Even though the days of weeding and the supply of zucchini and tomatoes seem endless now, come winter we’ll all be longing for the fresh tastes of summer again. By preserving some of your bounty now, you’ll be able to enjoy those summer tastes through the winter - and perhaps enjoy a savings in your food bill as well.
All fruits and most vegetables preserve well. The notable exceptions are green onions, lettuces and other salad greens, and potatoes.
Even if you have a small garden without excess produce, or no garden at all, you can still eat healthier and tastier by preserving fruits and vegetables yourself. Join a CSA and buy a larger share – or two shares – so that you have extra to preserve for later. Purchase fruits and vegetables from farmers markets, orchards or U-Pick farms. During the height of the season some will offer “Canner’s Specials, selling larger quantities of produce at reduced prices. Try bartering with neighbors who have excess produce. Perhaps they would be willing to trade their excess tomatoes for your excess cucumbers. Or maybe you could do some canning or freezing for them in exchange for produce.
There are many methods of preserving fruits and vegetables: freezing, pickling, canning, and dehydrating. You can also make things such as pies, breads, jams and jellies with your produce and freeze or can the finished product. The method you choose will depend on what type of storage space you have (freezer space versus shelf space), whether your family prefers the taste of canned or frozen or dehydrated foods, and how comfortable you are with the technique itself.
Equipment
For freezing you’ll need a large pot, Dutch oven or kettle, and a colander. For liquid foods you can use rigid freezer containers, freezer bags, or wide-mouthed glass canning jars. For solid foods you can use freezer bags, heavy foil, or plastic or laminated freezer wrap.
Canning and pickling require a boiling water canner or pressure canner, standard glass canning jars, and 2-part lids (a flat metal lid with a built-in seal and a screw band). Do not re-use glass jars that previously stored processed foods such as store-bought mayonnaise and jam. They may not seal correctly, or may crack during processing. A wide-mouthed funnel and a jar lifter are also handy. Note that you shouldn’t use a pressure cooker in place of a pressure canner.
Dehydrators can be purchased, or you can simply use your oven, provided your oven has a temperature setting as low as 140 degrees. Above 140° the food will cook rather than dehydrate.
No matter what method you use, ideally you will pick your fruits or vegetables at the peak of freshness and preserve them the same day. If you can't preserve the same day they are picked, then you should refrigerate them until you get to them. And if they are a little past prime at picking-time, or if they've sat in the refrigerator a little too long, then the best option is to make a baked product, jelly or sauce. Some fruits, such as pears or plums, can be picked a bit under-ripe and allowed to ripen before preserving.
Now a look at the various preservation methods.
Freezing
To freeze fruits, rinse the fruit in cold water and drain thoroughly being careful to handle delicate fruits carefully. You can treat fruits such as sliced apples, peaches, pears or apricots with vitamin C (500 mg/quart of water) to prevent browning. Blueberries, cranberries, currants, rhubarb and gooseberries freeze well without sweetening. You can freeze fruits with a sugar syrup (3 c. sugar to 4 c. water), but don't do this if you’re going to make jam or jelly with your frozen fruit later.
Vegetables should also be rinsed in cold water, peeled, seeded, and/or sliced as needed. Then they should be blanched to preserve color, texture, flavor and nutrients. To do this bring a pot of water to a boil. Add your vegetables, cover, and immediately start timing them. Don’t wait for the water to return to a boil before you start to time them. Have a sink or container full of ice water ready. Once they’ve blanched the appropriate amount of time, immediately plunge them into the ice water and cool for the same amount of time you blanched them. Drain well and package into containers or bags. Find processing time charts in most general-purpose cookbooks or ask your local extension office.
For both fruits and vegetables be sure to label your containers with the date and contents (all those green vegetables kind of look alike once they’re frozen!), and use them within one year.
Canning
Fruits (including tomatoes), pickles, jams and jellies are all acidic enough to be safely canned with the boiling-water canning method. Pressure canning is the only safe method for vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood because of their low acidity.
A couple of notes about tomatoes. First, when water canning them, it’s best to add lemon juice or vinegar at the ratio of 1 teaspoon per pint of tomatoes to raise the acidity a bit more. Second, if your tomatoes have been frostbit in the garden, this changes their acidity and they cannot be safely canned. But they can still be frozen.
Raw pack means the food is put into the jars without pre-cooking it. This method is best reserved for vegetables that are going to be processed in a pressure canner. “Hot packing” means the food is heated to a boil and then simmered a few minutes before putting it into the jars. This is the best method for any food processed in a boiling-water canner. With either method the juice, syrup or water that is added to the jars after packing should also be heated to a boil first. This helps remove air bubbles from the jars, get a better seal, and extend shelf life.
