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!
A full vegetable cellar is a beautiful sight. The shelves are full of tomato sauce, pickles, peach jam, green beans, and dried beans. There are racks of winter squashes and cabinets full of potatoes. Bulbs of garlic hang from the ceiling and there are crates full of carrots. There, in front of you, is the […]
If you’re just learning how to make preserves, you’re in for an exciting journey. There’s not much better than knowing all your freshly-picked fruits and berries won’t go to waste because you can’t eat them quickly enough. For the record, though, it’s not just fruits that you can preserve and give as gifts or store […]
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 […]
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 […]
I’ve always loved root vegetables. You can roast them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper for a lovely side dish. You can make a hearty winter stew or a creamy bisque with them. You can grate beets and carrots for a colorful and tasty addition to salads. There’s just so much! But one thing […]
For thousands of years, people have managed to preserve food through smoking, drying, pickling, fermenting, curing, and proper storage. We’ve figured out refrigeration, freezing, and cold storage. And we can’t forget canning–that quaint but effective method of preserving all sorts of fruits and vegetables. All these preservation methods are generally safe, but you do have […]
Let’s talk about beans. Dry beans, green beans, snap beans, bush beans, pole beans … there’s no shortage of beans. But what’s the best way to preserve beans? I love beans. They’re fun to grow, they’re actually quite beautiful on the vine, they make great garden companions, and beans are super versatile in the kitchen. […]
Some years, everything comes together. The temperature is just right, the humidity is perfect, your watering system is spot on, the pests leave your garden alone while the bees and butterflies pollinate all your veggies, and you have the most bountiful garden ever. But once you start harvesting, you have to figure out what to […]
Have you thought much about how to preserve asparagus? I admit that I used to only think about asparagus as something to enjoy in early spring. But it sure is tough to wait ten months for a taste of sweet asparagus. Certainly, there’s something very special about the taste of fresh asparagus spears lightly grilled […]
Can we talk for a minute not just about how to make fermented vegetables, but also what it is and why it’s a good move? If you remember way back to your human biology class, you may recall that there are bacteria in your intestines that help with digestion and nutrient absorption. In addition, these […]
