Preserving the Harvest
(Heather Shobe, Eden Tree Farm and Gardening)
Freezing
- Blanch vegetables to preserve colour and nutritional value by quickly submersing in boiling water
- Lay out small or sliced fruits, or blanched vegetables, on cookie sheets. Place them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer into plastic bags or glass jars.
- It is easy to pit fruit once it has been frozen. Just thaw out the fruit and separate the pits from the mush.
Drying
- Experiment!
- Use a standard dehydrator, lay out items in the sun between window screens, build a solar dryer, place racks by your wood stove, or hang herbs from your ceiling.
- Have a hot vehicle sitting outside? You can put sliced trays of fruit in your back seat to dry them out.
- You can dry purees on parchment paper to create fruit leather. You can add yogurt, nuts, seeds, and spices!
- Make sure you dry your fruit in a space with a high enough temperature to prevent the growth of organisms that can spoil your food.
Fermenting
- Don’t worry fermenting is safe to do. The lactic acid bacteria created during the process kills off other organisms that are harmful.
- You can make yogurt, apple cider vinegar, and wine
Canning
- Jams, jellies and more!
- Two methods you can use are pressure cooking or a boiling-water bath to can your food
- Make sure you use good quality produce and find instructions on how to can from a friend, in a book, or online.
For the full article about preserving food by Heather Shobe go to page 16 of the 2017 growers guide.
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