Natural foods such as fruits andvegetables are among the most important foods of mankind as they are not onlynutritive but are also indispensable of the maintenance of the health. India isthe second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Fertilesoils, a dry climate, clean water and abundant sunlight help the hard workingfarmers to produce a bountiful harvest. Although there are many similaritiesbetween fruits and vegetables, there is one important difference that affectsthe way that these two types of crop are processed like fruits are more acidicthan vegetables. Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used totransform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms forconsumption. Food processing typically takes clean, harvested crops orbutchered animal products and uses these to produce attractive, marketable andoften long shelf-life food products. Canning is a method of preserving food inwhich the food is processed and sealed in an airtight container. Foodpreservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatlyslow down spoilage (loss of quality, edibility or nutritive value) caused oraccelerated by microorganisms. One of the oldest methods of food preservationis by drying, which reduces water activity sufficiently to prevent or delaybacterial growth. Drying also reduces weight, making food more portable.Freezing is also one of the most commonly used processes commercially anddomestically for preserving a very wide range of food including prepared foodstuffs which would not have required freezing in their unprepared state. Fruitsand vegetable processing in India is almost equally divided between theorganized and unorganized sector, with the organized sector holding 48% of theshare. The present book covers the processing techniques of various types offruits, vegetables and other food products. This book also contains photographsof equipments and machineries used in fruits, vegetables and food processingalong with canning and preservation. This book is an invaluable resource fornew entrepreneurs, food technologists, industrialists etc.
