ShareThisThis is a time of abundance for gardeners, a time to reap, to share and to save some of the harvest for the winter and next spring.
Among the three most popular ways to preserve the garden's bounty are two of the most ancient, drying and freezing, and the most recent, canning. Pickling, fermenting and curing have their applications, too, but the ways of making sauerkraut, mead and bacon are becoming the province of professionals.
Whether you're putting up a couple of quarts or a truckload, the principles are the same, says Steve Cory, owner of Cory's Kitchen at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, R.I. Cory cans thousands of jars of jams that are shipped all over the world.
Preserving fruit with honey or sugar was known to ancient cultures, according to Brian A. Nummer of the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. Only since the relatively recent discovery of bacteria, however, have preservation practices become more sophisticated and sanitary.
Deviate from standard practices, and "you can kill someone," says Martha Smith Patnoad, cooperative extension professor and food-safety education specialist at the University of Rhode Island.
She and Cory agree that the "Ball Blue Book of Preserving" is the essential reference and recipe book for preserving food. Patnoad and her colleague, research assistant Nicole Richard, also recommend the website of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, uga.edu/nchfp, and Cory recommends the website of the University of Maine, umaine.edu/food-health/food-preservation.
To get from the garden to the pantry, produce should be picked at its prime, said Cory as he cooked a small pot of what would become raspberry jam. He had picked the berries that morning.
"You want to pick the fruit when it's just ripe," he said. "When it gets overripe, some of the pectin gets lost. I want more pectin in the fruit, so I want it just-ripe. I taste it, feel it, sometimes give it a squeeze. If it's a raspberry, I can tell just by looking at it."
When the harvest arrives in the kitchen, it must be washed thoroughly, Cory says.
Hands and working surfaces must be washed, and the sponge on the edge of the sink should be washed in the dishwasher or boiled.
Inspect jars for chips on the rim.
Never use old lids, Cory says. Patnoad also advises against using European-style jars with clamps that hold down the lids. If you're new to canning or jam-making, buy new Mason-style jars. "Don't look for used jars on e-Bay," Patnoad says.
Boil jars and new lids before using them, Corey says. "Most home dishwashers don't get hot enough," he says.
Find a recipe in "Ball Blue Book" and stick to it, Patnoad says.
Some high-acid recipes call for a simple, stovetop, boiling-water bath that reaches 212 degrees. Other recipes, for low-acid foods, require a pressure cooker that reaches 240 degrees. Boiler canning kits cost about $40; pressure-cooking kits cost around $140 online.
Besides canning recipes and instructions, "Ball Blue Book" contains information about drying and freezing foods.
Drying, the oldest method of preserving food, works on many kinds of fruits and vegetables, Patnoad says. Dehydrating intensifies the sugars in fruit such as apples, Richard adds.
They recommend using a dehydrator with a thermostat and a fan, rather than trying to dry food in the sun where it may be exposed to animal waste (think birds) and airborne pathogens. A large discount retail chain offers several dehydrators ranging from $40 to $70. (In online reviews, dehydrator users said they not only preserve produce, but they make beef jerky, too.) Follow directions in "Ball Blue Book," and store what you have dried in clean, airtight containers. If you want to add a desiccant to absorb moisture, use rice, Richard advises.
Clarence Birdseye created modern, industrial freezing early in the 20th century, but people in cold climates have been freezing food for thousands of years. Today, freezing is the easiest way to preserve the garden's bounty for about six months, Patnoad says.
Some foods, such as tomatoes, should be stewed first, she advises. Others, such as peas and beans, should be blanched in boiling water for a minute or so, then plunged into ice water to preserve their color, says Richard. Vacuum packing may lengthen the shelf life of some frozen foods, but generally, a vacuum package is unnecessary. Popular vacuum sealers are available online and in stores, ranging from $28 to $145.
The URI food-safety website is uri.edu/ce/ceec/foodsafety
Patnoad also recommends:
-- Pennsylvania State University's foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/presqueryform.cfm
-- University of Georgia's uga.edu/nchfp/links/georgia.html
-- University of New Hampshire's extension.unh.edu/Pubs/PubsFS.htm
(Contact Tom Meade at tmeade(at)projo.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Providence Journal
