action. Propionic acid kills molds and some bacteria, but not yeast. Use it where yeast must remain active while a preservative protects your food.
Propionic acid is an oily, slightly pungent liquid, soluble in water. Handle it with care. It is flammable and corrosive. It occurs naturally in some cheeses.
Parabens
Use parabens, esters of para-hydroxibenzoic acid, to kill yeasts and molds. Parabens are stable at high cooking temperatures, even under steam sterilization conditions, and at freezing temperatures. Though as effective as the other agents, and providing certain advantages, it is less widely used due to its higher cost.
Parabens
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