I love preserving produce! It means I can taste the local
flavours of our region in the middle of winter, while not relying on far away
grown produce from the grocery store that has tons of plastic, metal and paper
packaging. By preserving local foods in the summer you are supporting a vibrant
local farm economy and in turn saving a ton of money throughout the year
(especially if you’re able to forage some blackberries for your freezer and buy
bulk tomatoes from a local farmer for making your canned tomatoes with!) The
benefits are bountiful!
These are my go to ways of preserving the season’s bounty,
in order of simplicity (i.e. easiest and least amount of time to more difficult
/ most amount of time).
Freezing
Most fruit and veggie crops you can simply put in a plastic bag and freeze! Blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb, blackberries, applesauce, tomatoes, zucchini and most other fruits can simply be frozen from fresh. Vegetables like chard, kale, beans, peas, corn, herbs can be blanched (vegetables are placed in boiling hot water for 1-3 minutes depending on veggie, then dunked in ice water to stop the “cooking” of the veggies – it stops the enzyme action and preserves the nutrition, taste, texture of the veggie).
Tip: Don’t wash your produce if it’s clean and organic. The extra water creates lots of ice, and what seems to be “freezer burn”. If you do need to wash the produce, let it dry as much as posisble before freezing.
Tip: In my opinion, blanching is not necessary. I’ve done some research and experimentation and I find the texture is just fine whether I blanch or not. And most sources say if the frozen food is consumed within 6-12 months that the nutrition composition isn’t that much different than the blanched veggies.
Tip: Label and measure the volume or weight of produce you put into the freezer. It’s fun to compare from year to year what you’re freezing, and also helps you know how to plan for years to come so that you have, say, your daily breakfast blueberries for the whole year! It also helps you to know whats tucked in the back of a freezer.
Tip: For best nutrition and textural quality, try to use up all your fruits and veggies in a freezer within a year of it being frozen.
Tip: Freeze in plastic containers (like yogurt tubs), or re-use old bags from things you buy at the store. The thicker the bag, the less chance of freezer burn. Try to remove as much air out of the bag as you can before freezing your produce, this reduces the chance of freezer burn.
Most fruit and veggie crops you can simply put in a plastic bag and freeze! Blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb, blackberries, applesauce, tomatoes, zucchini and most other fruits can simply be frozen from fresh. Vegetables like chard, kale, beans, peas, corn, herbs can be blanched (vegetables are placed in boiling hot water for 1-3 minutes depending on veggie, then dunked in ice water to stop the “cooking” of the veggies – it stops the enzyme action and preserves the nutrition, taste, texture of the veggie).
Tip: Don’t wash your produce if it’s clean and organic. The extra water creates lots of ice, and what seems to be “freezer burn”. If you do need to wash the produce, let it dry as much as posisble before freezing.
Tip: In my opinion, blanching is not necessary. I’ve done some research and experimentation and I find the texture is just fine whether I blanch or not. And most sources say if the frozen food is consumed within 6-12 months that the nutrition composition isn’t that much different than the blanched veggies.
Tip: Label and measure the volume or weight of produce you put into the freezer. It’s fun to compare from year to year what you’re freezing, and also helps you know how to plan for years to come so that you have, say, your daily breakfast blueberries for the whole year! It also helps you to know whats tucked in the back of a freezer.
Tip: For best nutrition and textural quality, try to use up all your fruits and veggies in a freezer within a year of it being frozen.
Tip: Freeze in plastic containers (like yogurt tubs), or re-use old bags from things you buy at the store. The thicker the bag, the less chance of freezer burn. Try to remove as much air out of the bag as you can before freezing your produce, this reduces the chance of freezer burn.
Dehydrating
I love dehydrating things! There are many ways to dehydrate including on old window screens, making a solar dehydrator, laying fruits and veg on an old bed sheet outside, using your oven, using a car dash board, or using an electric dehydrator. It’s often as simple as cutting up produce and laying it on a tray.
Tip: For herbs like mint, chamomile, lemon balm, raspberry leaves, chickweed, nettles, calendula, tulsi, lavender, basil, sage, chive flowers, use old window screens to lay the herbs out on. Place the screen in a place with good ventilation and cover the herbs with a big piece of an old paper bag to protect from direct sunlight. Check on them every couple days, and place them in a jar when it’s all dry for later use!
