You can freeze just about anything, but there are just some things that won’t taste good pickled or turned into a jam. That’s why there are so many different methods of food preservation when you’re a gardener. In the articles below, we cover lots of food preservation basics and the specifics of preserving various fruits, herbs, and vegetables.
Unfortunately, there are just as many ways to improperly store and spoil your vegetables as there are ways to preserve them.
For example, did you know you should not store white or sweet potatoes in the fridge? The cold can injure them. You also shouldn’t store them with fruit. Gas from the fruit makes potatoes sprout. And unless you’re cooking, keep your potatoes away from onions; the two in close proximity will make the potatoes sprout.
Or how about storing corn? Once the ear leaves the stalk, the corn starts converting its sugar to starch. The longer you wait to cook and eat it, the more it will taste like grocery store corn rather than fresh-picked. If you store it in the refrigerator, you have about a week.
And did you realize that berries need moisture to stay crisp? If you pick a few bushels of strawberries or blueberries, it’s a good idea to rinse them before storing them because the moisture will keep them plump longer. Blueberries can last over a month in a device like a berry box, which allows you to rinse the blueberries and keep them in a strainer inside an air-tight box, which keeps the berries crisp without sitting in water.
And we haven’t even gotten to our posts on canning, freezing, making jams, and all the ways you can preserve vegetables for the much longer-term so you don’t have to risk storage spoilage.
In the articles below, you’ll learn about everything from canning apples to freezing squash, storing potatoes, and drying herbs. We welcome you to also read our Recipes from Your Garden freebie. Enjoy!
Okay. Maybe not forever and ever. Still, curing garlic does make it last a lot longer. And as far as I’m concerned, you can never have too much garlic on hand. Garlic is easy to grow. It’s pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it plant. You place your cloves in the ground in the fall, and then like […]
There’s a true joy in going to the garden and picking some ripe eggplant, tomatoes, and herbs for a late summer dinner. I love walking friends through my garden in the spring and handing them a ripe zucchini or two. Since I live in New England, though, there’s no chance I’m going to step outside […]
When trying something new or revisiting an old hobby, we oftentimes turn to the all-knowing internet for guidance. But sometimes the internet is a little overwhelming. This is true in the niche world of food preservation, especially if you’ve ever looked up pressure canning safety. Everyone has a blog, or message board post, or public comment about the best way to use a pressure canner or other canning methods. And if you stick around long enough, debates will break out about safety. Grab the popcorn, because the comments can get juicy!
All hail the mighty (and versatile as heck) onion! From subtle flavors to sharp zings, onions can add so many dimensions to your recipes. Being able to use your own homegrown onions all winter long is the ultimate Little House on the Prairie dream. It’s also super cost-effective and adds peace of mind knowing that you’ve grown and stored your onions without chemicals or other variables coming into the mix.
I’m sure some people believe it’s ridiculous to think about ways to preserve jalapeños and other hot peppers. Why wouldn’t you just eat them fresh? Add jalapeños to your pizza. Use habaneros in your fresh salsa. Get that awesome curry heated up with some Thai hot peppers.
Question: What’s worse than wilted, mushy, refrigerator lettuce stored in single-use plastic? Answer: Nothing. Over the last few years, I’ve been slowly swapping out my single-use food storage items for more sustainable options. One surprising benefit (aside from… you know, saving the planet) is that my produce keeps fresh longer!
I feel like maybe writing about canning cranberry sauce is tricky territory. As much as we all may enjoy homemade goodies, there’s something about that tin can of jellied cranberry sauce from the grocery store. Call it nostalgia. Call it easy to heat and serve. Whatever it is, there’s no denying the love some people […]
When I think about preserving sage, the first thing that comes to my mind is how I’ll cook with it. Dried sage has a more concentrated (read: delicious) taste when it’s dried than when it’s fresh, and it’s tasty with pork, sausages, poultry, and in stuffing.
Hooray! You Pumpkin-Spice-latte’d your way through your own apple trees and/or every apple orchard in town and found yourself barricaded in your kitchen with no less than 20 pounds of apples. You already baked everything in your recipe book and your family can’t eat another apple pie, crumble, sauce, or turnover.
Sometimes I feel like Lucille Ball at the chocolate factory when I’m knee-deep in harvest season and just can’t keep up with using all of my delicious veggies. Even after I gift them to family and neighbors I’m always looking for creative ways to preserve vegetables once harvested. Enter butternut squash!
