| abstract |
This invention relates to a method for preservation of food products, especially vegetables, acidification, pasteurization, and refrigeration. In one embodiment, this invention relates to a method for obtaining a preserved food product comprising (1) placing a food product in a sealable, heat stable container; (2) adding an amount of an edible acid to the container, wherein the amount is sufficient to achieve a pH of less than about 5 in the preserved food product; (3) sealing the container; (4) thermally treating the food product in the sealed container at a temperature and for a time effective to pasteurize the food product; (5) cooling the thermally treated food product to rapidly reduce the temperature to below about 55° F.; and (6) storing the cooled food product under refrigerated conditions to obtain the preserved food product. When cooked, the vegetables provided by this invention have appearance, texture, and taste superior to that provided by high quality cooked frozen vegetables, including individually quick frozen (IQF) vegetables. |