Favorite ways to preserve your harvest?

[maize]

I started planting fruit trees within a month of moving into this house over nine years ago; I've added a few new trees and plants every year so we are at the point where we get quite a bit more fruit than we can eat when it is ripe.

What are your favorite ways of preserving your harvest? Suggestions for any kind of fruit or vegetable are welcome, though I've yet to manage a really productive vegetable garden (except for all the volunteer cherry tomatoes!)

Do you can? Freeze? Dehydrate? Have a root cellar/cold storage set up? 

My mother put up thousands of quarts of canned fruits and vegetables when I was young, but that stopped when we moved overseas and I don't remember much of the process. I've tried once or twice. I have and use a dehydrator, and have frozen a few things. I have a lot going to waste though and would love to find uncomplicated ways of processing and storing it.

I've got cabbage and peppers fermentimg right now, for sauerkraut and hot sauce. My last attempt at sauerkraut didn't turn out so well so I'm hoping this time goes better.

Edited October 20, 2019 by maize

[Clemsondana]

We do a lot of gardening - I haven't bought green beans or tomato sauce in years.  I freeze everything - beans, peas, corn, tomato, bell pepper slices, berries, sliced peaches, and applesauce.  We're still waiting for our trees to produce stuff in quantity - we finally got pears for the first time this year.  We fill a large chest freezer with veggies and some fruit (I have to buy the apples for applesauce right now, but hopefully in the future we'll have our own).  For the berries, I just rinse and freeze.  One kid likes them frozen and the other likes smoothies.  

[Miss Tick]

You are more ambitious than I am! I grow tomatoes, which I water-bath can and butternut squash which overwinters in the garage. Last year I planted the whole garden with Great Northern Beans. They are a dry variety, so once the pods had matured and the leaves were dying back, I shelled them and made soup all winter. We have rhubarb, which I chop and freeze. I think because I planted beans so heavily last year I have been over run by squash this year. 4 dozen butternuts will be a lot to consume, and I have had ever so much zucchini.

I don't have a lot of freezer space, so I prefer putting food by in a manner that doesn't require freezing, when possible. That way I can use the freezer for prepared foods and cheap(er) butter, meat, and bread.

How do you usually consume your fruits? Can you prepare and can or freeze pie filling or jams? Makes my mouth water just typing it...

[Carol in Cal.]

I freeze apricots in halves on a cookie sheet and then pop into plastic bags to use in smoothies.  Tried the same thing with pomegranate seeds, but that was less successful as they mostly burst.  I was planning to try this this year with our Fuyu persimmons, but the tree is not doing well so I think I’m going to eat whatever we pick.  

For citrus, I use the kumquats as they ripen; ditto for the Bearss limes and many of the lemons.  My lemons hold well on the tree so I pick them year round as needed.  The oranges I eat as they ripen, and then when they are just about done I strip the tree and make OJ and freeze it if I can’t use it all at once.

 

[Clemsondana]

@SusanC, over the years we've added 3 large chest freezers (in our mountainous area, basement garages for the lawnmower are common so we have plenty of unfinished storage space).  We also get 1/2 of a cow from a local farmer and often buy chicken and pork in bulk from another family farm, so we have 1 produce freezer, 1 meat freezer, and one that holds overflow or store-bought items.  We work to consolidate down to 2 and then unplug the 3rd, and then move things to make sure that each freezer  gets defrosted every year.  In previous houses, I didn't have space for that and I canned tomatoes and made pickles sometimes.  If it's practical, space-wise, though, I prefer freezing because it's quick - I even have a recipe for freezer pickles!  

[MEmama]

Mostly I freeze but I can some things when I feel inspired.

I've had abundant tomatillo harvests the past couple of years. Last year I roasted and froze them; this year mostly I’m just popping them whole into freezer bags. I keep intending to can up some salsa, but really the bags are so easy for me to just use what I need throughout the winter.

Peppers I chop or slice and freeze in bags—I freeze them on a baking sheet first so they don’t all clump together. Makes it easy to just break off what I need.

This year I had to take out my tomato plants early while they were full of gorgeous green tomatoes (sob!!), both heirloom slicers and sun golds. I froze bags and bags of the small ones both ripe and green, and pickled the slicers. I made both refrigerator pickled green tomatoes and canned several jars. I’ll use the frozen tomatoes all winter in enchiladas, tacos etc.

[Carrie12345]

Sadly, I haven’t gardened in years, but I have big dreams for the future, lol!  My daughters have been working on a farm this year, so I’ve picked up some great deals.  Freezing is my go-to. Dehydrating is my #2.  I only canned strawberry jam for the fridge, not the shelf, and decided I need a million times more strawberries next year!

I do own a beautiful All American canner.  And I’ve never used it. 😞 I’m a little bit afraid of it! Also, I have to use it outside on propane because my glass top isn’t adequate, so weather is an issue.  But I’ve been reading up for years, and am working up the guts for next year, lol!

That said, I’m hoping to can mostly fruits and meats. None of us are big on canned vegetables, though it wouldn’t be a bad idea to run a batch here and there.

My absolute favorite is to freeze pepper strips.  I have a couple of kids who will eat them frozen, and I’ll throw them into just about any meal when they’re already prepped and ready to go!

[cjzimmer1]

I can tomatoes, salsa, applesauce and pears.  I freeze peaches, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and peppers.  I dehydrate onions, pineapple, fruit leather, tomatoes (sprinkled with garlic salt and oregano) and sometimes zucchini(sprinkled with cinnamon sugar).  But that is pretty much the extent of items I can obtain in bulk easily and know that we will use.  Everything else is pretty much fresh use only (although I've been known to keep apples in the fridge for 4-5 months, they don't work for eating after that long but work well for baked goods).

