Why are yellow peaches canned?

Recently, canned yellow peaches are hard to come by. Many netizens said: "When I was a kid, every time I had a fever or a cold, my mother would buy me canned yellow peaches to eat in cold water." "When did Northeastern kids have to eat a canned peach when they were sick?"

So, do you know why yellow peaches are canned? Why canned yellow peaches become popular in Northeast China?

1

What are the characteristics of yellow peach?

Yellow peaches are not easy to preserve. Yellow peaches are one of the most perishable fruits and can usually only be preserved for four or five days after being picked.

The characteristics of yellow peaches make them suitable for canning. Yellow peaches have three characteristics: yellow flesh, sticky core, and insoluble, which are advantages for canning. The flesh of yellow peaches with sticky cores will not be dyed red, and the color of canned peaches will be more beautiful; the flesh of yellow peaches is hard and has less fiber. After high-temperature steaming, the flesh remains firm and the soup is golden and clear. The canned peaches are beautiful and have good appearance.

Processing yellow peaches into canned food can effectively improve the taste of yellow peaches. Yellow peaches are sour in nature, and after being steamed with sugar, they become sweet and sour, and the taste is better, satisfying the discerning taste of the public.

2

Are there a lot of preservatives in canned foods?

Some people like to eat canned fruit, but they are afraid to eat it, thinking that canned fruit has a long shelf life and must have added a lot of preservatives, which may be bad for the body. But the fact is that canned fruit generally does not have preservatives because it is not needed.

Fresh fruits go bad because they are contaminated by harmful microorganisms. The microorganisms further reproduce by relying on the nutrients in the fruits, further aggravating the decay and deterioration of the fruits. Canned fruits are further processed after washing, selecting, and removing the cores of fresh fruits, and they are sterilized at high temperatures. First, they are sterilized at a constant temperature of 85°C for 10 minutes, and then they are sterilized at 92°C for 10 to 12 minutes. Finally, the oxygen is exhausted to form a negative pressure, and the fruits are sealed and stored. Some are directly sterilized at 121°C for more than 20 minutes.

Process flow chart of canned fruit Source: References

After the whole process, not only pathogenic microorganisms are no longer present, but also non-pathogenic microorganisms that can reproduce at normal temperatures are no longer present. Those from outside cannot enter, so canned yellow peaches do not need preservatives.

Other canned foods basically do not contain preservatives. At present, in my country's canned food production process, most canned food manufacturers rely on filling and sealing and long-term ultra-high temperature heating to sterilize. After such treatment, even the most tenacious bacteria and microorganisms cannot survive, and preservatives are not needed! Therefore, as long as you pay attention to the ingredient list of the canned food, you will find that the canned food on the market basically does not contain preservatives. Let me tell you secretly, preservatives also cost money!

3

Are canned yellow peaches nutritious?

Some people think that canned yellow peaches have no nutrition and it is better to eat yellow peaches directly. This idea is wrong.

The fruits in the cans are very fresh, and many of them are canned shortly after they are picked. Therefore, the peach flesh in canned yellow peaches is very fresh!

Canned peaches usually contain extra vitamin C for antioxidant and shelf life extension, so the vitamin C content may be more advantageous than fresh yellow peaches. The most noteworthy nutrient of yellow peaches is carotenoids, which are not much different in content whether fresh or canned. It can be converted into vitamin A in the body, which is good for eye health.

Although canned foods are generally sterilized at high temperatures, some heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamin C will be destroyed, but some heat-resistant vitamins and nutrients are still preserved intact. Therefore, it can only be said that some canned foods are slightly less nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables, but they are definitely not completely nutritious!

However, it is recommended to eat less when coughing symptoms occur. Gao Xiaoling, deputy director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, reminded that eating sweets such as canned yellow peaches will aggravate coughs. On the one hand, sweets can directly stimulate the nerves in the throat, reflexively causing coughs and aggravating coughs; on the other hand, sugar can stimulate the throat mucosa, leading to increased throat secretions, and the greater viscosity of sugar makes the secretions more viscous, making sputum difficult to cough up and aggravating coughs. Also, if the cough is a symptom caused by a respiratory infection, the sugar in sweets will cause bacteria to multiply and multiply, so it will aggravate the cough.

Source: People's Daily Health Client, China News Network, Life Times, Science Popularization China, Health Hotspot Science Popularization Account, Wuhan Market Supervision

References: Jiang Jian, You Fenghui, Zhu Lini. Research on processing technology of canned yellow peaches[J]. Agricultural Products Processing, 2017, (09): 32-34.

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Editor: Guru