You’ve picked all your vegetables and covered the counters in your kitchen with the bounty from your garden…now what?
Most of the food will spoil in the next seven to ten days, so the time to preserve is now. Luckily, nature gives us a little time to space out our preservation, but having your tomatoes come on over the course of two weeks can be just as frustrating as it is convenient. Instead of one long day of nothing but preserving tomatoes there is a bigger chance that you may have two, or three, smaller days of processing whichever produce is available at the time. Preservation takes time, energy, and patience, but being able to have food available and know how to use it can be a great comfort when times are hard while also being a healthy option in everyday living.
The first thing you need to do is determine which produce works best with which preservation technique.
Types of food storage: (level of expertise needed)
- Fermentation: Fermenting is the process of converting sugars into acids, gasses, or alcohol by microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast. It can be used to preserve dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese; vegetables, such as sauerkraut and kimchi; fruits, such as wine and cider; and grains, such as bread and beer. Fermenting requires a controlled environment, such as a jar, a crock, or a fermenting kit. Fermenting can improve the taste, digestibility, and probiotic benefits of food for several weeks or months, but it can also produce undesirable flavors, odors, or textures in some foods. Not heat, no dehydration – just microbes. Not only does this allow you approximately six months of consumption, but it turns out fermentation is great for your gut as well. While fermentation is simple, it does require following instructions to the letter, so be sure to pull up a good recipe before starting.
- Dehydration: Completely opposite of fermentation, dehydration is the oldest method of food preservation. Drying removes moisture from food to prevent bacterial growth and mold. Drying can preserve fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, meat, fish, and grains. Dehydration requires a low-heat source, such as an oven, a dehydrator, or the sun. It can enhance the flavor and shelf life of food for up to a year or more, but it can also reduce the vitamin content and change the texture of some foods. Some foods, like herbs, will dehydrate as fast as twelve hours while other foods, like watermelon or tomatoes can take as much as twenty-four hours. Each of these foods needs to be stored in an air-tight container after the drying process. Dehydrated foods can be shelf stable from four months to a year.
- Freeze Dry: As of the writing of this article freeze drying is the most expensive of all the food preservation methods. When you add up the cost of a private machine, proper storage bags and oxygen absorbers the dollars add up fast. But one benefit to purchasing a freeze dryer is, if properly stored, the food can last up to thirty years and still be completely edible. High-fat items have a short shelf life, but low and nonfat items can last long after your mortgage is fully paid for (unless you live in Canada where they just allowed a 99 year mortgage). Some people are happy to exchange the up-front costs with the convenience of having your favorite fruits, veggies and even full meals available at any needed time. Other than the costs and proper storage, freeze drying is a very simple process: You prepare your food (some require having holes poked or being pre frozen),put it in the machine, and turn the machine on. Occasionally you have to extend the cycle, but you set the machine and the unit does the rest of the work for you. Food does have to be packaged quickly, as moisture in the air can enter the food, but packaging consists of putting it in a thick mylar bag, popping an oxygen absorber inside, and sealing the top.
- Canning: Canning is the process of heating food in sealed jars or cans to kill bacteria and create a vacuum. Canning can extend the shelf life of food for up to a year or more, but it can also affect the texture, flavor, and nutritional value of some foods. Every product requires some decent prep time, but canning has a higher amount of prep work of all the storage methods. A peach, for example, must go through a cleansing process, then dip into boiling water to loosen the skin, then have the skin and pit removed, cut the peaches into slices, put the slices into sterilized jars, clean the tops of the jars, add sterilized lids and rings, process the jars in a boiling water bath for several minutes, remove to cool, allow to cool for at least eight hours, clean bottles, label and put away. All that work is worth it for many as no additional water is needed to consume the food. If you make foods with low acid a pressure cooker is needed which requires a close eye and usually an extended time frame, but when you want to consume it – you don’t need any additional water which can be beneficial when water supplies are low. Canning requires special equipment, such as a pressure canner or a water bath canner, and some knowledge of safe canning practices.
- Cold Storage of Whole Food: This means storing your vegetables and fruits for extended periods of time. Long ago many families had a dug out for the storage of fruits and vegetables. Many times they would dig a hole under the house and come and go on a ladder after picking up a chunk of the floor. Nowadays, we have climate controlled homes and refrigeration that allow us to keep food fresh in a more easily accessible location. Different foods are particular about storage temperature and humidity levels. Cornell University has a guide to the different environments different produce prefer, and it even includes the average shelf life in optimal conditions. If you have a location suitable to store whole foods it can be a great way to store large amounts of fresh food for long periods of time (like late potatoes at 4-9 months, and apples 2-6 months). Some people without a natural space have chosen to make one in a spare room with extra insulation and an air conditioner.
- Frozen/Refrigerated: Storing food in the freezer had been commonplace in America for several decades. Freezing is the simplest and most convenient way to preserve food. Freezing slows down the growth of bacteria and enzymes that cause food spoilage. Freezing can preserve most kinds of food, such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, bread, and cooked dishes. Freezing requires minimal equipment, such as a freezer and freezer bags or containers. Freezing can retain the quality and nutrition of food for several months, but it can also cause freezer burn, ice crystals, and loss of moisture in some foods. The FDA has guidelines on the safest freezer and refrigerator durations for more common foods. They recommend not freezing cooked or shelled eggs, but say eggs without a shell can be safely frozen for up to one year. The guidelines are in place to provide an idea of when to eat foods before risk of contracting a food-borne illness, but always remember there are variations based on quality and age of the food and equipment.
- Dry Storage (grains, flours, beans): This can be in a container or in a #10 can. Either way, if properly stored, dry grains can last a very long time – even as long as 30 years. In order to prepare your long-term storage it is best to put your grain in the freezer or in a hot oven to kill any bugs that may be hiding. There are dry canning methods and gamma lids for 5 gallon buckets that will help make food accessible.
- Pickling: Pickling is like a close cousin to fermentation. Fermentation is basically a water/salt brine, and pickling is basically a vinegar/salt brine. The two are similar, but result in different flavor profiles. Pickled products are often also “bottled/canned” as they are not reliant upon the bacteria for preservation, so they generally last as long as a “bottled/canned” product if processed correctly. Without a “canning” process the pickles may only last up to four weeks with refrigeration. We all know people pickle cucumbers, but several more items can be pickled including beets, asparagus, and even boiled eggs.
- Oil Preservation: If you have the ability to grow your own plants for oil, or have access to bulk plants, you are in a unique position to press your own oil as you need it. Oil as a seed stores far longer than the oil once it has left the seed. The shelf-life of store-bought oil will depend heavily on the quality of the oil. Good oils may last up to a year whereas lesser quality oils will start to turn rancid after a few months. Many oils also use conditioners and hexanes to release the oils from the seed. This can limit shelf life as well. Other oils add in life-extenders, but it is a good idea to change out your oil every six months. Lard and butter can last twelve months in the freezer.
Consider your space wisely. Many of these options require extra equipment. You don’t want to find yourself storing more equipment than food. Ideally, we would all have the storage capabilities of a Mary Poppins carpet bag, but until we do, be mindful of which method will work for the food you have and the location you have to store it in.