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Preserving and Storing Food That We Grow

Right off the bat, let’s dispel a few common misconceptions that I observe over and over.


Myth: Harvest is at the end of summer.
Sometimes new gardeners have the idea that gardening is like a sandwich. They expect to plant in the spring and harvest in the fall.
Truth: If you’ve gardened for awhile, you know the truth is very different. Aside from the near daily attention of watering and weeding, you can begin eating out of your garden within the first few weeks after planting (in garden talk that’s almost immediately), and throughout the growing season. Harvest is an ongoing process all season long. That means you’re picking and eating, but also picking and dehydrating, canning and freezing what cannot be consumed right away.

Yes, there will be things you’ll be harvesting at summer’s end – like winter squash, root vegetables, plums and apples, but that doesn’t take into consideration all the other fruits and vegetables (especially garden greens) that you’ll miss if you wait.

Myth: Fresh food from the grocery store is the BEST option nutritionally.
Truth: The word “fresh” has been stretched to mean all sorts of things. The produce in the grocery stores would be best defined as ‘perishable’. In many cases, it takes a week or more before it arrives on our grocery store shelves, and this after being picked before its ripe. Since all food begins deteriorating within the hour its harvested, having it be two weeks from harvest before we BUY it, is a problem. Sometimes, preserved food might actually be more nutritious than the older perishable food in the produce department. Open your mind to some new considerations.

Myth: Storing food will make it last indefinitely.
Truth: All storage methods have limits that are shorter than we are tempted to assume. Be reasonable. Nothing STOPS food spoilage, but certain methods of preserving slow it down considerably. It’s food! Its not indestructible. Nutrition is optimum the fresher it is of course, and at the beginning of storing, best used within a certain time frame.

Generally this is what you can expect:

  1. Canned food – commercially canned or home bottled food has a recommended shelf life of 18 months to 2 years. Two years is the time frame I try to work within. Nutritional value is approximately 40% of whatever that food was the hour it went into the bottle. That nutritional value decreases as it ages, so yes, we may all know someone who has bottled peaches from 2018 on their shelf, but the nutritional value is so poor . . . . Just EAT the doggone thing or give it to the chickens! Get it over with! What are you waiting for?
  2. Frozen fruits and vegetables if prepared properly have a recommended shelf life of 4 months to a year. For me, I use a year as my benchmark. Nutritional value is approximately 60% of whatever the food was the hour it went into the freezer. The key is to have it in the freezer as close to harvest time as possible. Don’t forget about it in there.
  3. Dehydrated foods have a Potential Shelf Life of – 1 year for fruits, 6 months for vegetables, 1-2 months for meat (6 months if vacuum sealed. I say potential because there are so many factors to consider when dehydrating at home. How long between picking time and the dehydrator? Did you remove all the moisture? Are you certain? How are you storing it? Best practise is to store in coolish room temperatures (no less than 40 F / 5 C and no higher than 70 F / 20 C), out of direct light. Nutritional value is approximately 80%; again the key is prompt processing.
  4. – Freeze dried foods has an extraordinary shelf life of 25 years if done properly. Freeze drying is a gentler process preserving and protecting the food value. Nutritional value could be over 90%. See below for more information.

One of your greatest resources when learning how to preserve the food you grow (or acquire) is other people. Everyone has an idea you’ve never tried before. Don’t be stuck in the way you’ve always done things, just because that’s how you always have. Be open minded and willing to LEARN, willing to try new things and share your successes and failures.
Be wise and pay attention to details.

an important side trip . . . . .

Botulism! is nothing to trifle with.

What is it?
Botulism is a rare but serious condition caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves. It can cause life-threatening symptoms.  All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies, but for our purposes here, we’re only concerned about Foodborne botulism.  The harmful bacteria thrive and make the toxin in environments with little oxygen, such as in canned food. There. I said it. The growth of the bacterial toxin responsible for botulism thrives in low oxygen and low acid environments. This happens most often in preserved foods and in inadequately processed home-canned or home-bottled foods. Freezing does not kill botulism and neither does boiling.

Strict adherence to cleanliness, and ensuring that proper canning methods are used when home preserving is more important than we might suspect. Fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly before using. Glass jars should be cleaned with hot soapy water, rinsed with hot water and kept clean till used. It is not necessary to sterilize jars if they will be processed in a hot water bath for at least 10 minutes.

Only high acid foods like some fruits and in some cases pickled vegetables, should be canned in a hot water bath canner. All other foods: vegetables, legumes, meat and fish should be processed in a pressure canner under recommended pressure. Don’t guess about the pressure or the timing, use a guide. Why pressure? Because under pressure a higher temperature can be reached than simply by boiling.

EATING “IN THE SEASON”

Years ago (for nutritional reasons), I decided to focus our eating IN THE SEASON, preserving the EXCESS of what we could use immediately. Consequently, we eat primarily out of our garden from the beginning of May through the end of September. Other than the watermelon we buy constantly throughout the summer, 90% of our fresh produce comes from the garden. Like everyone else, I still like summer fruits we cannot grow in our climate: peaches, nectarines, citrus, and blackberries – when all those fruits are at their best. Lucky for me, I live in a place where I have the best of both worlds.

Every growing season will be different; not every vegetable will do great every year. Some years are going to be great tomato years, some will be better green crop years. It is important to diversify what we grow to give us the best variety and chances for success. For instance, this growing season (summer of 2024) was the perfect lesson for why diversification is a good idea. It threw some unexpected curve balls at us: April was cold, May was cold and excessively windy, even June was cold and very windy. (Just for fun, I checked some weather history in Edmonton, and in May 2024 we had 8 sunny days!) I was still planting my garden in the middle of June – a full month later than than I ever have before. But then the weather was perfect for weeks at a time. By mid July things most things had caught up. Who knew?

April, May and June this year was perfect spinach weather, but unfortunately for me, and uncharacteristically, I hadn’t planted any. Boo.

What is ready in my yard (and probably your yard too) in May?
* Early greens like spinach if you got it planted early enough (the previous August is a good time).
* Volunteer Greens: Lambs Quarters – a common garden edible weed that is very much like spinach in many ways. Dandelion leaves – open your mind. When they’re very young, dandelion greens are nice added to a salad. Giant hyssop is an edible native plant that comes up early. Chickweed (yes, another common garden edible weed) that springs to life as soon as the ground warms up.
* Sorrel, one of the earliest garden greens.
* Rhubarb is at its best at the beginning of the season.
* Chives, Garlic Chives and Welsh Onions are up and big enough to start picking for meals.

