Homestead Food & Preservation Keeping Your Harvest Usable Year-Round
in spots that remain damp. Similar to freezing, it’ s best to blanch the vegetables that require it before drying. The goal in blanching is to keep as many nutrients in your food as possible. Some things, such as onions, bell peppers and herbs, won’ t require blanching.
Last important note on drying / dehydrating: please take the time to learn the process of conditioning your dried products. It’ s a simple but important step to ensure your items are thoroughly dried and safe for long-term storage.
Canning
Last but certainly not least is canning! The possibilities are endless when it comes to canning food for long-term storage. You have the option of water bath canning and pressure bath canning, depending on the type of food you ' re preserving. I highly recommend finding trusted sources such as the National Center for Home Food Preservation and
AcreageLife. com the USDA. There are many debates around trusting government entities when it comes to home canning, but for myself and my family, I prefer to ensure that I’ m using safe and tested recipes.
The dirty word in the canning world is botulism. It’ s a scary word that turns many people away from even trying this method of preservation. According to statistics from the CDC, foodborne botulism only encompasses 4 % to 8 % of reported cases yearly. If you’ re practicing safe and trusted canning methods, the risk goes down exponentially. While some people believe it to be safe to water bath can low acid foods for prolonged periods of time, it can be an unnecessary risk to take when we have the option of readily available pressure canners.
If you are ready to dip your toes into canning, start with waterbathing and get comfortable with your skills there. The equipment is fairly priced and can be found at the majority of big box stores. You can pick up the“ USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning” as a reference to ensure that you have the recipes and process right at your fingertips. I own this book myself and use it every time I’ m canning to ensure that I’ m not only doing things safely but doing them in the best way for the food I’ m preserving.
Starting Out
Obviously, I’ m only scratching the surface on each of these preservation methods; I recommend choosing one method to try first and throwing yourself into researching it from trusted sources. You won’ t ever regret doing things correctly the first time. I’ ve had my fair share of learning curves and wasted product when starting out with my food preservation journey, so hopefully this article will not only help you avoid some of the same mistakes I made but also encourage you to start on your own journey!
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