In this article we want to let you know the pros and cons of choosing bottles as containers for your gourmet preserves or ready meals. In addition, we will focus on the pasteurization or sterilization of your product and which type of material, either glass or plastic, is more suitable for you.

Bottles for preserves and ready meals

From the dawn of civilization, bottles have been indispensable for storing and transporting food and drinks, evolving from basic vessels to advanced packaging solutions designed to preserve the quality and integrity of their contents.

In ancient Egypt, the use of natural materials like clay, goatskin, and leather for making bottles was common, serving well for short-term liquid storage despite clear limitations in long-term preservation and food safety.

The advent of glass blowing significantly changed the packaging landscape, providing a solution that was not only durable and reusable but also visually appealing for storing food and beverages.

However, the 20th century marked a turning point with the introduction of plastic bottles, whose versatility, lightness and low cost revolutionized the market, but posed new challenges in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. This technological progress expanded the possibilities of preservation and distribution of food products, aligning with the evolving demands of society.

Main characteristics of bottles

Defined by dictionaries, a bottle is a vessel made of crystal, glass, plastic or other material, with a narrow neck, used to hold liquids.

Regardless of their content and material, bottles have five parts, which are:

Mouth, orifice or crown
Neck
Shoulder
Body
Bottom, push-up or base

Regarding closures, bottles, much like glass jars, predominantly employ screw caps or twist-off caps. These lids ensure a tight, airtight seal through their integrated ridges and threads. Typically, glass bottles are paired with metal caps, while plastic bottles utilize plastic caps.

Keep in mind that not every cap is designed to endure high heat. There are caps specially made for pasteurization processes, capable of withstanding up to 90°C, and others for sterilization, which can tolerate temperatures as high as 125°C. It’s advisable to always verify these details with the cap manufacturer.

What foods are usually packaged in bottles?

Bottles are used for liquid or semi-solid foods, such as:

Advantages and disadvantages of bottles for the production of preserves and ready meals

In selecting containers for your gourmet preserves or ready-to-eat meals, it’s crucial to consider the characteristics of the material, including its cost and durability during storage

Compared to plastic, glass is more expensive to manufacture because its production requires more energy. However, it is a safer material because, being inert, it does not transfer any flavor to the food or beverages it contains and can be reused as many times as desired. But it involves a higher risk when it comes to storage and logistics, as it is a very fragile material.

Regardless of the material they are made of, a disadvantage of bottles would be their twist-off or screw cap. To ensure a hermetic seal, it’s necessary to leave some space at the top of the bottle. This space is crucial for preventing the contents from leaking through the cap during the heating phase of thermal processes.

During the pasteurization or sterilization of bottles, the seal between the cap and the bottle, whether glass or plastic, plays a critical role. It allows for the release of expanding air from the container, securing an airtight seal upon cooling, which is essential for preventing air from entering or escaping the container afterwards.

When utilizing bottles equipped with twist-off caps, it’s important to allocate some empty space at the top. This precaution helps to avoid the spillage of food through the cap’s seams due to thermal expansion, which could lead to loss of contents and contamination of both the autoclave and surrounding containers.

How to produce preserves and ready meals in bottles

In order to prepare any kind of preserves and/or ready-made meals, first of all you should always prepare the product to your liking, either raw, semi-cooked or fully-cooked. Then, pour it into the previously cleaned and sterilized bottles using a funnel.

It’s worth noting that fully cooking your foods beforehand isn’t recommended, as they will undergo further cooking during the autoclave’s heat treatment.

To avoid complications, remember to leave an empty space between the food and the cap, close the container and then carry out the heat treatment. Once the containers have cooled, you can label them.

Useful tips for sterilization in bottles

At this point, you may be wondering whether you should pasteurize or sterilize your preserves and ready meals packaged in bottles. It will depend on the pH of your food and the shelf life you want to provide.

If you want to offer a fresher product with a shorter shelf life, you must pasteurize it and, therefore, transport and store it under refrigeration, since pasteurization does not eradicate all microorganisms and they can proliferate if your products are not kept refrigerated.

On the other hand, if you wish to obtain a product with a long shelf life, up to 5 years, you must perform sterilization, that is, subject it to high temperatures to eradicate most of the microorganisms.

If you have chosen a transparent bottle to package your gourmet preserves or ready meals, you will have noticed that such cleanliness is an added value, since it can show the product inside, but it can also be a problem if the product shows a slight darkening or browning on its surface or it is divided in stages. This color contrast does not affect the quality of your product and can be remedied by covering the top of the container with the label.

How do TERRA Food-Tech® autoclaves enhance the sterilization process for your bottles?

The different characteristics of TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves for sterilizing bottles make a small equipment a great production partner that is cost-efficient, fast and versatile.

Adjustable F₀ - P₀

Accurately pasteurizes or sterilizes using F₀ and P₀ values

Fast cooling

Fast cooling by water shower to avoid overcooking the product

Adjustable counterpressure

Programmable counterpressure value according to the type of container

Traceability for auditing

Manage and record the process from start to finish with our software

Precise control

Continuous process monitoring thanks to the flexible temperature probe

Protection

Excellent safety measures for the user and his products

Are you looking to enhance the production efficiency of your preserves or prepared meals business?

At TERRA Food-Tech®, we assist you in assessing the productivity you can achieve with various models and types of containers.

The insights from these analyses prove invaluable when choosing the most appropriate autoclave model for your project.

Such evaluations remain beneficial even after acquiring an autoclave, as they enable us to understand how production capacity may vary with changes in container size.

Moreover, we design tailor-made baskets and racks to suit the specific requirements of your business.

Need some inspiration? Dive into the success stories of our customers who utilize bottles.

Many of our customers have chosen bottles as containers for their gourmet preserves or ready meals. In our section about success stories you will find examples of companies that produce preserves in bottles with our autoclaves.

Peixos Mielgo

Preparation of fish broths and stir-fries

Looking to learn more about the sterilization in bottles with TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves? Contact our experts today

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