What is ready in my yard (and probably your yard too) in June?
* All your herbs.
* More early greens.
* Early strawberries.
* Hascaps are the first fruits of the season – usually ready before the middle of the month.
* Rhubarb is full on and at its best in June.

By the first of July, you should be eating something from your garden every day.
Peas, beans, more greens including Asian greens, kale, the first cucumbers, every kind of herb, and the first tomatoes, zucchini and onions.

Very soon the excitement of first ripening turns into mass ripeness – all ready to harvest at the same time. Zucchini that gets so big you can use it for a piece of furniture, or it sits on the counter for several days before you use it; kale that grows bigger by the hour; more salad than anyone can enjoy, and more basil wrapped tomatoes than you can put on any table. Who has time to do take-out in the summer? And why would you? There is so much to eat everyday right in your garden.

Part of the beauty of summer is the healthful benefits of eating in-the-season. There is nothing like fresh sour cherries or royal plums from the tree, or those first crisp apples!
But don’t miss the more subtle offerings: parsley that is ready all summer long – wanting to be dehydrated for use all winter, the kale we can literally pick every day and it never stops producing. Gardeners have carefully tended our food plants since the weather warmed up, so be open to all the ways its giving back to us. In some cases the more we pick, the more will keep coming. When we let vegetables like peas, beans and cucumbers stay on the plant longer than needful, they start to over ripen in an effort to produce viable seed, signaling the plant that producing time is over. We sabotage our quality and quantity by not constantly harvesting.

Picking cucumbers every few days as they ripen will keep the plant producing. You’ll have some to enjoy today, some to give away, and some to put up for winter for several weeks.
Same with tomatoes: freshly sliced on toasted sourdough, in your green salad of course, fresh bruschetta on fresh sourdough, fresh salsa, roasted pasta sauce, – enough to share and enough to put up for winter.

STORE WHAT YOU EAT AND EAT WHAT YOU STORE

Preserving means no waste, and extending the season – but never at the expense of eating IN the season. We really can have plenty of both. And there are several different ways to preserve, some more suitable than others, each with it’s own advantages, disadvantages and optimum shelf life. Not all methods are suitable for all produce. Be open minded and employ a variety of methods to take advantage of the best options. When you eat what you store, you will have greater success in keeping your food properly rotated.

When harvesting, be GENTLE. All fruits and vegetables are easily bruised and damaged which will affect how long they will last. Use injured produce immediately, and the less severely injured ones as soon as possible. Go through your stored vegetables frequently, discarding all that are showing signs of spoilage.

COLD STORAGE
Choose the coolest area in your house or garage that is clean with no risk of freezing. Do everything you can to keep it cool: lowest level if you’ve got a basement, no windows, outside walls if possible, no carpet, no heating vents, dark. Vegetables like potatoes and onions will last for months, beets for a couple weeks at best. If you have a very cold room, you may even be able to keep carrots packed in CLEAN sand for an additional month or two, and possibly even cabbage short term if its cool enough. It is a temporary short term storage method, extending the season another month or two – the key being to EAT it, don’t leave it there for months. Rotation is important. Most modern homes are not built for cold storage.

REFRIGERATION
Room is always an issue in any fridge and over packing your fridge reduces its effectiveness to keep everything at a consistently cold enough but not too cold temperature. Additional fridges are additional costs involved in running them. It is an excellent, though temporary, short term storage method. Count your time in weeks at best. Eat your food storage to keep it rotated.

FREEZING
Again room is an issue, and leaving foods too long in the freezer is a common problem. Rotate your frozen food, first-in first-out. Short to medium short term storage when properly prepared, packed and labeled.

CANNING
Two methods of canning: hot water bath using boiling water reaching 212 degrees F, and pressure canner which uses steam and pressure to reach 250 degrees F.

JAMS, JELLIES AND SYRUPS
I always can these lovelies in a hot water process. It is possible to freeze jams but I choose not. Freezing always seems to require more sugar, and freezer space is a premium in my house.

DEHYDRATING
is one of the oldest ways to preserve foods, keeping them safe to eat and maintaining reasonable nutrition. Estimates are that up to 80% of original food value is preserved. Times to dehydrate range from 1-2 hours to 24+ hours, depending on what you’re drying. Pay particular attention to ensure there is no remaining moisture in individual pieces.

Do NOT dehydrate high fat foods such as avocados, olives or nut butters, or dairy as the risk of food poisoning is too high. I personally do not dehydrate any kind of protein either.

For optimum storage keep in a cool, dry, dark place at temperatures below 60 degrees F or 15 degrees C. Dried foods should be good for up to 12 months depending on storage conditions. Vacuum sealing dehydrated fruits, vegetables and herbs will extend the shelf life for up to 10 years. The vacuum seal prevents oxygen from entering.

PICKLING OR FERMENTING
While I have pickled various vegetables over the year: cucumbers, beets and carrots, it seems our family are not big pickle fans so I haven’t kept it up.

We are however, big SAUERKRAUT fans. I like to make a batch of sauerkraut in the late fall – November for the winter.

FREEZE DRYING
Freeze drying is a relatively new option in home preserving. Commercially, its been on the market for 40+ years, but a little hard to find. Since the year 2000 its been increasingly more available.
The process is two step: 1) Freeze, and 2) remove all remaining moisture WITHOUT thawing. The key to the highest nutritional quality is – how fast can you get it from field to freezer? and how fast can you freeze it?
When freeze drying at home, you must have sufficient freezer space to freeze your food in a flat surface layer so that once frozen, the food can be transferred the freeze dryer. Everything will take different times, but to give you an idea of what to expect, blueberries will take approximately 30 hours – up to 40 hours to completely dry. Because blueberries (and other berries like them) have a protective skin on them, each berry must be punctured. If you don’t do that, the outer skin will dry, sealing in the moisture – exactly what you don’t want! Once they’re completely finished it is imperative that you get them sealed in an oxygen free storage container as soon as possible because they will absorb moisture from the air.