[Farrar]

We don't grow anything... but when I buy in bulk at the market, it totally depends on the produce. Apples keep for ages, I find. We used to pick a bushel at a U-pick and then I'd fill an entire bin in the bottom of the fridge with as many would fit. Then we'd eat and turn the ones that were out into cakes and pies for about a month. And then we'd have apples through Christmas from the fridge just to eat.

Can tomatoes. Freeze peas and summer squashes. I've never put anything else up in bulk. Oh, turn basil into pesto and freeze it in cubes.

[Miss Tick]

@ClemsonDana I bet you have an awesome inventory control system! 

[vmsurbat1]

I freeze tomatoes--big ones halved or quartered, cherry tomatoes whole.  I especially like to use them to make a great savory cobbler throughout the wintry months--a total taste of sunshine! 

Also, not mentioned is herbs.  I both dry and freeze herbs.  The trick in either scenario is to wash, dry, and destem the leaves.  If drying a small amount, just lay the leaves on a paper-towel lined plate and let dry over the course of a few days.  Herbs dried whole-leaf and then crushed by hand when using are far more aromatic and flavorful than your typical store-bought packages.  For large quantities of leafy herbs, I prefer to freeze them.  Once prepped (washed, dried, destemmed), lightly toss by hand the leaves in a big bowl with a smidgen of olive oil.  Each leaf will get lightly coated with oil which greatly helps them to keep their color and flavor.  Pack in a ziplock bag, pressing out the air to flatten.  Freeze.  A giant bowlful of herbs will pack down into a quart-size ziplock.  You now have a very easy-to-use sheet of herbs for cooking. Just break off a piece and chop as if fresh.

Although we do store our winter squash, I find that when I want to cook one, there is more than I actually need for a week's meals so I'll usually bake up an entire oven-tray's worth just to have extra to scoop out and freeze as a puree which is perfect for using in soups, sauces, muffins, and cakes.

Although both onions and bell peppers freeze beautifully raw whether sliced or diced, if I have extra time and energy, I will sometimes go ahead and saute up a big batch together before freezing for a really fast flavorful addition to omelets, soups, stuffed potatoes, quesadillas, etc.

Because I like to make a low-sugar jam with our berries ( and therefore they don't keep as well as full-sugared ones), I prep the berries and for each quart-size bag, add just the right amount of berries and sugar for making one batch at a time.  The sugar helps the berries keep shape and flavor while frozen, and when I want to make jam, I just grab a bag, dump the fruit in my skillet, let it thaw for an hour, and cook for 10 minutes.  Easy, peasy and the best jam ever.  Plus no sweating over a canner in the heat of summer. 😉

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by vmsurbat1

[Carol in Cal.]

For those of you who dry or dehydrate things, what system do you use?  Is it reliable?

I am thinking about getting the wooden one from Lehman’s that is used in the oven or outside.  Does anyone have one of those?

[cjzimmer1]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

For those of you who dry or dehydrate things, what system do you use?  Is it reliable?

I am thinking about getting the wooden one from Lehman’s that is used in the oven or outside.  Does anyone have one of those?

I have an Excalibur with the timer.  I used to have those round ones but there was no way to control time or temp and everything stuck horribly to the trays.  Excalibur is soo much better (and when I was researching was the one that everyone was recommending).  And the trays are flexible so I can just bend them to loosen anything off and "pour" the dried items in the jar. It holds about 1/3 bushel at a time.  No experience with the one you mention though.

[Miss Tick]

12 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I have an Excalibur with the timer.  I used to have those round ones but there was no way to control time or temp and everything stuck horribly to the trays.  Excalibur is soo much better (and when I was researching was the one that everyone was recommending).  And the trays are flexible so I can just bend them to loosen anything off and "pour" the dried items in the jar. It holds about 1/3 bushel at a time.  No experience with the one you mention though.

I'm always intrigued by a dehydrator but never convinced I'll use it enough to make it a good investment. Can you tell me what your favorite uses are?

[Carrie12345]

My round dehydrator is definitely a pain. Especially since dh likes dehydrated strawberries, and those things stick like mad!  I don’t find it terrible for apples, which is what I should be doing right now!

We’ve agreed that we want to take on the expense of a freeze dryer.  The problem is, we don’t have anywhere to put it! That’ll have to wait for the dream house (with dream basement!)

[cjzimmer1]

2 hours ago, SusanC said:

I'm always intrigued by a dehydrator but never convinced I'll use it enough to make it a good investment. Can you tell me what your favorite uses are?

I am sensitive to sulfur dioxide which is used in most readily available dried fruit to help retain color.  There are unsulfured fruits out there but they are expensive and not as many options, hence the reason I make my own.  But hands down our favorite is dried pineapple.  It's really hard to find it without added sugar and that makes it so overly sweet.  Mine tastes just like pineapple.  I dry over 100 a year (I give some as gifts because everyone who tries mine loves it and of course no one can buy it like that so it makes a great gift).  I dry other fruits as the whim strikes me (peaches, strawberries, apples mostly).  I make a "pumpkin pie" leather with sweet potatoes, and any extra smoothies gets dried up too.  I've also dried tomatoes and zucchini.  I've made kale chips in it but we prefer them in the oven with oil on.  You can use it to make yogurt but since I've got an instant pot, I tend to use that for yogurt because it's less effort.  

So it's not something I use every day or even every month but let me tell you the quality of anything I make is so superior to what you can buy in the stores (no preservatives - which I can often taste in food, little to no sugar, fruit processed at the perfect stage of ripeness etc) that it is totally worth it for me.

Edited October 21, 2019 by cjzimmer1

[mathnerd]

Wondering if there is a social group here for gardeners? I have gotten a lot of helpful tips here from experienced gardeners, so I know that there are many gardeners on this forum.