Tip: For almost all fruits and veggies (think, tomatoes, zuchinni, chard, broccoli, kale), you can place them (cleaned, cut and sliced in a uniform size) on electric dehydrator trays and dry ‘em up for future use. They also make great additions to meals on camping trips. Your food volume will decrease significantly in the dehydrator.
Tip: Dehydrating concentrates flavours – e.g. a dehydrated apricot, plums or herbs, are so full of flavour and a little goes a long way in cooking throughout the year! I like making a homemade soup stalk with a whole bunch of dehydrated herbs (cilantro, chives, basil, parsley) and then I add salt, nutritional yeast, and seaweed to the mixture once it’s dry. It makes a fantastic mid-winter soup stock.
Tip: Make sure your produce is completely dry before putting it into a jar. Leftover moisture can bring in mold and bacteria. Not what you want!
Tip: Save up old silica packets from store bought foods, and place them in your jars of dehydrated produce. This will absorb any moisture that may get into your jar as you use it over the season.
Tip: Borrow, or rent (from the Victoria Tool Library) a food dehydrator. They are dreamy! I dry soooo much food, and it’s all because I have a few people I know who are able to lend me their dehydrator for a couple weeks at a time (in exchange for some dried goodies of course!)
I love dehydrating things! There are many ways to dehydrate including on old window screens, making a solar dehydrator, laying fruits and veg on an old bed sheet outside, using your oven, using a car dash board, or using an electric dehydrator. It’s often as simple as cutting up produce and laying it on a tray.
Tip: For herbs like mint, chamomile, lemon balm, raspberry leaves, chickweed, nettles, calendula, tulsi, lavender, basil, sage, chive flowers, use old window screens to lay the herbs out on. Place the screen in a place with good ventilation and cover the herbs with a big piece of an old paper bag to protect from direct sunlight. Check on them every couple days, and place them in a jar when it’s all dry for later use!
Tip: For almost all fruits and veggies (think, tomatoes, zuchinni, chard, broccoli, kale), you can place them (cleaned, cut and sliced in a uniform size) on electric dehydrator trays and dry ‘em up for future use. They also make great additions to meals on camping trips. Your food volume will decrease significantly in the dehydrator.
Tip: Dehydrating concentrates flavours – e.g. a dehydrated apricot, plums or herbs, are so full of flavour and a little goes a long way in cooking throughout the year! I like making a homemade soup stalk with a whole bunch of dehydrated herbs (cilantro, chives, basil, parsley) and then I add salt, nutritional yeast, and seaweed to the mixture once it’s dry. It makes a fantastic mid-winter soup stock.
Tip: Make sure your produce is completely dry before putting it into a jar. Leftover moisture can bring in mold and bacteria. Not what you want!
Tip: Save up old silica packets from store bought foods, and place them in your jars of dehydrated produce. This will absorb any moisture that may get into your jar as you use it over the season.
Tip: Borrow, or rent (from the Victoria Tool Library) a food dehydrator. They are dreamy! I dry soooo much food, and it’s all because I have a few people I know who are able to lend me their dehydrator for a couple weeks at a time (in exchange for some dried goodies of course!)
Fermenting
Ohhhh the benefits of fermenting are endless! Yes it is a preservation technique, plus you are actually increasing the nutritional value of your produce by fermenting it. It’s a genius way to preserve the bounty, and support your gut microbiome through adding beneficial bacteria to your diet. Fermenting also increases the vitamin and enzyme content of your food, and makes it mighty tasty! The particular bacteria that grow in the fermentation conditions (i.e. no oxygen, salty environments) preserve the food by out competing any bad food spoiling bacteria that tries to get in!
Tip: Check out my favourite book for simple DIY fermenting recipes: Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation.
Tip: Start by making a basic cabbage sauerkraut, then experiment from there with fermenting all sorts of things.
Tip: It can feel empowering to attend a workshop first on fermentation basics to get a grip on the how-to’s. Places like the Compost Education Centre and the Greater Victoria Public Library offer accessible 2 hour long workshops on fermenting basics!
