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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.
When hot water bath canning fruits and tomatoes, I always add lemon juice or vinegar – depending on the flavour its going to give the fruit. To a quart its recommended to add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) vinegar.

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. If your apples are more tart, its not necessary to add lemon juice, but if they’re more sweet, you might want to add 1 T to a pint (500 ml), 2 T to a quart (1 L).

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 – its my suggestion to add 1 T lemon juice to a pint (500 ml) or 2 T to a quart (1 L).
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. I don’t feel the need to add any lemon juice or vinegar, as it is acidic enough already.
We use this to top yogurt or oatmeal on winter mornings.


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! I always 2 T vinegar to a pint (500 ml) or up to 4 T to a quart (1 L).
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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Preserving Your Excess: Home Canning 101

(the basics to know)

Home Canning (and by that we really mean home ‘bottling‘) is the easiest, most reliable and economical way to preserve food at home. It can be done in your own kitchen, doesn’t require a whole lot of pricey equipment, and has a reasonably long shelf life – up to two years. Yes, I know you know someone who’s had their home canned food for eight years (we all do), and that supposedly “it’s still good”. To that I repeat: “the shelf life is UP to two years“. My suggestion is strongly not to push it too much past then.

Fact:
Food is Food. You cannot prevent it from spoiling, you can only slow it down. Canning it will preserve it, but not forever.

Don’t expect home canned food to be what it cannot be, and everything will work out fine. It’s reality is that the nutritional value of canned foods (commercially or home canned) is about 40% of what it was when it went into the canner. I admit I was super disappointed when I learned that fact, mostly because I raised my children on home canned food, especially fruit, and I thought I was doing the best thing I could for them. In reality, I really was doing the best I could for them, but when one gives it some thought, those peaches are in boiling water for 40+ minutes. What did we expect?
After the recommended shelf life of two years, we can expect that the food will lose more of its nutritional value, which is why I highly advocate not trying to keep it past that suggested time. Having said that, if something gets away from you and you’re into the third year, don’t sweat it – just use the food.

As with any type of food storage, the bottom line is to STORE WHAT YOU EAT, and EAT WHAT YOU STORE. If you do that, you’re gonna be okay, if you do not – you will end up wasting a lotta money. Canning isn’t magic. It cannot make something perishable last indefinitely.

So what’s the point? And why should I can?

Because it’s a good way of extending the valuable useable time of perishable food, preserving good and nutritious food today, to use tomorrow. Instead of preparing for immediate consumption, you are preparing food that you can store for months! Make no mistake, canning IS cooking, but it allows us to capture the best flavour at the peak of season—to enjoy all-year long! Garden Roasted Tomato Sauce, Homemade Garden Salsa, a bowl of peaches, rhubarb to go on your morning oatmeal, raspberry jam – all in the middle of winter! THESE are why we can!

Back when my kids were young we canned a LOT of fruit. When the price was good we’d buy a 100+ pounds of peaches (our favourite) and pears, maybe 50 pounds of cherries, apricots or plums. I’d can half of the plums and dehydrate the rest. Though I did the bulk of the work during the day it was a big job, so it had to be a family affair. Dan always pitched in when he was home and we required the kids to help out. And yes, I got backlash from time to time (especially from one of our boys who shall remain unnamed at this point), but I flat out insisted that everybody help. We all enjoyed the end result of having peaches with breakfast in February, so it only made sense that we all pitch in to make that a possibility. At some point, when this one un-named boy was a teenager, he put his foot down and refused to be involved in the project anymore. HE was not peeling peaches (or pears or whatever it was). He disliked the work and he’d had enough; it was too much work for him. He was too big to argue with so I told him that was fine, but as with anything there are always consequences, and the consequence to this choice would be that he’d be giving up enjoying the “fruits of our labour”. He couldn’t expect to eat peaches that someone else did all the work to put on the table. I reminded him about how much he enjoyed eating peaches in the winter. I also reminded him that the likelihood of me forgetting in February that he didn’t help in the summer was next to zero. He may have thought about it for all of thirty seconds, and in the end he trusted me, and put on an apron. I’m not gonna pretend he was happy about the job after that, but we never had that same conversation again.

