Preserving for the Off season.

[Durgan]

Does anybody seriously preserve produce in quantity for the off season? In my zone 5 now is the beginning of the preserving season for many fruits and vegetables. In my case I preserve about 500 liters of various fruits and vegetables by pressure canning. Cold storage garlic, potatoes and onions. Dehydrate some material for soups. I only do plant material.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Sounds lovely. If I did not work full time outside of the house, 50 hours a week, then I would have time to veggie garden etc and can and preserve. There is just so much time in the day, and I am not working myself ragged. There is only the two of us, and ample Amish around to get all sorts of products. from. Time wise for me, not saving money in doing that task.

 

[marlingardener]

I just finished canning 22 pints of tomatoes, and four quarts of tomato juice. The onions and garlic are hanging in the barn to dry, and I brought in Yukon Gold and Red La Soda potatoes that have been on driers in the barn. There are about 30 lbs. of reds still out there. Green beans have been frozen--three one gallon bags, and I've made tomato-basil butter from the odds and ends of Roma tomatoes until I get enough to make and can sauce.
Esther, I understand completely! One has to decide what is important, and what is negotiable. If I weren't retired and somewhat "enthused" about growing vegetables, I'd go to farmers' markets to get fresh vegetables. I enjoy canning (it's called recreational cooking, I think) but if I were pressed for time or just wanted to do something else, the canning/freezing/drying would go by the wayside!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

If I do come across a bounty of veggies for cheap that I know I cannot pass up I will grab them and freeze them. As, bags of green beans, or cleaned green peppers. Frozen basil. And freezing roasted red pepper sauce. I plan to retire in 2 years, who knows what I will shuffle to make time for by then.

 

[Trellum]

No, but I would really like to! I still have to learn a lot regarding to gardeninig and preserving, but that is why I am here I plan to start small by preserving the poblano chillies I succesfully plant, because in the place where am going to move you just can't find those. So no choice but growing my own.

 

[IcyBC]

I have never done any preserving myself, but I think it sounds wonderful to have what you grow all year round. I don't have space inside or outside my house for anything. Just a small patch to plant a few flowers.

 

[Pat]

My mom preserved jams and sauces when I was younger. I usually do not have enough harvest to preserve anything.

 

[Rosyrain]

I recently purchased a bunch of mason jars and would love to learn how to can veggies and fruits. At least once a year I get a stockpile of free produce and get stuck for ideas on how to use it all up. Canning would give me some way to preserve it. I am still too nervous to do the canning though.

 

[Durgan]

I recently purchased a bunch of mason jars and would love to learn how to can veggies and fruits. At least once a year I get a stockpile of free produce and get stuck for ideas on how to use it all up. Canning would give me some way to preserve it. I am still too nervous to do the canning though.

Start small. Various fruit,tomatoes are a good start. It takes effort. Blueberries, apples,grapes are relatively easy. Here is a good place to start. http://durgan.org/2011/

I only pressure can in quantity and have the process down to a routine. I do a bit of drying also cold room storage. I do no freezing except for a bit in the refrigerator. Also I do no water bath canning.

 

[Rosyrain]

Start small. Various fruit,tomatoes are a good start. It takes effort. Blueberries, apples,grapes are relatively easy. Here is a good place to start. http://durgan.org/2011/

I only pressure can in quantity and have the process down to a routine. I do a bit of drying also cold room storage. I do no freezing except for a bit in the refrigerator. Also I do no water bath canning.

Thanks Durgan, I really like your website, very informative and great pictures. The thing that scares me the most about canning is not doing it right and getting bacteria in the food. I guess these fears will be eliminated with practice though. I thought about taking a class on the subject, but have not had time to sign up.

The idea of getting back to nature and the old way of preserving food appeals to me as it is cheaper and more healthy. I would love to get processed foods out of my life for good.

 

[cocolgooh]

I usually make chutneys and sauces with a lot of the vegetables I have left over. I made some tomato sauce and barbecue sauce with a load of tomatoes I had excess last year. I also made some great ginger and rhubarb jam (although I didn't grow the ginger - I bought it really cheaply, but I do plan to give growing ginger a try too!). I'd love to preserve more foods though!

 

[Durgan]

I pursued the information on canning. Also I was familiar with it from my childhood to a degree, the water bath method.The pundits have overcomplicated a very simple process. As mentioned I slurry and pressure can to my own specifications. It strikes me as silly doing particular pressures and time. Why not saturate it like I do. Everything 15 PSI for 15 minutes. The criteria is to insure the jar ingredient reach 240F. This is insured by slurry-ing meanng the ingredients are homogenous.

This is not recommend4d unless you know what you are doing. You must have confidence in your method.

 

[LilAnn]

dehydrate, freeze, and can. I do my absolute best to not let anything go to waste. This ends up with us having baked and mashed potatoes a lot, since you can't just throw them straight into the freezer. Any food that goes to waste will make me feel so wasteful and ashamed of myself. Its one of the best uses for really big dogs and chickens, though. The dogs will eat anything besides lettuce and tomato. The chickens LOVE lettuce and tomatoes.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

just froze some fresh lima beans.

 

[LilAnn]

I don't have any lima beans. But I wish I did. They are so good, especially out of a private garden.