Commercially, the process is the same – 1) Freeze, and 2) remove all remaining moisture without thawing through a vacuum like process called sublimation. There are many companies that freeze dry, and I have noticed that not all are the same in their commitment to quality. Again, like for home freeze drying, the key to quality is – how fast can you get it from filed to freezer? and how fast can you freeze it? I have tried many different brands and finally settled on THRIVE LIFE as my brand of choice. There are several reasons for this – all of them relating to their unwavering commitment to quality.

1. They have a list of over 40 items that must be complied with in order to be what they call “Nutrilock” guaranteed. And nothing has their name on it without that symbol.

2. One of the steps in the Nutrilock promise is to Flash Freeze. Typically the time limit is 2 – 4 hours between harvest to frozen. This means that inside of 4 hours, the produce has been picked, washed, chopped, and flash frozen to -40C, sealing in as much nutritional value as possible. I cannot help but consider my own backyard garden: I am hard pressed to get produce out of my garden and ON my own table within four hours! This single assurance bytheway, is very important to me. One of the primary reasons I choose to purchase my freeze dried food rather than freeze dry my own.

I have reflected on this many times over the years, and have several friends who have taken the step into freeze drying their own food. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t considered and even been tempted to buy a freeze dryer. It is cohesive with the way I do things. But the thing that holds me back from this very expensive system, is the fact that I do not believe I can do better or provide a better end product than what I can buy. In all other methods of preserving, I believe I can provide a cleaner and more nutritious end product: canning, freezing and dehydrating. But not when it comes to freeze drying.

Another factor in my decision, is that I cannot provide the variety on my own. And if I do, it will not be as fresh as I require. Thrive Life ensures that all produce is picked at the peak of ripeness – nutritional perfection. They can do this, because of their ability to flash freeze so quickly. For instance, their bananas are picked ripe – every other banana destined for a North American market is picked green).

Once Thrive Life produce is frozen, it is transferred to a facility where it goes into the freeze dryers removing all remaining moisture without thawing – again minimizing loss. That is why it retains its beautiful colour, shape and nutritional value. It comes out of the driers at ZERO moisture and are immediately sealed in cans. Oxygen free + moisture free = no way to decompose, hence an exceptionally long shelf life.

link to Nutrilock Promise details

– Preserving your ABC’s –

Apples

A late summer favourite in our house, we look forward to the apples. Usually coinciding with the beginning of back-to-school time, our apples are ready, and we begin juicing. September smells like apple juice in our house. If the apples are nice then we make a few apple pies to eat and freeze, apple muffins, apple cookies, apples in our salads, apple sauce, apple fruit leather . . . there is no end to the versatility of apples.

Canning: Yes! As apple wedges as if for pie filling, apple sauce and apple juice.
Freezing: Yes! Also cut up as if for pie filling, apple sauce and juice
Dehydrating: Yes! Sliced reasonably thinly in wedges or rings.

read more – September should smell like Apple Juice1

Asparagus is best eaten fresh.

Canning: not really suitable
Freezing: yes
Pickling: yes

Beans – green or yellow or purple

Canning: Yes – under pressure. This is my sister’s family’s favourite winter vegetable; consequently she cans dozens of jars every summer. Cooked beans are not a favourite in our house, so I have never canned them.
Freezing: Yes. Freeze in whatever meal amount suits your family best. I blanch for two or three minutes then seal into small freezer bags, label and freeze. I find this better suited for our family so that those few of us who like them can enjoy without cooking up to much at a time.
Pickling: Yes. Several different types of pickled beans – open your mind and seek out recipes that appeal to you.
Dehydrating: No. Texture not good.

Beets can be picked pretty much all July and August as you thin out your rows.

Thinning will allow more room for the beets to grow bigger, and they can be left in the garden till cold weather forces your hand.

Beets are best stored unwashed but with excess soil brushed away, in a ‘cold’ dark place – a cold room or the fridge. Unlike onions and potatoes they can be stored in large food grade plastic bags, but are not suitable to long term shelf life in a cold room. Best place is the fridge. For longer storage, either can, freeze or pickle.

Every year, I look forward to BORSCH, the traditional Eastern European later summer soup, and a national dish in Ukraine.2
click HERE to read my post on Borsch including recipe

Canning:
Can in pint or quart jars – because they are a low acid food they must be processed in a pressure canner. Don’t have a pressure canner? Consider pickling them. This you can process with a hot water bath canner. For maximum nutrition, plan to use within 18 months – 2 years.

Freezing:
Beets can be frozen with good results. Cook them first.
I prefer roasting covered in a hot oven (400 degrees). Keep 1/2 inch or more of their bottom stem to minimize colour bleed, ensuring they stay to their beautiful deep colour. I use a roasting pan, or a casserole dish or even just tin foil – depending on how many you’re doing. Keep them covered. They’ll cook in their own moisture.
Or you can boil: cover with water allowing plenty of room in your pot so it doesn’t boil over (big mess).
Roasting or boiling, when tender to the fork remove from heat, cool and remove the peel – it will slip off easily in your hands.
Slice, cube or grate and package them into freezer bags or containers. Label and freeze. Plan to use before next season for best results.

Pickling: yes
Dehydrating: Don’t. You won’t like them. It’s a texture thing.

Berries and Cherries

Canning: Yes
Freezing: Yes
Dehydrating: Yes
Jams: Yes
Vinegars: Yes

Carrots can be stored in a high humidity COLD storage room.

Gently wash and trim the tops to within a 1/2 inch, and thoroughly dry before storing. Store only whole, unblemished carrots; refrigeration is highly recommended. Place in large plastic, food grade bags with several breathing holes punched through. Line the bag with a layer of paper towel to absorb excess moisture. Check carrots every few weeks to ensure they’re not drying out, but are also not too wet (I know – sigh). If the paper towels get very wet, replace them.
Canning:
Carrots can be bottles and processed in a pressure canner. As with beets, if you don’t have one, consider pickling.
Freezing:
Don’t. That’s all I have to say about that.

Pickling : Yes
Dehydrating: yes, but they’re not great and you’ll be tempted to dry way too many than you can use in a reasonable length of time.

