Gardening: freeze, can, or dry your harvest?

October 30, 4:55 PMSalt Lake City House and Garden ExaminerJD Sartain

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Vitamin/Nutrient Chart
JD Sartain

I have a large garden every summer and, every fall, my friends and colleagues always ask the same question: Do you freeze, can, or dry your harvest, and why?

There are hundreds, even thousands, of books and websites about food preservation, so I won’t attempt to repeat what these writers have already said (and you probably already know). Instead, I’ll just answer the one question: I use all three methods, but some are better than others.

Everyone knows that raw foods have 100% of their vitamin content and that heat depletes nutritional value; i.e., the hotter the fire and the longer it cooks, the fewer the nutrients. The average nutritional loss that occurs during food preservation is as follows:
• Canning = 60-80%
• Frozen = 40-60%
• Dehydrated = 3-5%

One cookbook on my shelf has a chart (Schroeder) that shows the percentage of vitamin B-6 levels in fruits and vegetables in three stages: raw, canned, and frozen. Obviously, the B-6 nutrients in raw foods are 100%. That number drops to 84.5% (fruits) and 63.5% (vegetables) when food is frozen. However, it drops even more to 62.5% (fruits) and 43% (vegetables) when food is canned. So, for nutritional values, it would seem that frozen is better than canned (and dried/dehydrated is better than frozen). See chart.

Since taste is the second reason we eat (the first reason for some), food preservation then becomes a balance of flavor and nutrition (and time). Canning takes a lot of time and, since it offers the least amount of nutrients (and flavor, in my opinion), I only can the foods that cannot be frozen or dried. However, the shelf life on canned goods is longer (two years or more) than frozen foods (a year or so) but dehydrated is best. Dehydrated, vacuum sealed or air-tight sealed foods can last five to 25 years (based on the food and the temperature of the storage area). Dehydrated foods stored at 50 degrees will last longer than dehydrated foods stored at 70 degrees.

That said, here are 10 tips from the canning kitchens of my ancestors:

1. Always blanch corn (place frozen ears in boiling water for three minutes) and other similar vegetables before freezing, or else the natural sugars will turn to starch and spoil the delicious taste. Sugars begin converting to starch as soon as the corn is picked; so it’s important to pick it, blanch it, and freeze it within four hours of harvest. (And yes, you can freeze it on the cob).

2. Zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and peppers DO NOT have to be blanched. You can wash, peel, cut, chop (or whatever prep is necessary) these vegetables, then fill the freezer bags (labeled and dated), and put them right in the freezer.

3. Dried peppers are also easy. Use a needle with a big eye, thread it with cotton string, pierce the peppers at the top (as close to the stem as possible), then hang them in a sunny window to dry. Use dried peppers like herbs; just pinch off a section and crumble it into your pastas, soups/stews, omelets, quesadillas, salsas, and casseroles, etc.

4. Drying herbs are simple too. Just tie them together, hang them upside down (with a cloth or towel underneath to catch the leaves if/when they fall), then crumble and store in airtight jars. (Wal-Mart and the dollar stores have a varied selection of traditional spice bottles for very low prices). Note: After you remove all the leaves from your herb plants, toss the stems and flowers in the fireplace to fill your home with the fragrance of fresh herbs. Store the excess stems in one of those Harmon’s brown paper bags with the handles and leave by the hearth.

5. Frozen tomatoes (unless in sauces, soups, or salsas, which can be frozen or canned) are terrible. If you have a lot of tomatoes and more than enough pasta sauce, can this fruit using the hot water bath method (especially grape tomatoes). If you have a tomato milling machine, try making your own juice, V8, or Bloody Mary mix. Note: Don’t forget to bring in the green tomatoes too. See this link for more info about green tomatoes: http://www.examiner.com/x-26590-Salt-Lake-City-House-and-Garden-Examiner~y2009m10d19-What-to-do-with-all-those-unripened-green-tomatoes.

6. Green beans are better frozen or canned. Peas are better dehydrated. Home canned or frozen peas tend to get soft and mushy.

7. Unless you plant pickling cucumbers, the cuke harvest is tough to save. My best experience has been to peel, de-seed, and grate the cucumbers, then make relish or salsa using a favorite recipe, ladle into hot sterilized jars, and process in a water bath canner. You can also freeze or can gazpacho; but three quarts of this soup only use two cucumbers. So, if you have a lot of cukes, you’re better off making salsa or relish.

8. You can put potatoes, carrots, onions, and a variety of other vegetables in cold storage (i.e., in a root cellar) and prolong your harvest for months. See this website from the Department of Horticultural Science for a detailed chart: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1424.html.

9. Several years ago, I bought a food dehydrator. After spending a full day prepping apricots, I placed them in the dehydrator according to the device’s instructions and, 28 hours later, I had apricot raisins. Total time for this one project including setup and cleanup was over 40 hours. I took the dehydrator back the very next day. Total cost; i.e., time invested plus electricity: more than a week’s salary. Unless you really LOVE home grown fruits and vegetables, you have to consider the hourly rate. If you make $20 an hour at your job, why would you slave over a hot stove for less? Check out these links for more food dehydrating information:

http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/article.php?action=view&article_id=22&return_url=YXJ0aWNsZS5waHA/X3JlcXVlc3Q9WVRvd09udDk=
http://www.seasonalchef.com/tomdehyd.htm
http://www.canningpantry.com/dehydration-of-food.html

10. When harvesting your herbs, don’t forget that the perennials grow back every spring, so don’t pull these plants out by the roots. Perennial herbs include the following: aloe, catnip, chicory, chives, dandelion, Echinacea, fennel, ginkgo, ginseng, goldenseal, lavender, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, St. John's wort, savory, tarragon, thyme, and more. See this link for a complete list: http://www.gardensablaze.com/Perennials/PerennialHerbs.htm.

And last, if you have an abundant harvest, please consider sharing the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor with those in need. Click this link for a list of Utah shelters: http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/utah.html.
Or click this link for a list of food banks: http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/foodbanks/UTfoodbanks.html.