Tablets with vegetables: why is aspirin added to preservation?

Some housewives from the Soviet era used to use aspirin in the preservation of cucumbers and tomatoes. However, doctors claim that there is no place for medication in homemade pickles and that such canned goods can cause serious harm to health. We will find out how acetylsalicylic acid affects the quality of the workpieces and how it can be replaced during conservation.

How does aspirin work?

Acetylsalicylic acid, also known as aspirin, is widely used in medicine - it reduces fever, has an analgesic effect, and thins the blood. When dissolved, this substance, like other organic acids, creates an acidic environment. Such an acidic solution is harmful to microorganisms.

Therefore, back in Soviet times, housewives began to add 1-2 antipyretic tablets to cans with cucumbers and tomatoes. Such seaming did not spoil for a long time. The availability of the drug also played a significant role in popularizing this method: aspirin was very cheap and was in the medicine cabinet in every house.

Despite the high effectiveness of aspirin as a preservative, many doctors have repeatedly expressed the opinion that this substance remains a medicine and it is unacceptable to use it in cooking because of a health hazard.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a special ban on the use of acetylsalicylic acid in canning. This order made it possible to guarantee the absence of the medicine and its derivatives in industrial canned foods sold in stores.

Why is there no place for medicine in food?

To understand what harm can preservation of tomatoes with aspirin, you need to understand what acetylsalicylic acid is chemically. This substance is a derivative of salicylic acid, which was extracted from willow bark and has been used to treat fever for a long time. Salicylic acid, in turn, is a derivative of a toxic substance for humans - phenol.

Here are the consequences of consuming aspirin canned foods:

• The medicine (and its cleavage products formed in the brine) is excreted from the body through the kidneys, having a strong destructive effect on them. With frequent use of this substance, pyelonephritis develops - damage to the kidneys.
• The acidic environment of the drug solution and the toxic products of its decay have a destructive effect on the stomach and intestines. Acetylsalicylic acid is not recommended for use in peptic ulcer disease, and even healthy people are advised to take it after meals with milk.
• Constantly receiving doses of aspirin with food can lead to allergies to this drug.

Any of these negative effects is a reason to permanently abandon the use of acetylsalicylic acid during canning. This solution is especially relevant today, when there are many preservatives that are not harmful to health.

Safe analogues

In modern and traditional cooking, there are many safe substitutes for aspirin. The most common option is vinegar. It effectively inhibits the development of bacteria in brine, but is not recommended for people with gastritis, stomach ulcers, diabetes, hypertension and many other diseases.

Instead of synthetic acetic acid, it is better to use natural apple cider vinegar. It is rich in potassium and more healthy.

Other substitutes for aspirin can be citric acid, juices of acidic fruits and berries (lemon, lingonberries, red currants).These natural preservatives will not harm the body and provide canned food with good preservation and pleasant taste.