Cabbage

Canning: I never have and have no comment
Freezing: We often freeze cabbage in the original head, to break down the texture to be better able to make cabbage rolls.
Fermenting Cabbage : Sauerkraut. A definite YES!3
Dehydrating: doesn’t sound good to me

to read more about sauerkraut, including how to make it, click HERE

Corn

Corn is best eaten the day it is picked. If needed to pick in advantage, keep as cool as possible and make every effort to use as soon as possible. Suggestion: submerge cobs in ice water right after harvesting, drain and refrigerate with husks on. If the husks have been removed, store in plastic bags, for a few days in the fridge.

Canning: I have canned excess corn before, under pressure in the Pressure Canner.
Freezing: My preferred way to store corn. Once the corn is cooked, (we prefer to grill it on the BBQ), we cut the kernels off with a sharp knife. I gather the kernels in a plastic tub. and gently tossed the corn with me hands. Then I pack in serving sized freezer bags. .
Pickling: I’ve seen corn used in salsas which are canned, as well as relishes. Personally, I would pressure can these.  

Cucumbers

Canning: nope, not unless you’re canning your pickles
Freezing: nope
Pickling or Fermenting: A definite YES for pickling. Dehydrating: doesn’t sound good
Freeze Drying: in small pieces the results are excellent. When home freeze drying I find they don’t stay crisp. It’s tempting to freeze dry in slices, but it seems to work a lot better in dices.

Garlic – as with onions, you can use garlic immediately from the garden,

but for long term storing, as with onions again, it should be cured. Remove all excess dirt and tie in bundles of about 10-12 heads, hang upside down out of the way and out of the sun. Must be cured – as with onions – it is ready to prep and store when it is dry, brown and crispy. Any remaining moisture will promote spoilage down the road.

With scissors cut off the stock, leaving about a 1 inch piece and also remove the root close to the surface. Small paper bags left open at top are perfectly suited for storing garlic in dry dark cold room.
Dehydrating:
I have never done it myself but I have several friends who do.
Slice and dehydrate in a dehydrator. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can dry on a cookie sheet in your oven at the lowest temperature. If you cannot get your oven below 150 degrees, use a wooden spoon to prop your oven oven slightly. Check often to prevent scorching.
Once it is thoroughly dry / crispy, powder in a food processer or coffee grinder. A blender will work but you’ll get a lot of powder. Let it settle before opening the lid.

Garlic Salt:
My cousin brought me some garlic salt she made herself and now I am a total convert. So doing this myself when I run out.
It’s a super simple process. You control the texture of your garlic salt, leave it chunky, coarse or fine – depends on your desired end use.

1 cup coarse kosher salt (non iodized – don’t use regular table salt)
12-15 cloves fresh garlic peeled.
Process in food processer until garlic is finely chopped.
Spread over parchment line baking sheet and bake 200 degrees till mixture completely dries out. Expect it to take 45-60 minutes.

Baking it makes it a little clumpy, so after its cooled, either crush it in a mortar and pestle or run through your food processer again, or throw it in your high powered blender if you want a finer texture.

to read more about Garlic, click HERE

Herbs

Most of the herbs I grow get dehydrated for winter use. The exceptions are dill weed and chives. Dill weed is too delicate to dry – it loses all that makes it wonderful. So I chop it and freeze it, scraping out of its container with a fork while its still frozen and returning to the freezer immediately. Chives are also too delicate to dry – becoming ‘woody’ in my opinion, so I chop and freeze them too.

Small amounts of thin leafed herbs (basil, mint, oregano, parsley, tarragon, thyme) – dry on a clean towel on the table or counter.
Larger amounts or thick leaves I put in the dehydrator.

Dandelion roots – I wash, chop and dry roast them in the oven. Store in glass jar away from direct light.

Dill– I am generally interested in the green weed. I pick when they’re green and lush throughout mid summer, swish in cool water then put in a salad spinner to take excess water off. Chop with a sharp knife on board and scrape into a freezer container. Label and seal. Freeze. To use, I simple scrape the chopped weed out of its container with a fork while its still frozen and return to the freezer immediately.

Horseradish – you can make horseradish sauce or freeze it in clumps. It will lose some of its pungency, so plan to use in 6 months.
to read more about horse radish including recipes click HERE

Pesto –
Pesto is one of my favourite summer traditions. I used to think it was synonymous with basil and at one time it was, but this is a brave new world we’re living in, and pesto can also come from parsley, radish greens, carrot greens, nasturtiums or any combination thereof, or any other flavour you want to preserve.

to learn more about pesto, including recipes click HERE.
In the link are several different posts about different ways to make pesto using a variety of herbs. Be creative and have fun experimenting.

Kale

Canning: nope
Freezing: I’ve heard it freezes well, but I’ve never frozen it. Freezer space is in short supply at our house.
Dehydrating: This is my personal preference. Easy to do and easy to use later. Two to three hours in the dehydrator depending on how full your racks are, and then pack away in a glass jar. Label, and keep out of direct sunlight.

These jars are 2 quart size and you’d be amazed by how much dehydrated kale is in each of these jars. I use it throughout the winter in many dishes, just scooping out of the jar and adding it to soups, stews, chilies and sauces of all kinds.

Freeze drying:
One of my favourite freeze dried vegetables. Currently a limited time item with Thrive Life, so keep your eye on it. When it comes back in, grab a few cans.

Onions can be used from the garden as needed all summer long

especially when the bulb starts to round out, but by late summer you’ll notice the tops begin to flop over, giving the signal that the plant has stopped growing. They’re ready to harvest. 

To dig, carefully loosen the soil around your onions with a garden fork, then gently pull them up by their tops. Best to keep the full stem intact until fully dry. If the weather is dry with no danger of frost overnight, lay the plants out in the garden for a day or two to dry out. If the weather is not in your favour, move them to a protected area – perhaps the floor of the garage or a covered porch.

Curing onions is the term used to prepare them for long term storage, and is absolutely necessary. The outer layers dry out, tightening around the bulbs to effectively protect them, keeping the onion firm longer. Its a simple process: make sure they have plenty of air space for circulation – ideally outside but protected from the sun. Either hang or lay out. That’s it. You do you, but take care not to bump or bruise them. And don’t rush this process, drying takes TIME, and properly curing onions means you can enjoy the harvest all winter long. Taking shortcuts will prevent proper curing, and the onion bulbs will turn soft and mushy. Curing onions allows them to be stored at room temperature, so even a kitchen pantry would be sufficient if it was nice and dark.

*note: if you only have a few onions and you think you’ll use them up in a few weeks, don’t worry about curing. Go ahead and put them in your fridge.

