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I thought it was fascinating that many of the respondents to BlogHer's question: How do you practice a sustainable lifestyle? answer with some theme of gardening. The same day I read this, I was chatting with a friend who mourned the loss from peeling all her peaches to make jam. I realized that many may be embarking on the food preservation trail without all the help and guidance they could use. So here we will be gathering tips and ideas for preserving foods.
The first question may be why preserve your harvest? It should easy enough to eat through a sensible harvest from a home garden without resorting to saving anything. Except. Oven-roasted tomatoes, home-canned peaches and home-made strawberry jam all taste like summer which is priceless on a cold, dark winter day.
When getting ready to preserve food for the first time, it nice to get help from an expert. Fresh Preserving Guides are authored by the manufacturers of Ball Products. With 125 years of canning and preserving under thier belts, you can't go wrong with their help. Still, years ago, I found Keeping the Harvest and consider this the most complete guide to growing and storing foods.
And there are always the simple tips from the experienced. Some of mine:
- to peel peaches and tomatoes, drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds then quickly lift them out and cool in them in an ice water bath. The skins will slip right off without any loss of tasty flesh.
- when making jellies and jams, remember that the less-than-totally-ripe fruit has a higher level of pectin and will help in the jelling process.
- do not alter suggested canning recipes to reduce salt or sugar. These serve an important role beyond adding their distinctive flavor: they are important for their ability to change pH and to stop bacterial growth.
- drying fruits and vegetables need a light easy place with plenty of air circulation. If your gas oven has a pilot light, the oven is a great place to dry. I, however, remove and clean 2 window screens and layer my fruits between these. Some bulldog clips hold them shut and a shady spot in the yard allows items to dry. However, I live in a low-humidity area.
- grapes and blueberries can be frozen loosely. Eaten off-season, slightly thawed, these sweet reminders of summer are wonderful desserts or after-school treats.
- if you plan to use a pressure canner, have the pressure gauge calibrated at your local county extension service.
Do you have any tips or questions about preserving your harvest?
Others blog about it:
Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook also has luck drying tomatoes without an oven. He uses the heat of a Sacramento summer, some salt and red wine vinegar, and his garage to create dried perfect chunks of summertime tomato flavor.
Ithican in a ning-group dedicated to home food preservers. Even if you don't live in the Ithica area, the information shared here will be helpful.
BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg has written a very thorough post on Slow-Roasting Tomatoes. Another food editor, Kalyn added to this idea with her own How to Make Slow Roasted Tomatoes. This is a real option for anyone growing/purchasing tomatoes for the winter. This slow-roasting will concentrate the flavor like nothing else.
Alanna also shared a recipe for How to Freeze Fresh Corn.
Debra Roby blogs her creative life at A Stitch in Time and her journey to fitness at Weight for Deb.
