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Preserving your harvest
Harvest season is at its peak for urban agriculturists. Snap beans, tomatoes, carrots and peaches are currently available. Preserving this local bounty of vegetables and fruits for the winter is essential for eating locally all year. There are three primary methods for preserving food, canning, freezing or dehydrating.
Canning produce has been used as a preservation method for more than a hundred years. Early canning was done by boiling jars of prepared produce in a large pot of water. This method is called hot water bath. Hot water bath is not suitable for higher altitudes like Colorado because water boils at less that 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Even at 212 degrees some harmful bacteria like botulism are not killed. Pressure canning was the next advance in canning. Pressure canning is done with a specially built large pot with a sealed lid and pressure gage that allows food to be cooked under various pressures and times at temperatures higher than can be obtained with hot water bath canning. Pressure canning is the safest method of canning and the only one I use. Pressure canning is also more energy efficient because the cooking times are many times less than hot water bath and the energy savings is significant. Pressure canners and jars can be purchased on the Internet as well as ACE Hardware stores. The only drawback to canning is that there can be a slight flavor change in vegetables. Canned corn is particularly noticeable. The advantage to preserving food with canning is that if there is a prolonged power outage, you will not have spoilage.
Freezing produce can give a better flavor than canning, especially for some vegetables. Green beans do not improve with freezing. I have never met a frozen green bean that I liked. Processing times for freezing are generally shorter for freezing. Usually only blanching is required for vegetables before putting them into containers. Reusable plastic containers are best. Tomatoes can be put in raw in pieces or pureed. If you are going to freeze significant amounts of produce, you will need to purchase a freezer. Shop around for bargains or used equipment. You can usually find a freezer for $200.00 or less. If you are going to use freezing as your primary method of preserving, fill the freezer as much as possible so that it runs with lower energy usage. The disadvantage of freezing is that you can have significant spoilage in case of power outage.
Dehydrating foods can be done with an electric dehydrator. Living in a dry climate like Colorado, you can place prepared fruits or vegetables outside and cover them with screen or cheese cloth and use solar power. A large variety of vegetables and fruits can be dehydrated. Using dehydrated produce can be as simple as adding items to soups or stews or soaking them in water. Most dehydrated items can simply be stor4ed in a cool dry area in glass containers. Some vegetables like summer squash have a short shelf life and should also be frozen in addition to dehydrating. Green beans are not good candidates for dehydrating. Dehydrating saves space, and you will not have spoilage in case of prolonged power outage.
Harvesting and preserving season was often a time for family and friends to come together to communally preserve food. The children who were old enough helped with shucking corn and snapping beans. It was a social occasion for all. If you did not have your own urban agriculture project this year, you can buy in bulk from many of the producers at farmers’ markets and still have locally grown food all year around. Check with your favorite producer for availability and order in advance to assure that your desired items will be there for you.
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