Either hang or lay out, you do you, but don’t rush the process. Drying takes TIME

Onions are sufficiently cured when the necks are completely tight and dry and the stems contain no moisture. Use scissors to trim the roots to about 1/2 inch, and the leaves to about 1 inch. Like potatoes, onions should be kept cool and dark – with good air circulation. The same kind of containers are suitable. If the onions are exposed to light for any long stretches, they may sprout new green leaves. Use any onions that have been bruised or damaged first as they will not last as long.

Its tempting to store onions with potatoes because their needs are similar, but potatoes release moisture as they age which can encourage onions to develop soft spots, so keep a reasonable distance between them.

Not all onions are intended for long storage. Generally, the milder or (or sweeter) onions are intended for short term use. Stronger (or more pungent) flavoured onions may retain quality for up to a year if cured properly. These are things to consider when selecting the type of onion you want to grow in the spring.

Canning: no
Freezing: Yes but. . . . I’ve seen my dad put on goggles and chop tons of onions by hand for hours so that he could freeze them for ready use. That was enough for me to never want to do the same thing. I do not freeze.
Dehydrating: Yes, but personally I’d take the dehydrator outside to do it. The idea of that smell lingering in the house for days is not appealing to me.

Freeze drying: Yes!
I don’t freeze dry them myself – I prefer the quality of Thrive Life Chopped Onions. 4
For sure one of my must-haves at home, chopped or sliced.

Parsnips – same as carrots.

Peas

Canning: Yes, under pressure
Freezing: Yes
Dehydrating: Yes, but . . . . I don’t like them.
Freeze Drying: YES! They’re great to snack on, and when they’re refreshed, taste just like fresh from the garden. 5

Peppers

Canning: Yes, under pressure
Freezing: Yes
Dehydrating: Yes
Freeze Drying: Yes


link to Thrive Life FD Peppers

Potatoes should Never be stored in the fridge

as it converts starch into sugars changing the texture. Cool is good, COLD is not. A nice dark area is necessary as light turns potatoes green. Keep them in a breathable storage container like a cotton or burlap bag, paper bag, basket, or a cardboard or wooden box. Use injured potatoes first – those that may have been damaged with a shovel when harvesting, those with blemishes, those with splits or anything else not perfect. Those injury spots will begin to spoil so use them first. Continue to go through them from time to time, removing any that look like they are starting to rot.

Canning: Yes, under pressure
Freezing: No
Dehydrating: Yes
Freeze Drying: Yes . . . . sort of. I’ve used it commercially freeze dried.

Potatoes are easy to store: choose the coolest area you have (NOT the fridge) and keep them in the dark with as much air circulation as possible. No plastic bags or tubs.

handle Pumpkins and other winter squash gently

as dents and scrapes will introduce decay. Clean the surface by wiping with cool water in which a capful of bleach has been added. This kills bacteria that will quickly gain a foothold in any injury spots, including cuts when you carve a jack-o-lantern. After its been disinfected, dry it thoroughly with a soft cloth before storing it.
Keep your pumpkins cool, dry and dark and they’ll reward you by lasting several months. Slight freezing or even too cold will break down the tissue and make the pumpkin soft, but too warm is a problem too. Keep them out of direct sunlight. Best place is in your cold room or garage as long as it doesn’t freeze. Keep them off the cement floor with cardboard, a blanket, wood slats or on a shelf. And try to keep them from touching each other to allow them to breathe.

Canning: Yes, in chunks not puree – and always under pressure
Freezing: Yes, but the texture gets watery. I don’t care for the final result
Dehydrating: No.
Freeze Drying: Yes

Rhubarb – the best friend you never gave the time of day to

Canning: Yes! I cold pack macerated rhubarb into pints, using the juice of the rhubarb and sugar as liquid. 10 minutes in a hot water bath. We use this to top yogurt or oatmeal in the morning.


Also, rhubarb is foundational in most of my red jams.
Freezing: Yes! Wash, chop, bag and freeze. I use the frozen rhubarb in smoothies for an especially refreshing drink.
Dehydrating: Yes, but only as fruit leather. By itself or as a base with strawberries, raspberries, plums, and many other flavour companions. Be creative.
Yes you can dry rhubarb in small pieces, but it is not a nice texture or flavour and is hard to find uses for.
Freeze Drying: Yes

to read more about Rhubarb including recipes, click HERE 6

Sorrel and other Greens such as Spinach, Swiss Chard and Amaranth

Canning; nope
Freezing: Yes. Lightly blanch and pack into small freezer bags, label and freeze.
Dehydrating: nope
Freeze Drying: YES

Tomatoes are why I garden

Canning; YES!
Freezing: YES!
Dehydrating: YES!
Freeze Drying: YES! but I find the texture very delicate and that it absorbs moisture from the air very quickly

to learn more about tomatoes including recipes click HERE

Zucchini is the master of disguise

Canning: Yes under pressure
Freezing: Yes but texture will be watery
Dehydrating: Yes – my preferred method of long term storage
Freeze Drying: YES! but I find the texture gets a little spongy after a while

Fruit Leather

Fruit leather! Apple leather – rhubarb leather – any kind of fruit leather. Mix it up. Apple pear. Rhubarb raspberry. Plum! Whatever you’ve got on hand that needs to be used up, turn it into a delicious, nutritious snack to grab all winter long.7

to read more about fruit leather including recipes click HERE

Vinegars

Take your favourite flavours from the growing season and use them to flavour vinegars.8

to read more about vinegars including recipes, click HERE

Tips for storing your preserved foods

Don’t just stash your food and forget about it. You’ve done half the job, but finish it by protecting it, making it accessible and learning to incorporate it into your daily life.

I cannot overstate the importance of STORING WHAT YOU EAT and EATING WHAT YOUR STORE.

In many cases the shelf life of your food will depend on where and how its stored.

Pay attention to the risks :
Humidity – Light – Oxygen – Temperature Variations – Pests (insects and mice)

Humidity/Moisture: If dried food picks up moisture molds and bacteria will grow. Moisture can also damage packaging material, and rust jar rings. In areas of high humidity, using moisture absorbers and investing in a dehumidifier is a good idea. OFF the floor especially if the floor is cement.

