At this time of year fresh produce is abundant and relatively inexpensive. For those that have planted a vegetable garden, what to do with the excess can become a problem. The choices are to preserve it for winter, sell it locally at a market or on a Facebook group or to give it to others be it friends, family, neighbors or the local Food Bank.
How to preserve fruits and vegetables depends on the type of produce, equipment and storage that is available.
Regardless of how the produce is going to be preserved it should be ripe and of good quality. When old, diseased or unripe produce is used the end product is inferior.
At one time everything was canned out of necessity. Now it is a matter of choice. Canned jam, jelly, relishes, pickles, sauces and preserved fruits are common. Canned vegetables that were once a mainstay are rarely made as their texture and taste are not as good a frozen.
Canning requires a jars with lids, a large pot or pressure cooker and cool storage space.
Jars, in various sizes are readily available in stores.Glass jars can be used multiple times if they are not chipped or cracked but the lids should be discarded when the jar is empty. The rings that hold the lids in place may be reused but check them for wear and rust.
According to Bernardin, the maker of glass canning jars, a pressure cooker is needed to process canned food that is low in acid. A large pan or canner where jars can be submerged in a hot bath of boiling water is necessary for all high acid canning. www.bernardin.ca These instruction are different than what is set out in older cookbooks but it is what the latest research recommends to insure that the food is free of all harmful pathogens.
Freezing is another popular way to preserve produce. All it takes is access to freezer space. As plant material freezes the water in the cells expands breaking cell walls which can result in soft even mushy produce when thawed. The more liquid in the item the softer the thawed product will be. Frozen produce is rarely thawed and eaten. It is usually cooked on its own, or added to other dishes.
Check recopies to see how to prepare specific produce for freezing. Many of the vegetables taste better if they are blanched, steamed slightly, before they are frozen. Once blanched they are cooled in cold water and either placed on a tray to be frozen and bagged or placed into individual bags and frozen. The quicker the produce freezes the better the quality.
Drying produce removes all the moisture from the plant material allowing it to be stored in sealed containers in a cool, dark, dry area.
Herbs are the easiest to dry as they do well when hung upside down in a warm area with good air circulation.
Produce that contains more sugar and liquid need to be subjected to low, dry heat for an extended period of time. This can be accomplished in the oven, a dehydrator or in the case of small amounts, a microwave. Temperatures must be kept low enough that the produce doesn’t cook but high enough to remove the moisture. Dehydrators have a fan that circulates the air moving the moisture away from the produce.
For best results, cut the produce in thin uniform pieces. Thick pieces are harder to dehydrate.
Produce made into a sauce and dehydrated forms a sheet of “leather” .
Dehydrated fruits are often eaten as is or used for baking. Vegetables can be presoaked and cooked but more often they are mixed into soups or casseroles where they hydrate as they cook.
Like frozen produce, the texture of reconstituted produce is not the same as fresh.
A forth method of fermentation requires and air tight container, salt, whey or a starting culture. The produce is cut into consistently small pieces and a brine is placed over top of the produce with a weight to keep everything under the brine. The container is sealed until the fermentation is finished. Once completed the end product is placed in sealed container in a cool area such as a cold room or fridge.
To preserve or not and what method used is up to each individual. It has its rewards but take time. Be sure to follow safe up to date preservation methods to insure the finished product free of harmful pathogens.
Linda Tomlinson is a horticulturalist that lives near Red Deer.She can be reached at your_garden@hotmail.com