My daughter on the other hand, looked forward to “canning season”. It was just as much work for her, but there was something about her that made that work enjoyable in its own way. My other boys were fine to pitch in and participate, it was after all – the means to the end we all wanted: fruit in the winter. Many memories were made in a hot and sticky kitchen on those long summer days. One summer I went away for a week with a friend. Sarah was 14 years old, and diligently went through the grocery store sales flyers in my absence. At one point she saw that peaches were a ‘good’ price and she believed they would likely not still be that price when I came home. With urgency, she told her dad that he must pick up several boxes of peaches on his way home from work the next day – which of course he did. While I drove home from New Brunswick with Peggy, Sarah and Dan canned those peaches from beginning to the end. I was amazed when I got home, and kinda still am as I look back on it. I was very proud of her, and I wish that I had expressed that better than I did. I was proud not only that she felt it her ‘motherly’ duty to can peaches in my absence, but also that she took it upon herself to judge when the price was right, make the decision to buy, judge when they were ripe enough to bottle, and then take charge of actually getting it done. Dan wisely let her do all that, and then in typical Dan style, he put on an apron and began peeling peaches.

the method

The method is to use high temperatures to kill microorganisms and inactivating enzymes that would cause food to spoil. The heating process pushes air from the jars, creating a vacuum seal as they cool. Without oxygen the bacteria, yeasts, and mould will not grow and the food will last a lot longer.

There are two methods: hot water canning, and pressure canning. They are NOT interchangeable. This article deals with HOT WATER canning. How do you know which method is used for which type of food? It’s pretty straight forward: high acid foods require the hot water method – the easiest. What are high acid foods? Most types of fruit and berries. Some suggestions to consider:
Apples: apple juice, apple jelly, apple butter, apple sauce, apple pieces, crab apples …
Apricots, apricot jam, Berries whole, berry jam, berry syrup,
Cherries whole, cherry jam, cherry syrup, cherry juice,
Cranberries whole, cranberry sauce, cranberry jelly, cranberry juice,
Grapes, grape juice, grape jelly, Grapefruit and Orange sections, Citrus marmalade,
Mixed fruit combinations (cocktail), Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Plums, Rhubarb

adding acid in the form or lemon juice or vinegar

To most fruits I add a Tablespoon of lemon juice to a pint (500 ml), and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice to a quart (or litre), just as an added precaution. I don’t bother with rhubarb because that is acidic enough.

Tomatoes (yes tomato is a fruit): cold pack whole or cut up, tomato sauce. Less ripe tomatoes are more acidic. Very ripe tomatoes are sweeter and less acidic. (Can them before they’re very ripe and soft.) I add 2-4 T vinegar to my tomatoes, depending on how ripe they are. Sometimes I use flavoured vinegar like basil vinegar – just for an added flavour that we like. Your choice.

Low acid foods require the higher temperatures that only using a pressure canner can provide. They include ALL vegetables and proteins.

Hot water canning involves boiling your fruit in glass jars in a big pot of water. There are pots specifically designed for this- called water bath canners – that consist of a large DEEP pot, a rack insert, and a lid. When purchasing, ensure that you have room for a quart jar to have at least two inches of water covering and plenty of room for water to boil. For small batch canning, I often just use my pasta pot because it checks all the boxes and its in my kitchen cupboard already so its handy. It is good for all my smaller jars: my pints, half pints and smaller that I may be using for jams or syrups.

If I am canning quart jars I use a bigger stock pot that I keep up high on my pantry shelf, so not easy to retrieve but not terribly inconvenient either. I can process up to seven quarts in this pot so its perfect! The important thing to remember when repurposing non-canning-specific pots is to put something on the bottom to prevent your jars from being directly on the bottom of your pot. A rack that will fit your pot will help keep the bottles from ‘jumping’ around when the water is fast boiling, preventing unnecessary trauma and possible breakage. If you have a rack that fits then go ahead and use it (I picked up a few different sizes from a thrift store years ago). Otherwise, use a folded dish towel in the bottom of your pot. You’re mostly trying to protect the bottles from banging around during boiling.

