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Simple Ways to Preserve and Enjoy Food Year-Round: DO Attempt This in Your Own Kitchen

Aug 24, 2012 ● By Megy Karydes

Photo Credits: The Glass Rooster

Home canning is enjoying new popularity, due in part to the growth of backyard veggie gardens, farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture (CSA). “Putting by” seasonal foods harvested from a home garden or obtained through markets right now allows them to be enjoyed during the frosty winter months. A tight economy has also contributed, as homeowners turn to traditional methods to save money on family food budgets.

Food preservation takes many forms, most of which can easily be accomplished in home kitchens with a little time and some basic equipment. Unlike our grandmothers, who relied mostly on passed-on knowledge and U.S. Department of Agriculture publications, today’s home chefs have an abundance of resources to consult in the form of books, websites and local experts.

Although preserving food from times of abundance for days of scarcity dates back to prehistoric times, the modern concept of preserving food we call canning began around 1795, when the French government offered prize money to anyone that could invent a method of preserving food so it would remain fresh and wholesome for long periods of time to serve the troops that were fighting in foreign wars.

Five traditional methods are typically used: canning, drying, freezing, pickling and dehydrating. For self-reliant types, raising a good portion of their own wholesome, chemical-free food and establishing a storage method that is easy and results in tasty food, preservation is an alternative to relying on store-bought processed foods and high-priced specialty items. For others that simply have an overabundance of tomatoes and zucchini, preservation is a way to avoid wasting food and enjoy a taste of summer during the winter doldrums. Preserving summer’s bounty is also a great way to share your abundance with others—as holiday gifts or to provide for an elderly neighbor or others less fortunate.

Laura McLaughlin, a rural transplant and founder of The Glass Rooster, in Chicago, finds most clients attend her canning classes primarily for two reasons. “They are sick and tired of food scares and many want to preserve those farmers’ market flavors year-round,” she states.

Nearly everything in the garden can be easily preserved, according to Richard McGinnis, a technology and information systems director by day and self-proclaimed preserving fool on nights and weekends. His area of expertise is canning, and with the exception of lettuce, nothing in his extensive garden escapes the jar. “Some produce, like tomatoes, are easy to can and highly versatile,” McGinnis says. “I blanch them, peel them and cold pack them, and then put them in a steam canner or a hot water bath. It is an expedient process because of the high acidity of the tomato.”

Up on his schedule for the fall are soups, fruit butters, grape and plum jam, more kinds of pickles and squash. This year, he is going to try his hand at canning bread, which can be cooked and preserved in large-mouth glass jars.

While canning is the process most people associate with food preservation, Vicki Nowicki, a principal of The Land Office, a design/build firm in Downers Grove that has been building sustainable landscapes for 30 years and has recently started specializing in permaculture and vegetable gardens for homeowners, suggests that people consider their available storage space, because it may determine the best preservation strategy.

A drying rack, which doesn’t command a large space, is most useful for herbs, because they can be gathered into medium-sized bunches, tied and hung upside-down in a dark, well-ventilated spot until they are crispy dry. Nowicki says, “Bag them or jar them right away and you have the beginnings of flavorful means for the winter.”

Freezing in bags or containers is one of the easiest, most convenient and least time-consuming ways to preserve foods at home. The extreme cold stops growth of microorganisms and slows down changes that cause spoilage and affect the quality of food.

“The freezer can be used to capture some of the vegetable flavors from the summer,” Nowicki says. “Freeze green beans or broccoli. Freeze greens like chard or kale. I always freeze my leeks, all chopped up. Tomatoes freeze beautifully. Use these ingredients for soups, stews, chili, braises, stir-fries, pastas, risottos and so forth.”

For those intimidated by the process, both McGinnis and McLaughlin recommend making it a fun group effort and involve the community. “It is a great way to learn, and individual contributions are priceless—everything from washing jars to cutting corn off the cob is a welcome, shared experience,” adds McGinnis.

McLaughlin offers canning classes at various locations throughout the Chicagoland area and at private residences. “Depending on the kitchen size, I can teach a class for five to about eight or nine people,” says McLaughlin. “I bring everything with me and it’s great for people to see how this can be done in your own home.”

Next spring, she’ll be adding a new class focusing on how to organize a pantry so that once springtime rolls around, gardeners will be prepared, knowing what to grow and preserve for the following winter.

“I tell my clients that food preservation, whether it’s canning or pickling or whatever they decide to do, is just another tool in their belt,” says McLaughlin. “Whether you decide to do it or not after the class ends, most people will leave and be more aware of where their food comes from, and that’s important.”

The benefits of food preservation are plentiful, from capturing the flavor of fresh foods for enjoyment in the winter to controlling the ingredients that go into creating meals. It’s also a great way to support the local foods movement by purchasing food grown locally by farmers while it is fresh and in season.

Resources

Dozens of websites and books have hit the market lately. Here’s a guide to some of the most popular.

Websites

National Center for Home Food Preservation: nchfp.uga.edu

Photo Credits: The Glass Rooster
Photo Credits: The Glass Rooster

Ball Canning: FreshPreserving.com

Food in Jars: FoodInJars.com

Homegrown: Homegrown.org

Canning Across America: CanningAcrossAmerica.com

Well Preserved: WellPreserved.ca

Punk Domestics: PunkDomestics.com

Books

Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

Growing and Canning Your Own Food, by Jackie Clay
(Tinyurl.com/BackwoodsHome)

Root Cellaring, by Nancy Bubel, the classic on curing vegetables for storage

Independence Days, A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation, by Sharon Astyk

Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry, by Liana Krissoff

Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving (Second Revised Edition), U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round, by Marisa McClellan

Local Resources

Local homesteading conferences at community colleges and festivals.

