Food Preserving

Every year I garden and go to the Farmer’s Market looking for yummy things to dry, can and freeze for my family. I am a bit of a squirel putting things away for the winter. My goal every year is to can more than the year before and see how long we can go before I need to buy at the store each winter. It’s a little game I like to play in my squirrly geekness. I have such strong squirrel tendencies that I even went through the process to become certified as a Master Food Preserver. Yeah, I have a deep love for my canners, baby!

I also love that some of my friends (you know who you are!) who have teased me about my canning obsesion in the past, are now calling to learn how it’s done. Well, they may still be teasing, but now they can help chop too! Having canning friends makes it so much more fun! It’s interesting that the weird little hobby I have has now become a cool thing to do. Yeah, I’m a total trend setter! Heh-

As I go along with this food preserving series, I’ll be posting on the whole process of processing- the ins and outs of ‘putting up’. I’ll post links to each veggie, fruit or what have you as I go along.

In the meantime, you’ll want to read up on the different food preserving processes I use: freezing, drying, fermenting, water bath canner, and pressure canner. You want to become familar with the techniques and lingo so you are ready to go when your food is. And, yes, we will talk about the dreaded B word (botulism) and acid levels, so we are on the same page and all canning safely. Now, let’s have some fun!

The National Center for Food Preservation has a free, self-paced, online course for those wanting to learn more about home canning and preservation.

Freezing:

Caramelized Onions (pressure can or freeze)

Drying:

Fruit Rollups or Fruit Leather

Fermenting:

Kimchi