As a vegetable farmer, all season prolonged I’m confronted with an extreme quantity of abundance — it’s fully overwhelming. In winter, though, it might presumably actually really feel like the opposite if I don’t put collectively and defend meals. So the question for me is, how can I deal with the abundance of summer season season so that I can have the benefit of it into the winter?
There are a selection of methods of meals preservation, nonetheless the most common embrace:
- Freezing
- Canning
- Fermenting
- Dehydrating
- Dry Storage/Root Cellaring
All have their professionals and cons so let’s dive into them!
5 Strategies To Defend Meals Like a Farmer
1. Freezing
Learning to guard meals via freezing is probably going probably the greatest strategies to save lots of money! Freezing slows down the enzyme train in your meals which helps to forestall the enlargement of harmful microorganisms. You presumably can freeze practically anything- meats, greens, fruits, and so forth. Some meals should be blanched sooner than freezing. Probably the greatest methods to avoid freezer burn is to vacuum seal the meals sooner than placing it throughout the freezer.
Don’t have a vacuum sealer? No worries! The heavy-duty containers from Lehman’s are manufactured from sturdy plastic to lock in style and freshness and forestall damaging freezer burn at very low temperatures.
A couple of of my favorite points to freeze embrace:
Every time I give you additional peas, beans, and broccoli, I do my most interesting to blanch and freeze them. I don’t develop my very personal sweet corn, so I usually don’t spend the time dealing with one other individual’s abundance. I attempt to not freeze an extreme quantity of, though. Freezer home is efficacious, and I’d considerably have half a hog accessible to me than as lots broccoli.
The one vegetable I commit essential portions of freezer home to is sweet peppers… I actually like making winter stir-fries with that sweetness, and no tomato-based dish is full in my ideas with out a great deal of peppers. I merely halve the peppers, take away the seeds and stem, and toss them in a freezer container — no blanching compulsory.
If I made zucchini bread just a bit further usually, it’s more likely to be worth it to shred zucchini in 2-cup parts and freeze it, nonetheless truly, I don’t suppose lots about zucchini bread apart from when confronted with big ones via the season, and the frozen stuff usually will get forgotten. (The tip proper right here is: solely freeze what you understand you’ll prefer to make use of!)
Herbs moreover freeze successfully. Merely replenish ice cube trays with herbs and water or oil, pop them throughout the freezer, then use them to make pasta sauces and totally different dishes.
Execs of Freezing:
- Quick & Easy
- Retains Style & Nutritional vitamins
- Low Menace for Bacterial Progress
Cons of Freezing:
- Amount of Meals is Restricted to the Amount of Freezer Space
- Is dependent upon Electrical vitality
- Freezer Burn can Spoil the Prime quality of Meals
2. Canning
Canning is probably going one of many hottest meals preservation methods. Canning is the strategy of placing jars of meals in a pot of water and heating them to a temperature which will destroy microorganisms that could be harmful to folks. Low-acid meals could also be stress canned and high-acid meals could also be water tub canned. Steam canning is another option.
Water tub canning is an effective option to get started in canning! Our enamelware canner is slightly like these our moms used, and its included canning rack holds 7 Ball quart or pint jars. At Lehmans.com and our retailer in Kidron, Ohio.
This method of meals preservation causes the dearth of some nutritional vitamins, however it doesn’t take up freezer home, and it’s so satisfying to have a larder stuffed with shiny cans.
A couple of of my favorite points to can embrace:
I solely water-bath can, which suggests I can solely defend acidic points with out risk of botulism. In the case of greens, this lovely lots means I can tomato merchandise and vinegar pickles. I actually like making tomato and tomatillo salsa to can, and I make enough of it to eat until subsequent tomato season, usually with corn chips as my lunch, or with eggs as my breakfast.
I moreover stew tomatoes and should these. All I do is choose tomatoes that aren’t too watery, cut back them in half and squeeze the seeds out (I found that method when working at seed savers commerce), after which throw them in a large pot and prepare dinner dinner down, skins and all. After numerous hours, I end up with one factor very like tomato paste. If I wanted to, I could run it via a meals mill to make it clear with out the skins, nonetheless I’ve found that regardless of I want to do with my stewed tomatoes—pizza sauce, pasta sauce, chili—doesn’t truly ideas having the skins in. I can it by packing it scorching into jars, inserting a tablespoon of lemon juice in to verify its acidity, and processing the jars for about 20 minutes.
Execs of Canning:
- Prolonged Self Life
- Shelf Safe
- Preserves Nutritional vitamins
Cons of Canning:
- Requires Instruments
- Time-Consuming
- Menace of Botulism if Completed Incorrectly
I’ve found to love making pickles, not solely from cucumbers, however as well as from summer season season squash, beans, and okra. That sharp vinegar style coupled with dill or garlic or cayenne or the whole above is a really good addition to any meal throughout the winter. Nonetheless I don’t can too many batches of vinegar pickles on account of my subsequent strategy of preserving these items is even increased.
3. Fermenting
Fermentation is an effective meals preservation method that produces probiotic-rich meals. By the use of fermentation, microorganisms convert sugars in meals to acids or alcohol. This creates a tart/bitter type, enhances the dietary value, and can enhance the shelf lifetime of the meals.
A couple of of our favorite points to ferment embrace:
Execs of Fermenting:
- Supplies Probiotics
- Defend Nutritional vitamins
- Enhances Style
Cons of Fermenting:
- Storage circumstances should be correct to avoid cross-contamination
- Requires some monitoring
4. Dehydrating
Dehydration is a kind of meals preservation that removes moisture from meals which prevents bacterial growth. Appropriately dehydrated meals is shelf-stable and should last for as a lot as a yr (years in some cases), nonetheless dehydration does set off the dearth of some nutritional vitamins contained in the meals.
You presumably can dehydrate herbs, fruits, greens, meat, and even liquids like milk. If you’ve bought {an electrical} dehydrator, that’s the quickest methodology to get via the dehydration course of. It’s possible you’ll as properly photo voltaic dry, air dry, or oven dry your meals.
A couple of of our favorite points to dehydrate embrace:
Execs of Dehydrating:
- Prolonged Shelf-Life
- Easy Storage
Cons of Dehydrating:
- Lack of some nutritional vitamins
- Requires all moisture to be eradicated or mildew can develop
5. Dry Meals Storage & Root Cellaring
Some meals could also be preserved by storing them in optimum circumstances with out extra processing.
Dry objects like flour, rice, beans, sugar, corn meal, and so forth could also be saved in 5-gallon buckets with air-tight lids. I prefer to make use of large mylar baggage contained within the bucket with an oxygen absorber to keep up the meals preserved for an prolonged time period.
Onions, garlic, beets, turnips, carrots, pumpkins, apples, and totally different current produce could also be saved in a root cellar or a cold room. A root cellar could also be any home that is cool & humid enough (32-40° F/85-95%) to sluggish microbial growth and protect the produce from drying out.
Execs of Dry Storage & Root Cellaring:
- Would not require electrical vitality
- Prolonged self-life
- Style, texture, and nutritional vitamins are preserved
Cons of Dry Storage & Root Cellaring:
- Requires home
- Requires fixed temperature & humidity monitoring (root cellar)
**Written by Hannah Breckbill of Lehman’s {{Hardware}} in 2018, updated by Homesteaders of America in 2024.
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