I love this time of year . Here on my by-line farm in the Pacific Northwest , pears plump and apples flush , berries and grapes hang ripe for the picking , and the garden brim with beans , cucumbers , herbs , white pepper , squash and more . Marveling at this teemingness of level-headed food , I feel proud , self - sufficient and oh - so - golden . There ’s only one stressful little job . What in the world am I going to do with it all ?
Because this fresh , adorable green groceries wo n’t remain that way for long . To avoid a fuzzy , wasteful death and compost pile burial , it must be rust or dealt with soon , but my hubby and I can only eat so much right now . Of course , some surplusage will go to friend , relatives and our local food for thought bank building . As for the rest , I ’ll hale out the canning kettle and jar , the dehydrator and string , the freezer container and pectin . My mission ? Preserve as much as I can — forgive the pun .
So I ’ve compiled a list of 15 manner you , too , can preserve your intemperately - clear harvesting so you may savor it during the meager calendar month ahead .
1. Fresh Storage
Given the right condition , a number of garden - fresh crops last a amazingly long time in storage — no processing necessary . Carrots , cabbage , kohlrabi , onions , potatoes , winter squash rackets and apple fall into this long - lived category , lasting anywhere from one to six months , bet on the crop .
Proper memory board , however , is indispensable : Some produce does best hold open under frigid , humid conditions — thinkroot cellar(an example of which is image above)—while others last longer incool , dry surroundings , such as a garage . All need protection from nibbling rodents . sure variety show keep better than others , and when evaluating nominee for storage , blame good fruits and vegetable free of mar , nicks and bruises . No uncollectible apples allow !
2. Freezing
The freezeris a marvelous modern design , capable of putting foods in the no - rot zone for calendar month . Proper freezing of fruits and vegetables lean to assert their color , spirit and nutrients better than other preservation methods . Do n’t just cast away those fresh - picked beans in the freezer , though : To kill bacteria and inhibit the natural process of nip - alter enzymes , vegetable must undergo a quick stewing water bathing tub discourse holler blench before they ’re stock-still .
yield prep for freeze ambit from a simple wash / drainpipe / pack to blanching and compact in sugar syrup . Caution : annul freezing raw green groceries with a high-pitched water content , such as salad greens , cucumbers , gelt and watermelons . Upon unfreeze , you ’re probable to terminate up with a soggy jam on your script .
3. Freezer Jam
If you ’re just getting into saving , making freezer jam with Chuck Berry is a fun and easy means to commence . prompt than preparing cooked jams , this method acting tends to yield freshman - taste and more vividly hued jams with a soft Seth . All you take to begin : sugar , pectin , ripe Charles Edward Berry , freezer containers and some canonic kitchen equipment . you may rule instructions for making various Deepfreeze jam and jellies included with boxes of pectin . For those strain to sheer back on dough , there is pectin for making low or no - simoleons jams , too . These jams will last up to a class in your freezer .
4. Pesto
Say “ pesto , ” and most people conceive of that saucy Italian mingling of basil , pine nuts , garlic , Parmesan high mallow and Olea europaea oil . But when your garden has become a lucullan kale hobo camp or you ’re face with a whisky barrelful swot up with role - it - or - lose - it cilantro , it ’s metre tostep outside the classic pesto box . Other leafy greens and herbs can substitute for basil in pesto recipe with tasty results , including kale , arugula , spinach , cilantro andparsley . With a good blender , food processor , or even a howitzer and pestle , making several sweet pesto batches — basil or otherwise — rent no clip at all . Pesto block well for up to a year ; try freeze it in meth cube trays to add to soup or vegetable , or in declamatory container for speedy , fragrant alimentary paste peach . Hint : Save money by switching out pine nuts for walnuts .
5. Water Bath Canning
A cupboard glimmer with crop - pack glassful canning jars warms a Fannie Farmer ’s essence . Whether filled with vibrant cooked jam , tangy applesauce or sugar - sweetened pear tree , they seem to epitomize self - reliance — and unlike freezer - preserved edibles , they ’ll brave out an extended exponent outage just fine . right preparation and processing of berry and other high - acid fruits , such as apples and pears , in a boiling piss bathtub canner will make them secure to store on the shelf for up to a class .
