Help on freezing foods...

[hsmom]

Okay here is what we are doing. Well this is our first year with a garden, greenhouse and such. Our greenhouse is up and going! (yeah!) The garden well has to wait until the snow is gone....

 

Now I am wondering how is the best way to freeze and store all of these veggies, herbs and such? Well once they are ready to harvest and such. Should I invest in a Food Saver or something of the sort? Any input here would really help.

 

I live where good fresh food is not a regular item. So, we want to grow our own and have great tasting food. Now I want to be able to have it for more than the week or two it would last in the fridge.

 

So, if you do recommend a vacuum sealer:

* what brand

*what type of prep should I do to the veggies before hand?

*where is the best place to buy?

 

Thank you for any help.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've just used freezer bags so I can't advise you re. a food saver system.

 

This site has good tips for freezing different kinds of veggies.

 

http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/vegetables/freezing.asp

[mamaof2andtwins]

I also have just used good quality freezer bags. I would think a vacuum sealer might do a better job though. I have not used one. After some time ice crystals do form in the bags that I use. Mostly I just freeze berries and green peppers. I can almost everything else that I want to put up for the winter.

 

Jennie

[cworthy]

We are still using up the fruits (peaches, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries) that we froze last summer. A drought here limited the veggies we could get. I used regular freezer bags, but I have found that Ziploc double layer bags gave the best results over time. I don't mean that I double-bagged -- Ziploc makes a double layer freezer bag. They cost more, but it's worth it.

 

We also canned some tomatoes and peppers and made many, many jars of jams, jellies and also some apple butter and apple sauce. You should try canning -- the results are great and it isn't as difficult as I thought. If you have a county extension agency, they probably have a class. Safety is critical, so always use a tested recipe.

 

(Sorry for the long post.) :)

[MamaT]

I have always just used freezer bags. I would love to hear if someone has had better results from a vacuum sealer and if it is worth it, though. We are just finishing up our blackberries and cherries from our cherry tree.

[hillfarm]

Not about bags, but remember to freeze your items in the quantities you plan to use. For example, I store most of my fruit in 2 cup amounts, which is what I use for a certain cobbler recipe. Then if I decide to make a pie, I can just grab two bags of it. Other items, like blueberries, I freeze individually on a cookie sheet and then put the frozen berries into the bags so that they remain loose and I can easily remove how ever many I want to sprinkle on things or in larger quantities for baking. I do this also with meat balls, hamburger patties, etc. That way I don't have to defrost a large quantity and use it all up quickly.

[mamaof2andtwins]

Not about bags, but remember to freeze your items in the quantities you plan to use. For example, I store most of my fruit in 2 cup amounts, which is what I use for a certain cobbler recipe. Then if I decide to make a pie, I can just grab two bags of it. Other items, like blueberries, I freeze individually on a cookie sheet and then put the frozen berries into the bags so that they remain loose and I can easily remove how ever many I want to sprinkle on things or in larger quantities for baking. I do this also with meat balls, hamburger patties, etc. That way I don't have to defrost a large quantity and use it all up quickly.

 

I do this also.

 

Jennie

[Kathy in MD]

I want to stress the need to blanch some fruits and vegetables prior to freezing. Jean's link covers this. Another good source would be your county extension office, who could also advise you on the best varieties for freezing or preserving for your area.

 

However the bible of food preservation, especially if you run out of freezer room and need to can, is the Ball Blue Book.

[hsmom]

Thank you for the link it will really come in handy.

[hsmom]

I have always wanted to can, just the whole safety thing throws me for a loop. I am chicken of making everyone sick.

[hsmom]

I want to stress the need to blanch some fruits and vegetables prior to freezing. Jean's link covers this. Another good source would be your county extension office, who could also advise you on the best varieties for freezing or preserving for your area.

 

However the bible of food preservation, especially if you run out of freezer room and need to can, is the Ball Blue Book.

 

Now what does blanching do? Why is it so important?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Another link - they explain the reasons for blanching much better than I can - and they tell you how to do it!

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_13887_blanch-vegetables.html

[Kathy in MD]

I have always wanted to can, just the whole safety thing throws me for a loop. I am chicken of making everyone sick.

 

I've eaten home-canned food from early childhood until we had to give up our garden and never gotten sick from it. The main thing about food safety is to FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS! Especially the instruction about testing to make sure the cap is sealed, both immediately after canning and before opening. As an additional safety precaution, you can make sure that you cook your can goods well before eating them. (My dh is paranoid about my canning but not my dsis's. :confused:) We have had on rare occasions canned food that had to be thrown out, but that was extremely, extremely rare.

 

Canning does have a large, up front expense. (But so does freezing if you need to buy a large freezer). Get a good canner. I prefer ones with a guage that reads out the pressure rather than a thing-a-ma-jobby that just jiggles when pressure is reached. I believe that the extension offices will test your canner if you buy a used one. Call to check first. Look for used canning jars to save money. Typically the new canning jars that grocery foods now come in are to thin to use for home canning (This used to be a good source for canning jars). Make sure that the jars aren't cracked, especially along the top (run your finger along the top to check for smoothness)

 

Most important, get the Ball Blue Book and follow it's instructions! Have fun.

[hsmom]

Can you recommend a good caner?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

my dad uses the saute method that they metion for zucchini for other veggies too: green beans,and summer squash. He loves the way it makes frozen green beans taste so much better than the conventional freezing method.

[mamaof2andtwins]

Joanna,

 

There are two methods for canning. One is the boiling water bath (BWB) canner and the other is the pressure canner. The boiling water bath canner is used for high acid foods such as fruits, pickles, jams and jellies. The pressure canner is used for low acid vegetables, meats, and convenience foods such as soups and stews.

 

I have been canning for about 8+ years, and I have only used a BWB canner. I do a lot of fruits, tomato sauces (no meat), pickles, jams, and such. My canner was my mom's. I also have another BWB canner that was given to me by a neighbor when they were cleaning out the home of a deceased neighbor. I just bought a pressure canner last year, but I have not used it yet.

 

Jennie

[Kathy in MD]

Can you recommend a good caner?

 

Sorry, but I can't. I don't even know if there is more than one manufacturer of home canners. Canners tend to be a once in a lifetime purchase, if you don't inheirit one. However you will need to replace the gasket and gauge periodically.

 

But if you have a large pressure cooker, check with your manufacturer to see if you could can using it (I think you'd be limited to pints or half pints)

 

And I forgot about the boiling water bath method. But that's one my mom rarely used so I can give much advice for that. The Ball Blue will cover instructions for that also.

[Cherrie]

and I love it. Taking the air out of the packaging not only keeps it fresher longer but it helps with keeping the packages as small as possible. Also for freezing sauces and soups, laying them flat takes up less room. I am working on stocking my large deep freeze with ready meals, mostly sauces, soups, meats, side dishes. I especially like the vacuum sealer because the bags are strong enough to take the constant moving from one section of the freezer to the other while looking for something. They can also be washed and reused if not used with something greasy.

[JoyfulMama]

I've borrowed my MIL's vacuum sealer, and felt it was very easy to use.

 

I keep putting it on and taking it off my wish list. I think it might be nice to have, but seem to be having really good luck with (reusable) freezer containers and the ziploc freezer bags. (So really it's a luxery item to me.)

 

The vacuum bags are reusable, but you each time you open it, you make the bag smaller. My MIL buys the precut bags, my SIL buys the rolls and makes a bag the size she wants it to be. My SIL reuses bags, my MIL doesn't.