Boiling water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, sufficient for high acid foods like most fruits, pickles, tomatoes, sauerkraut, relishes, salsas, and all sorts of jams. It is the acidity of these foods helps preserve them safely without the need of higher temperatures and pressure.

Supplies

  1. Canning jars: not to be confused with single use jars. These are jars intended to be used at extremely high temperatures. Use ONLY clean jars without cracks or nicks in them.
  2. Lids and rings (screw bands): those that are made for the particular jars you’re using. Do NOT reuse them. They are single use only.
  3. Water bath canner: for water-bath canning, it isn’t necessary to purchase a special canner as long as you have a pot that has a fitted lid and is large enough to fully immerse the jars in water by 2 inches—and that will allow the water to boil when covered. You’ll also need a rack that fits inside the pot or canner.
  4. Jar lifter: very important, this tool is relatively inexpensive but indispensable. It is essentially large tongs to assist you in putting jars into HOT water, and in removing them again out of boiling water.
  5. Wide mouth Funnel: sure makes it easier to fill your jars without spilling and making a mess. You can buy plastic or stainless steal. I have both, but I prefer my stainless steal one. I use it for much more than camping – almost daily, for lots of applications.
  6. Utensils: large spoon or ladle to fill jars, and a simple table knife to remove air bubbles.
  7. Clean dish cloth to wipe jar rims, and clean dish towels upon which to place you processed jars.

10 Tips to Review Before you Start

  1. Always use the FRESHEST produce possible – in peak condition. Overripe fruits are lower in acid and are already in a state of decomposing. It is important to know that produce begins to deteriorate IN THE HOUR it’s harvested, so fresh means AS IMMEDIATE AFTER HARVEST as you can get it.
  2. Gather all your ingredients and equipment beforehand, so that they’re at your finger tips. It is so frustrating to realize at the point of no return, that you don’t have that extra bag of sugar or additional lids you thought you had.
  3. It is critical to pay attention to “CLEAN” throughout every part of the process.
    Freshly CLEAN your jars in HOT soapy water – rinsed with hot water and set aside with a clean cloth cover. Sterilizing jars is good, but current advice is that if the food is going to be processed in a boiling water bath for at least 10 minutes, sterilizing is not necessary. CLEAN however is not negotiable; pay attention to it. If you have a dishwasher – running your clean jars through a cycle should get the job done. In years gone by, I always had my CLEAN jars in a hot oven till I used them, but I hardly ever take the time to do that anymore.
  4. Use REAL canning jars, screw bands, and lids – intended for canning.
    Jars: Many jars that we may recycle are intended only as ‘single-use’ jars. They were not made to go in high temperatures and are liable to break. They also do not fit regular canning lids which are critical. Those single-use jars may be suitable for dry storage, but they are NOT suitable for canning.
    Lids: Use only NEW lids, not previously used. New lids have a rubber inner ring intended to seal during the process. They do not need to be heated to activate the sealing compound before placing on the jar top, but I usually heat them anyway – by placing them either in a pan of water that I bring to a boil, or by dipping them into the boiling hot water bath with a lid holder that I have for that purpose. This is just one further way of ensuring they’re CLEAN.

5. “Head Space” is the air space from the top of the contents of the to the top of the jar; it is important to ensure the jar seals properly. Head space and can vary depending on the food (usually between 1/4 inch to 1 inch but on average – 1/2 inch). During the boiling process, contents of your jars expand, and if the head space is too little for the contents (bigger contents like peaches, pears or tomatoes for example) the contents may expand into headspace and jeopardize the clean seal of the lid. Insufficient head space may even cause the contents to boil over and escape the lid, causing a big mess in your canner and again, jeopardizing the seal.
You could leave up to an inch to prevent those contents from expanding into the headspace. It is important to remember that even liquid expands when it boils.

