Sodium Bisulfite $6.25

Food Preparation Instructions

VeggieSensations.com

Sodium Bisulfite is a food preservative. The Excalibur brand of Sodium Bisulfite is a powder which you add to water to make the liquid for dipping or soaking your fruits and vegetables in. It is commonly used on fruits and vegetables when dehydrating or home canning. While preserving the color of fruits and vegetables it also helps the fruits and vegetables to retain their natural flavor and nutrients.

Sodium Bisulfite and Sulfur has been used in the home food preservation process and food dehydration for a long before other methods. It is an anti-oxidant and is an excellent way to prevent oxidation of fruits and vegetables. Oxidation causes fruits and vegetables to turn brown when their cut surface is exposed to air. Sodium Bisulfite is beneficial in canning fruits because it not only prevents oxidations of the fruits it also kills the microbes that cause spoiling.

When Sodium Bisulfite is dissolved in a liquid it releases a sulfur dioxide gas. The sulfur dioxide gas penetrates the liquid it was added to and then eventually dissipates into the air over the period of several hours. The sulfur gases that are released from the Sodium Bisulfite act as a sanitizer, killing all molds, bacteria and germs that spoil and brown fruits and vegetables making it a great food preservative.

A note o caution, if you are prone to sulfur allergic reactions, check with your physician before using Sodium Bisulfite as a pretreatment dip on any food item you want to eat.

In wine making you must wait 24 hours after adding the Sodium Bisulfite to the grape juice before adding the yeast because the sulfur dioxide gas also kills yeasts. After 24 hours all of the gasses have been released and then yeast can be added to start the fermenting process. Oddly, Sodium Bisulfite is added into wine again after the fermenting process is complete and wine is ready to be bottled. This second dose of Sodium Bisulfite will prevent the wine from turning into vinegar and will preserve the color and flavor.

To prepare the Sodium Bisulfite for treating fruits and vegetables for dehydrating, add 1 tablespoon Sodium Bisulfite to a gallon of water. Soak slices of fruit and or vegetables for 5 minutes or halves of fruit for 15 minutes. When soaking is complete, remove fruit and vegetables, rinse lightly under cold tap water and drain off excess moisture. Then place the fruit on the dehydrator drying trays. Dehydrate according to your dehydrator instructions or until the fruit has reached your desired dryness.

Reference: Widipedia - Sodium Bisulfite