Preserving Fruits and Vegetables

Summer is the time of year that everyone goes crazy over fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden or the local farmer’s market. Many of us just want to buy produce in bulk and if we grow our own, we end up with way more than we can use. The food news is that there are ways to preserving fruits and vegetables so you can enjoy the deliciousness all year long.

Freezing

Freezing Fresh Fruit– It is important to note that you just don’t take your fruits and toss them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. While this will surely freeze them, your fruits will end up sticking together in a solid chunk.

In addition, thawing them this way will produce a watery mess. For this task, you will need your fruit, cookie sheet, wax paper, spatula and freezer bags. Be sure the fruit is dry before freezing or they will obtain freezer burn. Slice your fruit or cut them into chunks. Strawberries can be halved and blueberries and raspberries can be left whole. Be sure you also remove all stems, pits and seeds from fruits; the peels can be left on. Line the baking sheet with wax paper, arrange a single layer of fruit and freeze for 4-5 hours. Label freezer bags with the name of the fruit. Using a spatula, place the fruits into their assigned bags. Seal the bags, return to the freezer and safely store for up to 3 months.

Drying

Drying Tomatoes in the Oven– You can oven-dry tomatoes to preserve them. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Take the stems off the tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake for 6-12 hours, or until they are shriveled. Take the tomatoes out of the oven and let them cool on cake racks. Once cooled, put the tomatoes in Ziploc bags and they will stay fresh indefinitely.

Pickling

Pickling– Pickling crab apples is ideal for preserving them. For this task, you will need 6 cups of apple cider vinegar, 8 cups of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of whole cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks and 8 pounds of crab apples (stems left on). In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring the vinegar, brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon to a boil. Add in crab apples and boil for 20 minutes or until apples are tender. Sterilize a few Mason jars and while they are still hot, add the apples to them. Add in vinegar syrup and seal the jars.

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