Preserving Your Summer Harvest

The summer growing season is in full swing and fresh delicious produce is abundant from our gardens, local produce stands and farmers markets right now. With a little planning and forethought we can carry these delicious summer flavors with us into the upcoming winter months.

Preserving food has been an essential activity throughout history. Our ancestors spent much of their time working to feed themselves and their families. Tilling, sowing, seeding, harvesting and preserving crops to avoid famine when winter came. Food preservation was not optional, it was a matter of survival. Then times changed, grocery stores began offering commercially canned foods at reasonable prices and old traditions faded away.

Recently, increased awareness of commercial food practices and support of the local food movement have inspired a resurgence of interest in home food preservation. Preserving food now, when its cheap and plentiful is also a cost-effective measure.

There are several different methods for preserving foods. In this article I'll cover freezing, dehydrating and canning.

Freezing: Freezing is an excellent way of preserving surplus garden produce and it couldn't be easier to do. Be aware though, that many vegetables require blanching prior to freezing. Blanching is important because it kills the enzymes in vegetables that could cause unsavory colors, flavors and textures in foods once they are frozen. The technique for blanching is simple and involves placing the vegetables in boiling water for a few minutes, enough to stop the enzyme process, but not long enough to fully cook them and then placing them in ice water to shock them and stop the heating process. Remember that not all vegetables freeze well. Those that do not freeze well include green onions, lettuce and other salad greens, radishes and tomatoes (except if going to be used for cooking). Peppers do not require blanching. Simply wash, seed and slice the peppers. Dry, if necessary, and place them in a freezer bag or container with a label and date. One summer I went a little crazy with planting zucchini squash. We had zucchini coming out of our ears! I chose to shred and freeze some for later use and it was perfect for making zucchini bread that fall.

Photo credit: o.d.k

Zucchini Bread Recipe

• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp vanilla (or pure maple syrup)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 3 eggs (preferably local)
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup honey (preferably local)
• 1 quart bag frozen shredded zucchini (or 2 cups raw)
• 3 cups whole-wheat flour

Mix together all ingredients prior to mixing in the flour. After mixing flour, pour batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Dehydrating: Drying foods is one of the most anceint methods of food preservation. Drying produce is not as common today as freezing and canning but is very easy to do. If you have access to a dehydrator or or even an oven on a very low setting, you can preserve food in this manner. What can you dehydrate? Just about anything! Dehydrated fruits like apples, cherries, grapes, pears, plums and tomatoes are naturally sweet and make a great snack. Vegetables dehydrate well, but because they contain less acid than fruits, they usually need longer drying times. Fresh herbs can be dehydrated as well.

Some important things to remember when dehydrating produce:

• Select healthy produce that is in good condition and at its peak ripeness
• Slice produce at the same thickness (usually ¼ inch or less)
• Add lemon juice to fruits prior to drying to prevent color changes, blanch vegetables.
• Season, if desired. Cinnamon on apples, garlic salt on vegetables. The choice is yours.
• Arrange food in a single layer on drying racks.
• Check periodically. Fruit should be between chewy and leathery when done. Vegetables will be crisp when dried.
• Store in an airtight container.

Photo credit: Mikaela Danielle Martin

Canning: Canning is a wonderful way to store fruits and vegetables from the garden while they are in season and make the harvest last through winter when local and seasonal foods become scarce. Both water bath canning and pressure canning heat the food, effectively killing any microorganizims that may grow and also vacuum seals the jar preventing spoilage. I'm still a novice at canning but am taking steps to learn more about the process so that I can begin canning my garden produce at home. Most of the folks I've spoken to about canning highly recommend the Ball Blue Book for all you need to know about preserving foods with this method. It is very important to use current, up to date instructions and recipes when canning in order to ensure food safety. My absolute favorite homemade canned food is Hot Pepper Jelly. Heaven on earth with a little cream cheese on a cracker.  

So the next time you find yourself with tomatoes and zucchini overflowing from the garden, or if you stumble across a great sale on produce, take the time to put some by to enjoy later when the summer has gone.

This article was published in the August 2013 edition of Carolina Salt Magazine




This post is shared with: The Homestead Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop

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