Preserving food is one of the most important homesteading skills you can acquire.
Preserving food helps you save money on groceries, become more self-reliant and enjoy healthy, organic, seasonal food all year long. It’s also necessary to learn how to preserve homegrown food so that nothing goes to waste.
3 Easy Ways to Preserve the Harvest
I recently had the opportunity to share some of my favourite methods of preserving food in an article for Backyard Garden Lover.
I discuss the 3 easiest ways to preserve the bounty from your summer garden (or from your local farmers market): freezing, drying and canning.
So if you’re up to your ears in green beans, treading through tons of tomatoes or you’ve already eaten more fresh fruit than you can physically handle, it’s time to start preserving my friend. Check out the full article to learn how: 3 Easy Ways to Preserve Garden Harvest.
>> Click here to read the full article. <<
Hi Anna:
I enjoyed your article over at Backyard Garden Lover. One question: what foods do you find are better for freezing vs dehydrating? Certain things seem to last longer when dehydrated, but packaging and storing in the freezer is sometimes more convenient. Thanks!
Hi Jim,
It all depends what you intend to use them for later. I like to dehydrate fruit (apples, cherries, berries) as I can throw them into oatmeal and rehydrate them. I also dehydrate whole citrus fruit that I pop on top of roast chicken or salmon in the oven. I like to can foods that I want to open and either snack on or use as a side dish or as a quick meal right away. So snacks include jams and jellies on bread, pickled cucumbers, beans, asparagus, etc. and meals would be things like pressure canned green beans or carrots, sauces for pasta (like tomato sauce for spaghetti), combination meals like soups and stews, pie filling and meat and fish (which I haven’t tried canning yet). You can also make beef jerky in a dehydrator. I do freeze a lot too, but to save space in my freezer (and to make sure I have shelf-stable food in case the power goes out in an emergency), I like to can and dry as much as possible.
Thanks, Anna. That is some great advice. I like the idea of using dehydrated fruit on oatmeal. I also would like to learn more about making jerky. It’s a favorite of mine for hiking.
I have not done much canning. I use the freezer a lot when I don’t have time to dehydrate.
Keep up the great info on the blog.
Will do Jim! And yes, I’d like to learn more about jerky myself. I’m going to try my hand at it soon and will publish the results when I do. Take care!