Enjoy Fresh, Local Food All Year
(Page 3 of 4)
August/September 2007
By Barbara Pleasant
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Success Under Pressure
You will need a pressure canner to preserve foods with a pH level above 4.5, because higher temperatures are required to kill bacteria in non-acidic foods. Still, reusable jars and no refrigeration requirements make pressure canning a good choice. In many areas, good quality canning equipment is available in community canning kitchens. (See “Communal Canning Comes of Age” for the scoop on group canning projects.)
Pressure canner gauges require care and periodic testing, but the biggest challenge with pressure canning is the heat it creates. This is why rural homes used to have a place on the porch for a canning stove, or sometimes a canning kitchen in a corner of the shed. A propane cooker can help you move pressure canning to your deck or patio, though it’s still best to prepare the food and jars in the kitchen. Click here to find foods that are good for pressure canning, as well as their peak seasons and handling and storage tips.
Freezer Pleasers
Freezing is often the best way to preserve the flavors and textures of delicate vegetables, and small batches can be blanched to stabilize nutrients and texture, cooled to preserve color, then packaged in 30 minutes or less. Running a freezer consumes energy, but reduced packaging is where the home food preserver comes out on top. For instance, pint-size poly freezer bags or pouches require a quarter less energy to produce than the freezer-proof boxes used for many commercial frozen veggies.
To reduce energy consumption, keep your freezer in a cool basement or garage, and fill vacant spaces with plastic bottles or freezer bags filled with water. Should the power go off, the increased thermal mass from the extra ice will slow the thawing process. Store small items inside larger snap-top plastic boxes so they won’t get lost in your freezer. Click here for foods you can freeze, their peak seasons, and handling and storage tips.
Dehydrated Heroes
Some of the food crops listed here need brief precooking or other special preparation, but many can be washed, peeled, pared and popped into a dehydrator. You can also simply dry them in the sun or in a solar dehydrator. (See Build a Solar Food Dehydrator.)
