Preserving Your Harvest

There’s nothing more nourishing than cooking with the fresh vegetables and herbs you grow in your garden; however, gardens are seasonal. So, preserving your food to enjoy later in the year is a great way to still have nourishing food. Also, you may not always be able to eat all the food that you grow, so preserving your harvest prevents you from wasting food.

Preserving Your Harvest

Before you begin, follow these simple tips: use high-quality, unblemished food; wash your hands before handling food; and sterilize all equipment. Now on to preserving -- there are different ways to preserve food and herbs, such as freezing, dehydrating, drying, canning, fermenting, pickling, or curing and storing. If you’re new to this, begin with an easy one such as freezing and then slowly try the other methods. Let’s take a quick look at some of these methods; but be sure to find a reliable resource for more detailed, step-by-step instructions. The Ball company makes the Mason jars used for preserving food, and they have books on the subject as well as a website with guides: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/canning-preserving-guides.html

Freezing

Most vegetables can be frozen, with the exception of cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, cabbage and celery. Onions and peppers can be chopped and then frozen; but other vegetables need to be blanched first. Blanching involves heating the chopped vegetables in boiling water to remove the enzymes involved in food decay. Once blanched, freeze the cut/chopped vegetables in plastic baggies, or small jars. This is an important step, because if you under-blanch your vegetables, you’ll increase the enzymes that break down your food and lose texture, flavor and nutrients. If you over-blanch them, you’ll lose texture. 

How to Blanch

Blanching times for vegetables vary based on the type and size of the vegetable. Generally, blanching times range from 1-5 minutes for most vegetables, with leafy greens needing the shortest time and heartier vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts taking longer. The process involves quickly heating vegetables in boiling water followed immediately by cooling in ice water to stop the cooking process. This helps preserve color, texture, and flavor for freezing or other uses. 

General Guidelines for Blanching:

• Cut vegetables into uniform sizes for even blanching.

• You’ll need a large pot of water and a large bowl or pot of water with ice. Ensure the ice bath is large enough to quickly cool the vegetables.

• Boil water in a large pot and add vegetables in batches. Blanch different vegetables separately.

• Use a slotted spoon to transfer vegetables to the ice bath.

• Taste-test after blanching for doneness.

• Drain blanched vegetables thoroughly before using or freezing. 

Dehydrating

Dehydrating food can maintain most of its nutrient value; and since the dried food is small and lightweight, it’s easy to carry with you. Dehydrating also reduces the moisture content of food to10%, which prevents bacteria, yeasts and molds to grow. You can dehydrate food in your oven on low temperature with the oven door slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape. Or you can purchase a dehydrator, which offers consistent temperature and airflow. Follow the directions that come with the equipment.  

Air -drying Herbs

Home-dried herbs are much more flavorful and potent than the store-bought herbs and spices. Go here to learn how to air dry your herbs. 

Canning

Canning allows you to preserve food for 1-2 years, but it’s time-consuming, involves specific equipment, and has a lower nutritional value than frozen food. Canning kills micro-organisms, because the food is placed in mason jars, then heated. As the jars cool, air is driven out of the jar to create a vacuum seal that keeps food safe. It’s important to follow canning recipes exactly to ensure that the food is properly preserved and to prevent botulism. Don’t can mashed vegetables, because the bacterial will not be killed, as well as potatoes, squash, pumpkin and refried beans. Also, the following vegetables shouldn’t be canned unless they’re pickled first: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, artichokes, summer squash, and zucchini.

Fermenting

Fermenting provides a good source of nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, and healthy gut bacteria. However, salt is required, so this method may not be suitable for people on low-sodium diets. Also, the fermenting method is vulnerable to contamination, so it requires monitoring. It’s a slow process; you can try your food after two weeks, but fermentation can take up to eight weeks. Once fermented, vegetables can last for months in your refrigerator. 

Pickling

Quick pickling is quick and easy, and it extends the life of fresh food by several weeks. However, sugar is one of the ingredients in the brine that’s used to pickle. So, if you need to watch your sugar intake, this may not be suitable for you. The brine also includes vinegar, and vinegar lower the foods pH, which can kill most bacteria. The process is simple:

• Bring the brine, which usually includes water, vinegar, salt, sugar, as well as fresh and dried herbs, to a boil.

• Pour the brine over your chopped vegetables that have been added to Mason jars.

• Fill the jars to within a ½” of the top with the brine; and gently tap the jars on the counter to remove air bubbles.

• Seal the jars with lids and cool in the refrigerator. 

Curing/Storing

Only certain vegetables can be cured, such as sweet potato, potato, winter squash, squash gourds, onions, and garlic. Carrots and beets can be stored at cold temperature, but they don’t really cure. You don’t need special equipment, but you do need a cool storage area. Years ago, people had root cellars for storing these vegetables; but perhaps you have a basement in your house that stays cool. Different vegetables have different curing and storing requirements. For example, sweet potatoes need to be cured in a hot, dark, humid space between 80-90^o F for 10 days, then stored in a cool, well-ventilated area, at 55-60^o F, while potatoes need to be cured in a dark, ventilated space at 55^o F for two weeks, then stored in an area around 40-45^o F and out of sunlight. 

Enjoy your harvest!

Resources:

file:///C:/Users/owner/Desktop/Murphy%20GYOV/Fall-Food-Preservation-Guide-1.pdf