Editing Food preservation (section)

=== Sugaring ===
{{Redirect|Sugaring}}
The earliest cultures have used [[sugar]] as a preservative, and it was commonplace to store fruit in honey. "Sugar tends to draw water from the microbes (plasmolysis). This process leaves the microbial cells dehydrated, thus killing them.  In this way, the food will remain safe from microbial spoilage."<ref name="Msagati, T. 2012" /> 

In northern climates without sufficient sun to dry foods, [[preserves]] are made by heating the fruit with sugar.<ref name="nchfp.uga.edu">{{cite web |last1=Nummer |first1=Brian A. |title=National Center for Home Food Preservation {{!}} NCHFP Publications |url=https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html |website=National Center for Home Food Preservation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523123409/https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html |archive-date=23 May 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Sugar is used to preserve fruits, either in an [[antimicrobial]] syrup with fruit such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and plums, or in crystallized form where the preserved material is cooked in sugar to the point of crystallization and the resultant product is then stored dry. The latter method is used for the skins of [[citrus]] fruit (candied peel), [[angelica]], and [[ginger]].