Only buying produce in season is a great way to save on your grocery bills, but as the weather turns colder in most of the country, the produce in season will change. If your family prefers summer produce, preserve vegetables and fruits to use in the winter months! Here’s how:
Freezing Produce
Fruit can be frozen with very little prep work. Wash and dry the produce. Berries can be left whole while other fruit like peaches should be sliced. Flash freezing will prevent the fruit from clumping together when frozen.
To flash freeze, place fruit on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer. Once the fruit is frozen, remove it from the baking sheet and place in a freezer bag. Then when you are ready to use the fruit, you can easily pour out the amount needed.
Vegetables can be frozen as well, but require a little more prep work. Most vegetables need to be blanched because they contain an enzyme that needs to be destroyed before freezing.
Blanch vegetables like carrots and green beans by placing them in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Then immediately submerge the vegetables in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, the vegetables can be frozen.
Spinach and kale should be sautéed before freezing. Bell peppers and onions, on the other hand, can be frozen using the flash freezing method.
Canning
Canning produce takes a little more effort than freezing, but the produce will preserve for a longer period of time.
Every year my family visits local orchards during strawberry, peach and apple season. We make jam, sliced peaches, applesauce and salsa to use throughout the year.
Fruits can easily be canned using the water bath canner method. However, vegetables are more alkaline and need to be pressure canned. If you are new to canning, try making jam or applesauce first!
Drying
Drying produce is commonly done with a dehydrator. Dried fruit makes a great snack when fresh fruit is not available. Fresh herbs are another item to consider drying.
If you have herbs in your garden, dry them before the first frost hits. Home dried herbs are more flavorful than the store bought herbs because they are fresher!
With a little prep work, summer produce can be enjoyed throughout the winter. Make sure to label each container of preserved produce with the date and the contents. Frozen items should be used within 3-6 months while canned goods will last a year or two. If you are new to preserving, start small and gradually add to your efforts each year.