Light: Direct light, especially sunlight can speed deterioration

Temperature: Optimal temperatures are cool, ranging from a low of 40F (above freezing risk) to maximum of 70F. All food will react badly to heat.
Canned food should not be allowed to freeze – freezing will compromise seals.
Dehydrated foods can freeze but continual freeze-thaw is detrimental.
Even freeze dried food will have its exceptionally long shelf life significantly reduced by heat, and in continuous freeze-thaw conditions.

Pests: Protect your food storage from pests. Moths, ants and mice belong outside but they don’t always stay there, and once they’ve found their way into your food storage – it will be unsafe for you. Glass, food grade plastics and metal are excellent protection but not always practical in every situation. Do the best you can with what you’ve got. Keep food off the ground and off the floor! Aside from being more susceptible to insects, it is also more vulnerable to water damage should that sad event occur.

  1. Preserve responsibly. Pay attention to cleanliness and details like full boiling and timing when canning, full moisture removal when dehydrating, blanching and packaging when freezing. Cleanliness extends to your storage area. Keep it CLEAN.
  2. Label . You think you’ll remember but you WON’T, and even if you did – you may not be the one who uses it.
  3. Shop for Dinner from your Food Storage.
    Routinely go through it to ensure that seals are still intact, food is still properly packaged, no signs of pests or mould, and to ROTATE it. USE it!
  4. STORE WHAT YOU EAT and EAT WHAT YOU STORE. I know, I know, you’ve seen it before. It is the single most important rule. If you don’t eat what you store, you’ve wasted your time, energy and expense.

the final word (words)

Eating a nutritious and balanced diet with variety is the best way to protect our health. It gives our bodies the best chance to take care of themselves. That extends into the non growing seasons, those of us who live in northern climates must think about winter, so we store food.

* Storing food properly is the key to protecting ourselves and our families WITH continued good health and FROM foodborne illnesses.

* You cannot always tell when food is unsafe by its appearance, smell or taste. Botulism for instance cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. When in doubt, throw it out!

* Preserving your garden produce is the next-to-final step in the blessings and benefits of growing a garden. It is soul satisfying. The last step of course is to continue to enjoy the produce throughout the winter.

I’d love to hear your tips and suggestions, as well as some of your success stories as well as things you’ve learned from failures.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

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  7. post Fruit Leather ↩︎
  8. post Vinegars from your Garden ↩︎

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I come from Pearl and Leland

If you knew my dad, you’d agree that he looks just like him. Most of my paternal uncles also look like him. In fact, so do most of my paternal cousins. Even my kids do! Lol.
I guess he had some pretty strong physical traits.

On September 13 this year (2024), he would have turned 127 years old, but he left this earth over 45 years ago. He’s my grandfather Leland Albert Harrison.

Grampa always seemed to be old. It shocks me now to realize that he was only a few years older than me for most of the time I knew him. He suffered from gout, and was in near constant pain which restricted his mobility. It didn’t help that he was quite heavy. Which came first, his weight or his gout is hard to say, but each condition aggravated the other. He always wore slippers, even when he was outside because his feet were constantly swollen and painful.

It is well known – especially among his grandkids (of which he had many), that he didn’t know how to deal with kids. He didn’t know how to chat with kids, interact with kids, how to even keep us all straight. So he resorted to teasing. It was his only way.

He’d sit in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, and try to catch us if we attempted to get by. We needed to get by because the kitchen was full of adults sitting around the table or standing, and the living room had red plastic building bricks (the only toy I ever saw in that house). He had an extended reach with his cane, and we learned not to underestimate his reflexes. Just because he couldn’t walk didn’t mean he couldn’t grab you. We’d watch him closely and when he seemed to be distracted we’d make a dash for it. It was really rather scary. He didn’t know what to do with us when we weren’t quick enough, so he’d give us a rough head rub or twist our ears (according to some cousins, but he never twisted mine).

An inconvenience for the older ones, but terrifying, maybe even traumatic for some of the younger ones. Now I look back on it and see an old man who did the best he knew how, but from the perspective of young grandchildren it was very tricky to navigate. I never knew him any other way. One day when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old, my grandmother had sent him out to put the sprinkler on the front lawn. I was outside running around with cousins when I came upon him kneeling on the ground beside the sprinkler, unable to stand up. I stood back and silently watched him as he struggled. It was almost a reverent moment for me. I’d never seen an adult in so much need. He asked me if I would bring him “that chair over there”. I brought it, silently. I stood back and watched as he used it as a prop (with much difficulty) to help him stand. When he was on his feet, I quietly walked away to rejoin my cousins. I liked him better after that, he wasn’t just the scary grampa who sat with a cane in the doorway. He was much more . . . . vulnerable.

He and gramma lived in a tiny house they built on his parents’ property in town. In that tiny house with one bedroom and a room reserved (so I’m told) as a place to store coal (later converted into Grampa’s bedroom), they raised 15 kids. Gramma bore 16 children: one died in infancy (Earl), and one died of typhoid fever just before her 15th birthday (Dorothy Ileen). Sadly my grandmother and his mother never got along ‘to put it mildly’. Living a stone’s throw from each other didn’t help, and it must have been very distressful for both of them. I’m sure it was a series of misunderstandings and misplaced pride on both sides that caused the rift, but those feelings perpetuated themselves as life continued and offenses piled up – the older boys tormenting their Gramma Harrison with childish pranks. I never knew my Great Grandmother Capitolia Harrison, she died when my dad was only 13. But I kinda suspect if she’d been alive when I was little, I still wouldn’t have known her. Sad that friction and even enmity in families can be such a thing. And sadder still that it can ooze into future generations long after the original offenses are forgotten. (hmmmm, a life lesson there for sure)

Many years later, while expecting my first child, I told my mother I was considering the name “Afton” as a good name for our new baby if it was a girl. This was my Grandfather’s sister’s name. My mother was mortified! and told me that Gramma Harrison would be unhappy with my choice as she very much disliked her sister in law. I didn’t want to bring any grief to my grandmother so I abandoned the idea, but I was curious about the harsh reaction. My mom had never even met her. I kinda regret never knowing that part of my dad’s family. They all lived in the same little town, and attended the same congregation on Sundays. Tragic when you think of it. I wonder how they reconciled those feelings after they all met each other again in the next world. I bet there are many regrets for how they let it go on for so long.