Headspace is the amount of empty space left at the top of the canning jar. Too little headspace, and the food may leak out of the jar. To much headspace and air may remain in the jar after processing, causing food at the top of the jar to oxidize and darken. Generally, 1 inch of headspace is left for low-acid foods, vegetables and meats; 1/2 inch for high-acid foods such as tomatoes and fruits; 1/4 inch for jams, jellies, preserves, pickles and relishes.
If you will be processing in a boiling-water canner for less than 10 minutes, the jars need to be pre-sterilized first. Do this by setting them on the rack in your boiling-water canner, then filling the jars and the canner with hot – but not boiling – water until the water reaches a level 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. If you live at an elevation above 1,000 feet, add 1 minute of boiling time for each additional 1,000 feet. Remove the jars from the canner and drain them. Proceed as usual packing, sealing and processing the jars. Save the water used for sterilizing for processing the jars. Foods processed in a pressure canner, or for longer than 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner, do not need to be pre-sterilized.
Once your food and boiling liquid have been packed in the jar, it’s important to release any remaining air bubbles. Insert a plastic knife, spatula, or even a clean bubble wand down into the jar and gently move it up and down in the jar. Do not use metal utensils for removing air bubbles, as it may contribute to jar breakage.
Jars are sealed with a canning lid, which has a rubber seal on the bottom, and a band that screws on over the lid. The bands can be cleaned, saved and reused, but the lids cannot. Used lids should be discarded and new lids used every time.
Make sure the rim and neck of the jar are clean, otherwise the lid may fail to seal. Wipe with a clean, damp cloth. Do not over-tighten the bands.
Water-bath Canning
Fill your water bath canner half full, place on the stove and bring the water to boiling. You might also want to heat a smaller pot or kettle of water, in case additional boiling water needs to be added to the canner after the jars are in place. Once the jars are ready and the water in the canner is boiling, set the jars in the rack and lower the rack into the canner. Jars can be stacked in two layers, but should not be touching the jar next to them. Once the jars are in place, be sure that the water level reaches one to two inches above the tops of the jars. If not, add more boiling water from your smaller pot or kettle. Let the water return to a boil before beginning to time for processing.
Pressure Canning
Pressure canners do not require pre-boiling the water. Simply add 2 to 3 inches hot water at the same time you add your rack of jars. Then remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock.
Heat until the water inside the canner boils and steam is steadily flowing from the open vent port or petcock. Continue heating and maintaining the release of steam for 10 minutes.
Replace the weight on the vent port or close the petcock, and allow the canner to pressurize. This will take 3 to 5 minutes. Start timing once the gauge indicates the proper pressure has been reached, or when the weight in the vent port begins to jiggle.
Regulate the heat and maintain the proper pressure for the duration of the processing time. It’s okay to have a slightly higher pressure, but if at any time there is a loss of pressure you should bring it back up to the proper pressure and start the timing over. This is important to ensure a safe finished product.
When processing is complete, remove the pressure canner from the heat source and allow it to cool down and de-pressurize on its own. Do not try to hurry the cooling process by running cold water over the canner or opening the vent. After the canner is de-pressurized (check the manufacturer’s instructions for how to tell when depressurization is complete), remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. For safety wait an additional 2 minutes before removing the lid.
The remaining steps apply to both canning methods.
Once processing is complete, remove the jars from the canner one at a time with a jar lifter. Be careful not to tilt the jars. Set them on a towel or drying rack, leaving an inch between jars for airflow. Allow the jars to set and cool for 12 to 24 hours. Do not retighten the bands or push on the lids. Once cooled, ring bands can be removed. Check that the lids are properly sealed by pressing them in the middle. If the lid springs back when released it is not sealed properly.
Unsealed jars can be stored in the refrigerator for immediate use, or the food transferred to a freezer storage container and frozen. Reprocessing is possible, if done within 24 hours, but there will be a loss of food quality. To reprocess, first check the rim of the jar for any nicks. Use a new jar if necessary. A new lid must be used. Reseal the jar, and reprocess for the same amount of processing time.
Before storing your jars, wipe them off with a clean damp cloth to remove any food residue on the outsides of the jars and lids. Dry them, label and date them, and store in a cool, dark, dry area at a temperature of 50 to 70 degrees. Use within one year.