So what about too much headspace?
If too much headspace is left, the food on the top may discolour in time. That in itself isn’t a terrible thing, but in the case of too much air, processing time may be inadequate to push out all the oxygen within the jar, again preventing a good vacuum and therefore a proper seal.
Having said that, I’ve had times when the syrup in my fruit boiled over (having not left sufficient head space) and yet the jar sealed. I’ve had times that everything seemed perfect and yet the stupid jar didn’t seal. I’ve had time that I left too much head space and the jar sealed and times that I had too much when it didn’t seal. The bottom line is that we’re looking for optimum protection from potential spoilage through aerobic bacteria (an organism that can survive and grow in an ‘oxygenated’ environment) so we want to do our best to follow proper canning procedures.
In principle, following the procedures closely will leave us with no oxygen in the jar. We’ll know we accomplished this when the jar seals.

6. It is VERY important is to wipe the jar rim and threads clean before putting on the lid and screw band. Having any fruit or syrup residue along the top will prevent a good seal with the lid. When putting on the ring / screw band – don’t tighten more than finger tight. It’s job is not to seal the jar, it is to keep the lid in place while the jar is processed and during the cooling process when the vacuum is complete. After 24 hours the ring can be removed to reuse on other jars.

7. Using the jar lifter, place each jar on the rack in the boiling water. I always put the jars in at a slight diagonal to prevent a possible air bubble creating in the slight dome on the jar bottom. Make sure that the jars are covered by at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Cover the pot with lid and bring the pot to the boil. Start counting processing time once the water has returning to a boil. I usually turn the heat down a bit to keep it at a steady rolling boil but not a furious boil. Allowing the water to hard boil at high heat the whole time, may cause some water loss. If that happens simply top it up with small amounts of new water making sure you don’t pour directly onto the jars.

8. When processing time is done, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid venting the steam away from yourself. Remove each jar with the jar lifter and place upright on a nice thick clean tea towel to cool. Keep a space between them of 1 to 2 inches. Let jars cool 12-24 hours.
Do NOT make the mistake of tightening the rings as soon as you remove your jars from the canner. It’s typical that the rings may loosen a bit during processing – that’s okay. Adjusting them while the jars are hot may disturb the seal and interfere with successful sealing. Overcome that rookie temptation.

9. How do you know a jar has sealed?
Another rookie temptation I’ve seen people give into is pushing the centre of the lid when the jar is still hot. Their intention is to “finish the seal”, but that is not what happens. The natural ‘ping’ of the jar sealing on its own is indication that it’s sealed. By interfering you don’t have that indication and you will not know if it has properly sealed.
It is important to test each jar to ensure it’s sealed properly before putting it away. Wait until the jars have cooled at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours before you test the seals. You may notice that the level of the contents is lower. Relax. It’s okay and it is what it is.

A vacuum is created during the sealing process, by drawing the oxygen out of the jar – pulling the lid down, forming a shallow depression in the centre of it. So what you’re looking for is a concaved lid.
* Gently press the centre of the lid with your finger. If it is properly sealed there will be no give, Great. If the lid springs down and up when you press and release your finger, there is no seal, Shucks! Don’t despair. It happens sometimes, especially in the beginning when you’re learning. Put that jar in the fridge and eat the contents in the next few days.

In general, your canned foods should last all year long, as long as they are stored in a cool, dry place. When you open your jar, you should have considerable resistance and need a spoon or table knife to loosen it. It should POP audibly when the seal is broken. If it opens too easily – like with your hand, the lid is NOT sealed and that’s a sure sign that air has gotten in. Not good. Do not keep it. Dispose of immediately.

What signs am I looking for down the road, that a seal has been jeopardized?
*a broken seal (the lid is no longer concave) – this is likely because it wasn’t a good seal to begin with;
*a bulging lid (in home canned or commercially canned food) is a sign of spoilage;
*a lid (not the outside ring) that is corroded or rusty is a sign of spoilage;
*when you open your jars or cans and see mould or bubbles or cloudiness, its a sign of spoilage.
In all these cases – dispose of the contents immediately.

10. One sign that your jars have sealed properly is the gentle “popping” or “pinging” sound” you hear as the jars cool. The wonderful sound of jars ‘pinging’ is music to the ears of anyone who home cans. It tells you “Job Well Done!” Now all you have to do is wipe up the mess and wait for the next round.
Jars that don’t seal can NOT be stored. Put them in the fridge and use within a few days.

