Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
Before refrigerators were invented, the next best
thing was an ice box. But another way to keep food
fresh is to use an evaporative cooler.
A common design is a tall box with several shelves
inside to hold the food. The shelves are pieces of
metal with many small holes through them. The sides
of the box are covered with pieces of thick cloth.
Containers of water are placed at the top and bottom
of the cooler. The ends of each piece of cloth lie
in the water so the cloth stays wet.
The cooler is put outdoors, but not in the sun. Air
will pass through the wet cloth. The inside of the
box will stay several degrees cooler than the
outside air temperature. This may be cool enough to
keep foods fresh, at least for a short time.
Some foods can make you sick if they are stored in
conditions that are not cold enough to prevent the
growth of harmful organisms. Freezing can keep some
foods in good condition for months after the growing
season. Yet foods can be damaged if they are kept
too cold.
The British development group Practical Action says
the best way to prepare foods for storage is at
harvest time while still in the field.
Use a sharp knife and place the harvested items on a
clean surface or directly into storage containers.
Do not put them on the ground.
Use clean water to remove dirt, and keep the water
clean. Usually it is better not to remove outer
leaves from fruits and vegetables before storage.
Without the leaves, food can become dry.
Fruits and vegetables must be cool from field heat
before they are put into storage. But cooling them
in water can spread fungus throughout the food. A
better idea is to harvest foods either early or late
in the day, then leave them to cool naturally.
Some fruits and vegetables must be stored at zero to
four degrees Celsius. Any colder, and they might be
damaged. Some foods need to be stored at four to
eight degrees, and some need to be stored above
eight degrees for best results.
Wet the fruits and vegetables so they do not become
too dry. The best time to do this is before storage.
Cover the items in plastic once they reach the right
"critical temperature" for storage.
Most fruits and vegetables need the relative
humidity in storage to be kept between eighty-five
and ninety-five percent.
Finally, leave space between the food containers and
the walls of the cold storage area so air can flow.
Keep the space clean. And try not to open the doors
too often.
And that's the VOA Special English Development
Report.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
