Preserving Your Harvest

[21hens-incharge]

Yes to blanching veggies before freezing with nearly all of them. It stops the enzymes that would otherwise cause them to spoil even in the deep freeze.

Bell peppers, wash and cut into the size pieces you want to use them in then vacuum seal and freeze. They do lose a bit of that great fresh crunch but work well for fajitas and any other cooked dish.

Zucchini, I shred my extras and measure out into 2 cup portions then freeze in freezer bags. I use them to make zucchini brownies throughout winter. Just do not drain the liquid when thawed. The recipe needs it. In chunks frozen zucchini can be used in spaghetti sauce and other saucy Italian dishes.

I water bath can as well as freeze tomatoes after cooking them down a bit.

Extra peaches can be made into peach butter which is AMAZING!

I found freezing corn on the cob was a big disappointment. I blanch, ice bath then cut it off the cob to retain quality. I vacuum seal it as well.

Green beans, carrots, peas if freezing need blanched first.

I don't have a pressure canner so I freeze A LOT of my harvest.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Strawberries and I am certain many more can be washed, hulled, patted dry and frozen whole without blanching.
That allows for collecting until there is enough to make jam.

I was not impressed with frozen peaches though. We used the protections recommended to prevent browning and followed all the steps but they still lost to much quality for me to try that again.

Oh and onions can be chopped and vac sealed then frozen with no blanching as well.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Sharing a favorite recipe for fresh peaches.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a28091638/peach-crumble-recipe/

 

[Chookchicken]

Just make sure you watch out for botulism. It is a tasteless, odourless, bacteria that can be fatal if not treated. It can be caused by canned food not having enough acid. It is more common in canned in vegetables that don’t have enough acid by themselves. It is rare to get botulism poisoning, but I think it’s a good thing to have in mind.

 

[BReeder!]

Sharing a favorite recipe for fresh peaches.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a28091638/peach-crumble-recipe/

I bet I can make and freeze that to reheat in the oven all winter long.

 

[Sally PB]

Another way I preserve things is to dehydrate them. I've made a lot of dried fruit, especially apples. Those I buy at the end of the season when they're on sale. Empire apples are great; sweet with a bit of tang. Honeycrisp are wonderful, but the apples are expensive to buy. We have a couple of 2 year old apple trees that aren't bearing yet, and several wild apple trees that are absolutely loaded this year.

I have dried muskmelon, and that is fantastic. This year I might get two melons, if I'm lucky. I won't be drying them.

Cherries are really good. Sweet and chewy. They make a mess on the dehydrator trays, but they're worth it.

I'm going to try drying potatoes this year. That won't be until after the canning is done.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Just make sure you watch out for botulism. It is a tasteless, odourless, bacteria that can be fatal if not treated. It can be caused by canned food not having enough acid. It is more common in canned in vegetables that don’t have enough acid by themselves. It is rare to get botulism poisoning, but I think it’s a good thing to have in mind.

Absolutely!! I add acid to my tomatoes when canning even. I never trust that there is enough already there.
I believe botulism is a big reason to follow good canning practices and a proven method for the thing you are trying to can.

I bet I can make and freeze that to reheat in the oven all winter long.

It's also great with apples.

 

[Sally PB]

What do you freeze them in? I tried freezing in zip bags, but I found the Jam didn't freeze solid (sugar or pectin content maybe lowered the freezing point) and a bag hot popped open. I've heard of freezer lids for mason jars, but haven't ever tried them.

When I was in high school, I made lots of strawberry freezer jam. We put it in cottage cheese containers, and that worked very well.

 

[BReeder!]

Just make sure you watch out for botulism. It is a tasteless, odourless, bacteria that can be fatal if not treated. It can be caused by canned food not having enough acid. It is more common in canned in vegetables that don’t have enough acid by themselves. It is rare to get botulism poisoning, but I think it’s a good thing to have in mind.

Absolutely. Everything gets extra acid. I also follow proven canning methods based on what I'm canning and proven recipes. I may tweak things to my liking, but always with precaution and never taking away from the level of acidity or processing procedures.

 

[vall]

I freeze in clear plastic deli containers. They work fine for salsa, jam, even a single serving of soup for a quick lunch. I occasionally use mason jars with plastic lids, but they don't stack too well so I figure I'll break one eventually trying to get to the back of the freezer. I don't like adding vinegar to salsa so mine always gets frozen instead of canned.