Leland and Pearl Harrison had a lovely cozy ‘little’ home. Emphasis on little again. And it was always clean; Gramma was fastidious about clean. She had iodine on a kitchen shelf and woe be to any kid who fell and scraped their knee. Iodine hurt worse than the wound. My dad inherited her fear of ‘germs’. He was only 6 years old when his sister died, but it seemed that the years following her death were ones of hyper anxiousness on the part of his mother; today we would called that PTSD. My whole young life was all about ‘not spreading germs’. From this vantage point, I empathise a lot more with my father’s preoccupation with washing hands and clean dishes. Typhoid fever is a terrible disease caused by a salmonella bacteria that is spread through contaminated food or water. It is most common in rural areas of developing countries where there isn’t modern sanitation. I guess small farming communities on the Canadian prairies in the 1930s qualify. And people continue to be contagious with typhoid fever long after they’ve recovered.

Grampa often asked us “whose kid are you?”

I would answer “I’m Wes’s daughter Grampa. I’m Cindy.” I was never certain whether he was teasing or if he really didn’t know. But now, I’m quite certain our sheer number and the fact that we only showed up for a few hours once a year in those days, didn’t help. There was never a hint of any question that Gramma knew us though. Gramma would cup our faces in her hands and kiss them and tell us she loved us. She knew where we fit in and who we belonged to. Her!

He’d call my sister and I “Winder and Cinder” which would always make us giggle, and implied to us that he at least knew OUR names. Some days anyway. He was a tease in every way. It was the only way he knew how to deal with people. And he teased my gramma mercilessly. There may have been a time early in their marriage that she laughed at his teasing, but she wasn’t laughing when I knew them lol. He’d tease her and she’d lash out with some rebuke, then he’d respond with “Don’t be mean to me Mama. You know you love me.” It was very entertaining to us grandkids, but I felt a bit bad for Grampa because it seemed he was always the injured party. One day when I was a young teenager, I confessed to my mom that I thought Gramma was mean to Grampa, and that she hurt his feelings. Mom told me that he’d often reach over and lift up her dress with his cane – which embarrassed her and prompted her rebukes. I had missed that little detail. No wonder she was mad at him.

He was also very accustomed to being waited on hand and foot. She took care of his every need. It probably never occurred to him to peel a potato or wash a dish or even push the toaster down. She fed him every meal he ever ate.

In those days 70 years old was a lot older than it is now, and though he never drank a drop of alcohol or smoked a cigarette in his life, he was not the picture of health. His sheer inactivity was probably his biggest problem. From my vantage point now, I think he deserves some credit for holding his own when literal hoards of adult children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and other relatives would descend on their home on given day throughout the summer time. In that small house, there was only one place for him to be – sitting on his kitchen chair in the doorway.

I wish I had known the man inside him. I never did, but I treasure the few memories I share with my siblings and my cousins of him. As scary as they were while we lived them, they make us chuckle as we relive them. He died when he was 80 years old, one month before our first child – a son, was born. They overlapped for that short time in the spirit world. I hope they knew each other.

Happy birthday Grampa.

My guess is you’re celebrating with Lemon meringue pie. I’m quite certain they serve that in heaven. It was my dad’s favourite too; perhaps you’re sharing it together.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

* Grampa died March 17 1978. Leland Albert Harrison
* Gramma died 12 years later, at the age of 88, April 16 1990. Pearl Cora Reece Harrison

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will the real Borsch or Borscht please stand up?

In preparing to write this article – and at the same time, preparing to teach a workshop in our community garden – on Homemade Borscht, I asked a lotta friends to tell me about their Borsch. Every lover of borsch has “their” variation. There are so many different variations that its hard to know what someone else is talking about when they use the word, and how they can all be called the same name! Some people insist on a brothy soup, some people prefer a thicker version. Some use meat broth, some feel that an authentic borsch must be meatless. Some use a cream at the end to cut the acid. Some do not.

Food is part of culture and identity – whether it be in a family, a community, a region, a religious group, or an entire country. Food can be shared and can unite people in the sharing. While there may be regional differences, people from all over eastern Europe are familiar with “Borsch” or “Borscht”. Ukrainian, Polish, German, Romanian, Croatian, Georgian, Russian and others all have their ‘authentic’ versions, but the general consensus is that the dish originated in Ukraine.

People move, and food travels with them. Food moves more easily as long as it moves horizontally (east-west) where climates remain similar. Food is an important part of tradition and memories, and being able to keep favourite dishes a part of one’s life is valuable in adjusting to the many changes that come with a new life in a new country. One cannot over estimate the importance of the food people have been raised with, and families can be quite rigid about not messing with ‘gramma’s recipe’.

In the last part of the 19th century a general exodus from Eastern Europe into western Europe, Australia and North American began in earnest for those seeking a better life. Dan’s family came from Germany, some spending a generation in Poland before coming to Canada. My ancestors came from Denmark, Sweden, England, Wales, Scotland and France. It is always difficult to move to another part of the world, but the travails of immigrants in those days were intense, including breaking land and homesteading. There was much hardship. Both Dan and I feel a deep debt of gratitude for their sacrifices – which made it possible for us to be born here, in this land of plenty and relative safety. And yes, there are still a residue of favourite family dishes among them which have lasted long enough to be part of our family’s heritage.

Let’s get the spelling out of the way first. Borsch or Borscht? The ‘T’ comes from the Yiddish transliteration into English since it seems that the dish was introduced to the west by Jewish refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. So both spellings are equally correct, and no wonder there are so many recipe versions of it. Jewish refugees to the US. Ukrainian refugees to western Canada. Polish, German and Russian refugees throughout the western world. They had one thing in common – the food they all grew in their home countries: root crops, cabbage and dill. These vegetables grew equally well in North American soil and climate (especially in the northern parts) so it was natural that the dish would be reproduced here. Every part of it was something the average farm in the northern hemisphere could produce at home. The ingredients were cheap, plentiful and dependable. The soup was hearty, nutritious and satisfying. How could it lose?

Does Borsch had to be red?
In a word – ‘no’. I’ve seen ‘green borsch’, but that’s blasphemous so I’m not gonna talk about that other than to say it is generally a spinach soup – so where it gets off referring to itself as ‘borsch’ is a mystery. Borst IS red. In my mind, beets make borsch RED. If you don’t like beets, don’t make borsch. If you make borsch without beets, you made soup. Might be a good soup, but find a new name, because “borsch” is red. There. Glad we got that settled.