It might sound at this point, that its all problems but in actual fact MOST jars seal, so relax – you’re doing the right thing. Home canning is still a good way to preserve food. Because you canned, you can enjoy the taste of summer fruits (and vegetables if you pressure can) in the middle of winter, and you can also customize recipes to suit your family’s taste preferences and dietary needs.

The biggest concern of any canning is botulism poisoning. Botulism is an illness caused by the botulinum toxin. Back in my grandmothers’ days, botulism was a real thing and something most people knew to be fearful of, but not always how to avoid it. Even today I hear people say things like “My grandmother canned all her vegetables in a hot water canner and they never had a problem.” That makes my blood run chill. I am ashamed to say I was one who blatantly (and I might add – foolishly) disregarded my father’s warning about botulism and canning vegetables without a pressure canner. I didn’t take it seriously in those days and I’m sure I caused some him some unnecessary stress by my flippant attitude. It’s a dangerous game to play. People die from stupid attitudes like that. My father’s sister died of typhoid fever when she was just 15 years old. It was scary and people didn’t always know how to avoid it. I expect that might have had something to do with him being especially vigilant about foodbourne or waterbourne illnesses. I’m glad I smartened up, but I do regret the worry I caused him.

In actual fact, the bacteria that causes botulism occurs naturally in soil and normally doesn’t cause a threat to people. However, they are a very hardy type of bacteria and thrive in LOW-ACID, low-oxygen environments, like those we create when we can foods. When food is canned improperly, the bacteria grows and produces their deadly toxin botulin, making the food unfit for consumption of humans or animals alike. 65% of botulism outbreaks have been traced to home-processed foods.

It is critical that the environment inside the bottled or canned goods be INhospitable to the bacteria by canning only high ACID foods at normal water boiling temperatures of 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celcius. Low acid foods must be processed at 240 degrees F which can only be accomplished using pressure. For this reason, I habitually add a tablespoon of vinegar to my tomatoes and a tablespoon of lemon juice to all my fruit as an additional acid precaution (in honour of my dad).

I no longer can in the same quantity I used to. For one, I don’t have five growing kids living in my house anymore. I no longer buy fruit for the purpose of canning. I preserve the EXCESS of what I produce myself, and sometimes produce that is given to me – produce that we have more of than we can enjoy FRESH. The “excess” of that produce.

Another reason I don’t can in the same quantity anymore is that there is no such thing as ‘a good price’ for the fruit I used to can so much of. This makes it necessary to be more creative in what and how I preserve, and more ready to take opportunities when they come our way. It makes it more important for me to have a home garden and to make friends with the fruits and vegetables that want to grow in my part of the world. It makes it all the more important for me to find good nutritious food in times of plenty and to learn to preserve the excess of it for times of less.

And yet another reason I don’t can in the same quantity that I used to, is that about 12 years ago I discovered freeze dried food which has an extended shelf life and higher nutritional value. Not everything is suitable to be freeze dried, just as not everything is suitable for canning, drying or freezing. I love that I have the flexibility to take advantage of all preserving options. Click HERE to see other methods of preserving, and the freeze dried food I prefer.

In many ways it was easier back then, when I could count on finding peaches for a good price every July or August. All told, thousands of man-hours were spent in my kitchen by those who would eat later as well as today. I am glad I took those opportunities to learn the skill. I am glad for all that practice. I believe it is an important skill to have.

So go ahead, can the apples that you grow, cherries or plums. Find some recipes for jams that sound good to you, or that friends share with you. I’ll share some of my favourite jam recipes in another post. Find some recipes for sauces and salsa – I’ll share my favourites in another post. One of the fruits I can the most is tomatoes (and yes – tomato is a fruit). I fresh-can them and I roast them in the oven to can for sauces later. I have also begun canning rhubarb – never thought I’d see the day, but we love it in the winter this way.

I hope you’ll tell me about your experiences, including your successes and failures. Failure is just another lesson learned about how not to do it again. I’ve had lots of those – you likely will too.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle