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Preserve Mother Nature’s Bounty For Savory Meals All Year Long

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Let’s face it. Few things in life taste better than fresh summer vegetables. Those delicious meals of summer vegetables from your garden or your local farmers’ market don’t have to end in August. They can be available to you all year long. All you have to do is learn some basic preservation methods for canning, freezing and drying vegetables and herbs. Won’t it be wonderful to have those juicy July tomatoes as an ingredient in your chili on some cold, blustery winter day?

Canning summer vegetables involves a process of blanching, peeling, and cold-packing them into Mason jars. The jars and then covered with a wet, heated lid. The jars should then be placed in a boiling water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. The pot for this bath must be large enough that the jars and lids are covered with boiling water.

The heat from the water bath forces the air out of the jar, sealing it once it cools. Since bacteria cannot enter a sealed jar, the food can be preserved for a number of years.  After the water bath you should carefully remove the jars and place them on a dish-towel covered surface where they can cool gradually.

Freezing is another simple and convenient way to preserve food for several months. It slows food deterioration and stops the growth of bacteria. Preparing vegetables for freezing involves blanching. Blanching is a technique used to keep vegetables crisp and tender by scalding them in a quick boil and then submerging them in an ice bath for cooling. Package blanched vegetables in freezer bags or containers and freeze thoroughly for storage. Food expands as it freezes so do not overfill containers.

Drying is the best preservation method for herbs. Dried herbs should be stored in airtight containers such as small canning jars. The herbs will retain more of their original flavor if you store the leaves whole and crush them when you are ready to use them.  Be sure to label and date your containers. Store containers in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. Dried herbs are best used within a year. Bear in mind that as your herbs lose their color, they are also losing their flavor.

Whether you are freezing, canning or drying you should start out with the freshest vegetables available, preferably ones that are picked on the same day you preserve them. After all, the fresher they are when your preserve them the better they will taste when you enjoy them in the cooler months to come. Preserved vegetables and herbs also make great gifts so prepare some extra helpings and spread the delicious joy around next winter.