So what is IN borsch?
Keep in mind that traditionally borsch is a peasant soup. A good ol’ downhome, country folk hearty beet soup. So that means it had the foods that were easy to come by.
Potatoes. Onions and garlic. Carrots. Cabbage. Maybe celery for some. Maybe kale for some. In later years, as it traveled west – peppers and tomatoes; a hundred years ago, tomatoes were not so plentiful in north eastern Europe among farm folk. BEETS. Vinegar. Dill. Sometimes meat, sometimes not – depending on availability. Sometimes sour cream.

So how do you find out which type of borsch you prefer?
Well, there are no shortcuts. You have to try a few to narrow it down.
Personally, I like a borsch with lots in it. I’m okay with a more brothy base, but I rarely make it that way, because Dan prefers a thicker soup. So I make my brothy soup, then when its nearly ready, I take about 1/4 of it and puree it in the blender. Adding the pureed portion back to the pot makes it thicker and more substantial, and my family prefers it that way.
You do you. Make it a few different ways – but keep the basics in place.

What are the basics?
BEETS. Added near the end to keep the colour beautiful.
Onions and garlic.
Other root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Don’t hesitate to add parsnips if you have them.
Cabbage. Of course.
Some sort of acid – lemon juice of vinegar. In the spirit of authenticity I do not use lemon juice because I am pretty sure no Ukrainian Baba had lemons in her kitchen. The acid is said to keep the red vibrant, and who am I to question wisdom of the ages? Maybe it does, but I like the flavour enhancement anyway. Its not the same without it.
Broth. The kind is completely up to you. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, water. Whatever you have on hand. I generally use chicken broth or chicken bouillon – simply because it’s light and flavourful.
Tomatoes or tomato paste. A relatively ‘new’ (but welcome) addition as Ukrainians wouldn’t have had access to tomatoes on the prairies a hundred years ago.
Dill. Other than the onions and garlic, dill is the primary seasoning. Don’t add it too soon though because its a delicate flavour and you might lose some of it’s beauty.

How to make it

1. precook your beets
There are many ways to precook your beets, but the easiest is to clean them then place in a covered roasting pan or wrap them in tin foil, and roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. Test for tenderness every 15 minutes after 45 minutes. The timing is going to completely depend on how big your beets are – could be an hour, could be more. When you can insert a fork easily, they’re done. Remove from heat and when slightly cooled, peel.

2. Chop your onions and garlic and sauté in oil of your choice over medium heat till translucent. Stir frequently to prevent scorching, while dicing fresh potatoes.
*hint: yes, you can add your onions and garlic to the broth mix at the same time as everything else. I prefer to saute mine first as I think it adds to the flavour and I like a more caramelized texture, also it glazes the pot – adding a roasted taste.

IF, you’re going to add meat, either precook it or add it to your onions at this point to brown.

3. Add potatoes to pot and sauté with the onions for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper at this point. Add broth or water, stir well and bring to a boil while you’re chopping cabbage and carrots.

4. Add chopped or sliced cabbage – it seems people have strong opinions on which is best. You do you. (Personally I prefer chunks to slices in a soup.) Stir and add carrots. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer till all is tender. At this point, add additional Iate-summer vegetables as desired: parsnips or kale perhaps.

5. Add vinegar. Start with 1/2 cup, then add more later if you want. Easier to put more in than it is to remove so start with less and adjust as desired. You can use plain white vinegar. I like to use a flavoured vinegar, perhaps a basil or chive blossom vinegar.

6. Continue to add broth as needed to keep the soup gently simmering. Add tomatoes if desired. Adding tomatoes, tomato paste or tomato powder adds that familiar light acidy taste of tomatoes while improving the texture and colour. I never buy tomato paste – preferring tomato powder so that I have more control on how much I want to use with no waste. In this case however, I generally have a lot of fresh tomatoes in the late summer early fall – so I’ll choose my ripest tomatoes. Continue to cook until tomatoes are fully incorporated and lost their shapes.

7. When your vegetables are tender, add your peeled and chopped cooked beets. Stir well to incorporate colour and let sit for a few minutes. You could be done at this point, ready to add your dill and serve up a nice brothy soup. Or you could take one more step to thicken your soup as I do.

8. Ladle out two cups of soup into a blender, and puree. Pour back into your pot and stir well. If desired, ladle out two more cups and do the same thing, stirring back into the soup. This step is completely subjective. You’re looking for a texture, colour and consistency that you prefer. Remove from heat.

9. Add fresh, chopped dill weed (the green part) and stir well to incorporate. Lots of dill. What does that mean? How do I know? How much do you like dill? Maybe a cup? Maybe more or less. I add at least a cup, but easier to add more later than remove, so start slowly and taste along the way. .
Adjust salt and pepper as desired and remove from heat.
At this point you can add some sour cream to the pot, or save that for individuals to add to their own bowls.

10. I always save the sour cream to be added to individual bowls at the table with additional fresh dill, because I like sour cream and Dan prefers without.

So much of what your borsch is going to look like will depend on individual tastes. There’s no point in making it a specific way if your family prefers something different.
For instance, I know people who add caraway seed to their soup at the simmering stage. Caraway is the one spice that I do not like, so that’s never been a consideration of mine. But its worth trying different things from time to time – you never know how it might add to your over all dish.

Serve with fresh bread or buns. Some nice fresh sourdough served alongside is amazing. Or some nice dark rye bread.

I’ll provide a sample recipe with suggested amounts below for beginners to have some ideas of where to start.

Borsch is a meal in itself, especially served with bread. But serving it alongside a plate of perogies, cabbage rolls and kubasa would be the perfect winter meal.

recipe for 6-8 servings
1 medium onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 large potato diced
3-4 cups chopped fresh cabbage
6 cups broth or water
salt and pepper to taste
4 carrots peeled and chopped into nice big pieces
nice big handful of fresh kale chopped
1/2 cup – 1 cup chopped fresh dill (reserve some to use at the table)
fresh sour cream
for directions, refer to numbered instructions above

Pour remaining soup into jars to refrigerate or to give away.
That’s a wonderful thing about soup, its a great gift for someone who could use a meal tonight, or its easy for them to pull out of the fridge tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Cindy