Dehydrating
The first step to dehydrating is to wash and core your fruits or vegetables. They can be dehydrated whole, but smaller pieces dry faster. Ideally the pieces should be peeled, sliced thin, and uniform in size. Pre-treating will also speed drying time. You can pre-treat fruit with sulfur, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), or by blanching. Most vegetables should be pre-treated by blanching for a couple of minutes.
Lay the fruit or vegetable pieces on the dehydrator trays – or cookie sheets, if you’re using your oven – in a single layer. Do not allow pieces to touch one another. Dry for 1 to 2 hours, then carefully turn the pieces over. Continue drying until there is no visible moisture remaining. Even if you pick a piece up and squeeze it, no water should come out. Pieces may be pliable, but they should not feel sticky or tacky. Watch carefully towards the end of the drying time. Drying occurs faster towards the end than at the beginning. Vegetables such as beets and sweet peppers will be leathery when finished. Others, such as green beans, carrots, corn, mushrooms, peas, and zucchini will be brittle. Onions, potatoes and tomatoes will be crisp.
After dehydration is complete, allow 30 to 60 minutes for cooling. Insufficient cooling may lead to sweating and moisture buildup. But leaving it to cool any longer than this may allow moisture to re-enter the food.
To make fruit leather, simply puree the fruit. Apples, pears, peaches and nectarines should be cooked before pureeing, other fruits can be pureed raw. Line the dehydrator trays with plastic wrap, or use special fruit leather tray inserts if available. Pour out a thin layer of puree, thinner towards the middle and thicker towards the outside of the tray because the edges of the tray will dry more quickly than the center. Just like dried fruit pieces, the leather should be pliable but not sticky or tacky.
If you sun-dry your fruits and vegetables, they should be pasteurized before storing to destroy any insects that may have found them outside. Place the food on shallow trays or cookie sheets and place in a 160° F oven – vegetables for 10 minutes and fruits for 15 minutes.
It’s important to store dehydrated foods in moisture and air-proof containers such as jars with screw-on lids or freezer bags. Then store the containers in a cool, dark location. Use within 3 to 6 months.
Dehydrated fruits and vegetables can be reconstituted before use by soaking them in water. Fruits take about 8 hours, and vegetables about 2 hours soaking to be reconstituted. During this time they should be kept in the refrigerator. Use the soaking water to cook with after reconstituting. A cup of dried vegetables yields 2 cups reconstituted vegetables, a cup of dried fruit yields 1 1/2 cups reconstituted fruit.
A note about vacuum sealing:
Home-canned foods still need to be pressure canned or water bath canned before vacuum sealing. Foods that need refrigeration or freezing still need to be refrigerated or frozen after vacuum sealing. Vacuum sealing simply slows food spoilage and retards the growth of insects.
Preserving food can definitely be a lot of work, but also very satisfying. You’ll eat healthier and better tasting food through the winter. You’ll be eating “locally” through the winter. (It doesn’t get much more local than your own backyard!) And you’ll be following the example of Aesop’s ant, who showed the grasshopper that “it is best to prepare for the days of necessity.”
Kelli's Pickles
Here are a few recipes to get you started!
Dill Pickles
My mother-in-law canned everything from beef to horticulture beans. This was her recipe.
1 quart vinegar
1 pint water
2 1/2 cups sugar
12 c. salt
2 T. alum
Boil the above ingredients. Put a head of dill in the bottom of each jar, then sliced cucumbers, then another head of dill on top. Pour boiling vinegar mixture into the jar. Release air bubbles, seal, and process for…
Green Pepper Jelly
Nice for gift-giving, festive on a holiday table.
Spread cream cheese on butter crackers and top with jelly.
1 1/2 c. seeded, chopped green peppers
4 oz can chopped chili peppers
1 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/8 t. green food coloring
2 3-oz. pouches liquid fruit pectin
Heat sugar and vinegar until sugar dissolves. Puree peppers and chilies together, and add puree to vinegar mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add food coloring. Skim off foam. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Pour into 8 sterilized 1/2-pint jars, leaving 1/8” headspace. Seal and cool.
Freezer Salsa
When those tomatoes have been frost-bit, freezer salsa is the answer. This one is very mild, almost sweet. I like it as is, my husband mixes it with jalapeno salsa for more bite.
5 lb. tomatoes &
3 t. canning salt
3 c. onions
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 c. green peppers
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. jalapeno pepper
Peel tomatoes. Seed peppers. Dice tomatoes, onions and peppers and combine in a large pot. Add vinegar, salt and sugar in that order. Bring salsa to a boil and cook down to desired consistency, about 25 minutes. Cool and package in freezer bags.