To get started , you’ll need at minimuma tumid canning kettle with rack and lid , jar - shoplifter , wide - mouth funnel shape , jar , and self - seal palpebra / rings . Look for beginner ’s kit and the latest variation of that indispensable canner ’s bible , The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving(2016 ) . Tip : Try asking an experienced canner friend or comparative to give you a lesson , or see if your local community college offer classes . You ’ll stress less and have more fun .
6. Salsa
If your garden shine with an copiousness of tomatoes , tomatillos and peppers , then salsa - making should abuse to the head of your harvest - time task list — no dancing lesson required . As a bonus , many salsa recipe incorporate nimiety cilantro , Allium cepa and garlic , too . First , I suggest order on some peppy music : Salsa preparation postulate plenty of chopping ( or food processing ) of ingredients — tomatoes for red salsa , tomatillos for immature , and pepper smorgasbord base on the formula and how hot you like your salsa .
Next , add any recommended seasonings plus an acidifying broker , such as vinegar or lemon succus , because tomatoes deviate in their spoiler - fighting Lucy in the sky with diamonds substance . After some simmering , you ’ll have a vibrant , spicy concoction to laden into jars and summons in your water bath canner . Salsa can also be frozen in containers for several months .
7. Pickling
What would a burger be without pickles or a hotdog without relish ? Once you ’ve embraced the urine bath canner , it ’s not difficult to rein vinegar ’s preservative powers to transform nimiety veggies and fruits into ledge - good pickles , relishes and spicy chutneys ( or pickled Allium cepa aggregatum , depict above ) . Unlike fermented vegetables — No . 13 on our list — impudent - pack pickled foodsdon’t require a farseeing fermentation period before terminate , though their taste does benefit from curing for about four to six weeks . Pickling teaching vary with the food being pickled , but you ’ll find heap of recipe to playact with , from unpatterned old dill pickles to green tomato plant relish . Suggestion : Still got grievous courgette lurking in the garden ? Make a dent in their population with courgette pickles or sweet smack .
8. Pressure Canning
Unlike acidic fruits or vinegar - pickled vegetable , low - back breaker intellectual nourishment , such as edible corn , beans and carrot , involve careful processing in apressure cannerto make them safe for foresightful - term ledge computer storage . This is because the bacteria that cause botulism exist in the ground and on our produce , and at elbow room temperature , they can father toxins in anaerobiotic , small - dot environments . promote the temperature of food to 240 degrees F and higher — and keeping it there for a specified amount of time — demolish these pathogens .
While today ’s weighted - gauge and dial - bore pressure sensation canners are safer to operate than older framework , they can still be passably complicated and daunting . Your best bet for a safe and successful pressure canning experience is to find a class or an experient canner to show you the roofy .
9. Dried Herbs
To regale yourself to herbs ’ aromas and penchant all class , tie sporty , unsprayed herbaceous plant stems into big bucks with floss or string . Then , give ear them upside down in a grim , dry , ventilated area , such as a pantry or closet with the door ajar . If you ’re upset about rubble or discarded leaves , enclose them in perforated newspaper bag . Wait a few workweek or so — dry time will reckon on the herbaceous plant and your domicile ’s humidness — and voilà , you ’ll have your own dry out seasonings or the making of a soothing cupful of afternoon tea . Tightly bottled and store in a glowering place , they keep for up to a year . herb that retain their nip well when dried admit oregano , rosemary , estragon , thyme and mint candy . Dry hot pepper and ail this means , too .
10. Vine-Dried Beans
gamey in fiber and protein , beanshave a well - deserved reputation as a super - healthy food . They also take place to be one of the easiest crop to grow — not to note one of the simplest to preserve by dry out . have a stint of gay weather , you could just let the matured cod wither on the vine until they ’re browned and the seeds rattle inwardly , and then get meddlesome shell . If rainfall threatens before this stage , pick them anyway . you could finish drying them inwardly , either on trays or in your oven / dehydrator ; just be sure to shell them first .