Ohhhh the benefits of fermenting are endless! Yes it is a preservation technique, plus you are actually increasing the nutritional value of your produce by fermenting it. It’s a genius way to preserve the bounty, and support your gut microbiome through adding beneficial bacteria to your diet. Fermenting also increases the vitamin and enzyme content of your food, and makes it mighty tasty! The particular bacteria that grow in the fermentation conditions (i.e. no oxygen, salty environments) preserve the food by out competing any bad food spoiling bacteria that tries to get in!
Tip: Check out my favourite book for simple DIY fermenting recipes: Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation.
Tip: Start by making a basic cabbage sauerkraut, then experiment from there with fermenting all sorts of things.
Tip: It can feel empowering to attend a workshop first on fermentation basics to get a grip on the how-to’s. Places like the Compost Education Centre and the Greater Victoria Public Library offer accessible 2 hour long workshops on fermenting basics!
Canning
I first learned how to can at my Granny’s house. My family were all farmers, and they preserved the bounty of summer in hundreds of jars that they would store in the root cellar of the farm house of southern Ontario. Still a very popular mode of preserving produce, hot water bath canning involves using sterile jars, filling them with high acid or high sugar foods (the vinegar/ lemon / sugar act as a preservative) and immersing the jars into a big old pot of boiling water for a specific amount of time (usually between 10-20 minutes). This method of preservation locks out oxygen and bacteria from growing on your food. It’s great for things like fruit jams, jellies and compotes, relishes, pickles, tomatoes, salsa, ketchup and sauces. Pressure Canning is another way to can foods. It requires more specialized equipment (i.e. a pressure canner) and is mostly used for canning things that have fat or meat in them (think soups and stews).
Tip: Read some books or blogs, meet up with a friend who already knows how to can, or take a workshop to ensure you get it right (like at the Compost Education Centre!). Things need to be clean and done properly so that your food doesn’t spoil!
Tip: Make chutney – gee I love chutney…apple pear chutney for cheese and crackers, with Indian food, on rice, on potatoes directly in your mouth. YUM!
Tip: Make compotes! They are so easy! They don’t require pectin, often require less sweetener, and you can do it without a recipe once you get canning comfy.
Tip: Discover Pomona’s Pectin for canning fruits. It is a special no additive pectin that requires you add such little sweetener! Makes for healthier, but still preserve safe goodies!
I first learned how to can at my Granny’s house. My family were all farmers, and they preserved the bounty of summer in hundreds of jars that they would store in the root cellar of the farm house of southern Ontario. Still a very popular mode of preserving produce, hot water bath canning involves using sterile jars, filling them with high acid or high sugar foods (the vinegar/ lemon / sugar act as a preservative) and immersing the jars into a big old pot of boiling water for a specific amount of time (usually between 10-20 minutes). This method of preservation locks out oxygen and bacteria from growing on your food. It’s great for things like fruit jams, jellies and compotes, relishes, pickles, tomatoes, salsa, ketchup and sauces. Pressure Canning is another way to can foods. It requires more specialized equipment (i.e. a pressure canner) and is mostly used for canning things that have fat or meat in them (think soups and stews).
Tip: Read some books or blogs, meet up with a friend who already knows how to can, or take a workshop to ensure you get it right (like at the Compost Education Centre!). Things need to be clean and done properly so that your food doesn’t spoil!
Tip: Make chutney – gee I love chutney…apple pear chutney for cheese and crackers, with Indian food, on rice, on potatoes directly in your mouth. YUM!
Tip: Make compotes! They are so easy! They don’t require pectin, often require less sweetener, and you can do it without a recipe once you get canning comfy.
Tip: Discover Pomona’s Pectin for canning fruits. It is a special no additive pectin that requires you add such little sweetener! Makes for healthier, but still preserve safe goodies!
Have sooooo much fun in the process of preserving. It’s an
age old technique that has been employed by cultures all over the world
forever, before we could refrigerate, and before we could ship foods from hot
climates to colder ones in winter. Get in touch with history J And enjoy that
strawberry jam in the middle of winter!
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| Getting the cabbage ready to ferment into sauerkraut! |