Good Food Festival: GoodFoodFestival.org

Liberty Gardens (The Land Office): LibertyGardens.com

The Glass Rooster: TheGlassRooster.com


Megy Karydes is a professional writer who doesn’t preserve her homegrown food because she and her family devour every last bit of whatever they harvest from their small city backyard. Find her at KarydesConsulting.com.

 

Spiced Plum Butter

by Richard McGinnis

Yields 4 to 6 pints

Ingredients:

I use wild plums, or what are known as “American plums.”
2½ lbs ripe plums (approx.)

1 cup brown sugar (use more if the plums are sour or tart)
1 cup water
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

Wash and pit the plums by cutting in halves or quarters and working the seed out with the point of a paring knife, or simply by squeezing the fruit. Discard the pits. Put the fruit, skin and all, in a large stockpot with about a cup of water. Bring to a simmer slowly and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for about a half-hour. The fruit should be soft. Press through a fine sieve to separate the pulp and juice from the skin.

To this puree, add the sugar and spices. There are a couple of techniques for finishing, depending on your mood.

1) Pour the mixture into an accommodating stainless steel or enamel roasting pan and place in the oven at 225 degrees for two hours, stirring every 15 or 20 minutes. OR,

2) Cook the mixture in a reliable slow cooker on low for eight hours, stirring every couple of hours or so. The intent is to reduce the liquid parts of the fruit and thicken the butter without giving it an overly “cooked” flavor. Once thickened, spoon the steaming hot butter into sterilized hot jars, leaving about a quarter-inch of headspace. Wipe any residue from the rim of the jar, being careful not to burn yourself. Seal with hot lids and clean rings. Leave undisturbed until room temperature. Store in the cupboard or pantry.

Note: If any jars do not seal, remove the rings and lids, check the jar rims for any irregularities, use new lids and close the jars again. Place them in a constantly simmering hot water bath for 15 minutes (half-pints) or 20 minutes (full pints). Remove the jar and let come to room temp. Open jars can be kept refrigerated for several months.

Bread & Butter Pickles

Inspired by Marisa McClellan, Food in Jars

Yields 7 pints

Ingredients:

6 cups thickly sliced pickling cucumbers
2 cups sliced red bell peppers (about 2 peppers)
2 cups sliced onion (1 large)
¼ cup pickling salt
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1½ cups sugar
2 Tbsp mustard seed
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp ground cloves

Directions:

Combine cucumbers, bell peppers, onion and pickling salt in a large bowl. Place in refrigerator and let set between 4 and 12 hours. The goal is to draw out the liquid from the vegetables so it can be replaced with the brine later on. Rinse and drain the vegetables. (Make sure you rinse well. I even pat mine dry with paper towels.)

Prepare boiling water bath and 5 pint jars.

Combine vinegar and sugar in large pot and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add mustard seed, celery seed, red pepper flakes and cloves. Increase the heat to high and bring the brine to a boil. Add vegetables and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 to 5 minutes. Some cook until the vegetables are heated through. I cook until the vegetables are coated with the brine and warmed a just bit.

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, fill jars with vegetables and then slowly pour hot brine, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove bubbles and add more brine if necessary. Wipe rims, lid and band.

Process for 10 minutes. Pickles are best after they have set for at least 48 hours.

Dill Pickles

Inspired by Paul Virant, Preservation Kitchen

Yields 7 Quarts

Ingredients:

5½ cups water
3½ cups Champagne vinegar
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar
5 tsp dill seeds
10 dill sprigs
5 garlic cloves
25 cucumbers (approx.)

Directions:

In a medium pot bring water, vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil. Keep hot.

Toast seeds (optional) until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Sterilize jars.

In hot jars, add 1 tsp dill seeds, 5 sprigs dill and 1 garlic clove. Pack cucumber into jars as tightly as possible without bruising.

Pour brine over cucumbers, remove bubbles and add brine if necessary, leaving 1 inch of headspace.

Wipe rims, lid and band.

Process for 30 minutes.

Pickled Summer Beans

Inspired by Paul Virant, Preservation Kitchen

Yields 7 pints

Ingredients:

5½ cups vinegar
2 cups water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp dill seeds
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1½ tsp red pepper flakes
1½ tsp mustard seeds
7 garlic cloves
12 cups (3½ pounds) green and or wax beans, trimmed

Directions:

In medium pot bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Keep hot. You can toast, over medium heat, dill seeds, peppercorns, red pepper flakes and mustard seeds to bring out their flavor of the seeds (optional).

Sterilize 7 pint jars. Divide the spices among the jars, giving each jar just under 2 tsp of mix. Place 1 garlic clove in each jar.

If you choose to blanch beans, blanch for 1 minute. They may be trimmed, cleaned and raw packed, as well.

Pack jars tightly with beans and pour hot brine mix over beans leaving ½-inch headspace.

Remove all air bubbles and add more brine if necessary. Wipe rim, lid and band jars.

Process for 10 minutes.