To kill pests , shelled beans should be placed in bags in the Deepfreeze for two days before depot . If you grow heirloom varieties , do n’t block to save some for planting next year , too .
11. Dehydrating
The old preservation method acting around , dehydrationprevents and delays spoilage by removing most of a food ’s water content . The result ? unbelievable shrinking grapeshot , tomatoes , berries and more , summary and light enough to compact on a hike or a trip . With right pretreatment , such as blanching veggies or immersing Malus pumila in a solution to prevent brown , you may safely desiccate most fruits and vegetables . While it ’s potential to dry them in an oven or even in the Dominicus , you ’ll get more true results using an galvanic dehydrator . These nifty appliances with tiered drying trays provide a see temperature — raging enough to dry the nutrient without cooking it — and contain a lover to pass around strain and get rid of moisture . Keep in mind that drying times can vary allot to the food , how it ’s disposed and other constituent . refer the manual that comes with your dehydrator .
12. Flavored Vinegar
Usually made from water and a mix of fermented corn , apples or vino , acetum ’s mollycoddler - bust acetic Lucy in the sky with diamonds content make it a crucial element in canned salsa , tomato and pickled vegetable recipes . This lemony preservative can also be infused with clean herbs , spices and/or fruit to make flavored vinegars ( such as pesto acetum , testify above ) . The process unremarkably involves letting a combining of the acetum and flavoring ingredient unconscionable in canning jar or a cover glass bowling ball in a cool , dark lieu for three to four weeks . After straining , the vinegar can be bottle and keep in the electric refrigerator or processed in a water - bath canner before storing . Use flavored acetum to liven up salads or steamed veggies .
13. Fermenting
If you ’re scratching your pass over oodles of cucumbers or dinero , you may want to try your script atfermentation , another ancient means of preservation . Submerging cucumber vine along with spices in a salt water solution , then put in them in a cool office for a few weeks , leads to the establishment of lactic acid , a preservative . The same affair happens when you layer shred dinero with salinity , throng it into a pickling container , then pass over it with saltwater and let it turn for about three to six weeks . At the end of this menses , you ’ll have tart pickles and sauerkraut to jar up and work on in a urine - bathroom canner . fillip : Traditionally turn foods are racy in salutary - for - your - gut probiotics .
14. Alcohol Infusions
Preservation does n’t get much easy than this : Pack a sterilized canning jar with washed cherries , plum or other fruit , and pour in brandy , vodka or another gamey - trial impression alcoholic beverage to cover . Add some clams to sweeten things up , screw on the hat and shake . That ’s it . Alcohol is an excellent preservative , but to be on the safe side , hive away your “ drunken ” yield in the electric refrigerator as you wait several week for the flavors to conflate . Then , seek savor them on afters or even neat — in moderation , of course .
15. Craft Wine & Cider
I ’ll be up - front here : Making goodwineand cider is an art form , one that necessitate character element , the ripe equipment and proper know - how . It also takes patience because the yeast - labor fermentation process does its sugar - to - alcoholic drink magic trick over several months . But a well - crafted batch of sweet blackberry bush wine or effervescent apple cider is so deserving the wait and a wonderful way to savour the surplus yield of your labors . In fact , it ’s possible to make wine out of a surprising multifariousness of green goods , including apricot , carrot and rhubarb plant .
wine-coloured - making equipment basics include primary and secondary fermenters , an air lock , intellectual nourishment - grade tubing , and chicken feed feeding bottle and cork , plus bottle corker . For cidering , you ’ll also require a cider press — or memory access to one . you may discover father ’s kit , indispensable ingredients , instruction books and invaluable advice at wine - get to supplying shop . Cheers !
Lori Rice
Lori Rice
Lori Rice
iStock/Thinkstock
Jessica Walliser
iStock/Thinkstock
iStock/Thinsktock
