Growing your own food doesn’t just stop after harvesting. The best part of gardening is when you get an overabundance of produce – in which case, it’s time to preserve them.
Food preservation allows you to live sustainably and enjoy your harvest throughout the year. The simplest way to do it is by canning, freezing, or drying your crops and storing them in your pantry.
Today, I’ll go over foolproof techniques that’ll help you preserve your harvest like a pro!
3 Simple Food Preservation Methods to Try
Are you ready to eat with the seasons and enjoy your harvest year-round? Here are three simple food preservation methods you can use at home!
1 – Freezing
Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve food. It doesn’t require special equipment, and anyone can do it.
I like freezing my excess produce because of its convenience. It can extend the shelf-life of various foods for months while preserving taste, nutritional value, and texture.
However, there is a downside to freezing.
The freezing process can cause the water in a plant’s cells to expand, rupturing the membrane. As a result, your vegetables may turn mushy after defrosting.
Techniques for Freezing Produce
Fortunately, there are ways to prepare your vegetables to retain their freshness even after freezing. Here are some tips you can follow.
- Blanching: Blanching fruits before freezing stops enzyme action and kills bacteria. It can fix the color and texture of more delicate vegetables.
- Quick Freezing: When you freeze vegetables quickly, you produce smaller ice crystals that prevent the rupturing of cell membranes. It helps to set your freezer on full blast to hasten the process.
- Tray Freezing: Avoid stacking vegetables to allow them to freeze faster. You can freeze fruits and vegetables on metal trays and then transfer them to ziplock bags afterward for storage.
2 – Canning
Canning is a way to make food stable and safe even when stored at room temperature. It takes work, but once you get it down, canning can become a versatile method to preserve vegetables.
Prolonging the shelf-life of your produce through canning is fun because you can get creative with the recipes. It’s possible to can jams, jellies, pickles, and even tomato sauce, then give them away to friends and family!
Techniques for Canning Fruits and Vegetables
Here are essential tips for canning fruits and vegetables.
- Sterilizing: Boiling the jars and lids you’ll use is a simple way to sterilize them. You can do it by submerging the vessels in water and boiling them for at least ten minutes.
- Adding Preservatives: Salt, sugar, and vinegar are natural preservatives that can prevent bacteria from growing in canned food. You should preserve vegetables in brine and fruits in syrup for the best results.
- Knowing the Processing Times: Food with low acidity will have shorter processing times than those with high acidity. You should check canning reference charts beforehand to ensure food safety.
3 – Drying
Drying is one of the oldest food preservation methods around the globe. It works by removing moisture from food, preventing the growth of bacteria.
Some people prefer drying because it concentrates the flavor of vegetables. It also makes your produce lighter and easier to store.
You may eat dried food directly or cook it into recipes. This method makes fruit leathers, powdered juices, and mix-ins for homemade cereal!
Techniques for Drying Produce
You don’t need any expensive equipment to dry food. Sunlight, a food dehydrator, and even your oven are affordable tools for drying vegetables.
Here’s how you can dry food like a pro.
- Blanching: Blanching vegetables before drying them stops enzyme action and prevents browning.
- Uniform Drying: When drying food, it’s important to slice it into uniform pieces. This lets each piece dry uniformly.
- Conditioning: After drying any food, you should equalize the moisture by sealing it in a jar for a week. Shake the jar daily, then return the food to the dryer if you see any condensation forming.
Essential Tips for Successful Food Preservation
Keep the following tips in mind when you’re preserving food through canning, freezing, or drying.
- Maintain Cleanliness: Always clean and sterilize the tools you’re using. The goal of preservation is to kill spoilage bacteria so you don’t want to contaminate the food with dirty equipment.
- Review Processing Times: Each crop will have a different processing time depending on moisture or acidity. For food safety, studying the correct processing time before you begin is best.
- Practice Labeling: Always label each food item with the date you processed and packed them. This practice can help you track when you must consume a certain product.
Final Thoughts
Growing and preserving your own food is a rewarding hobby that can help you live sustainably. If you find this interesting, you can visit our website to learn more about freezing, canning, and drying techniques!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.