As you think about the ways in which you can preserve food for later consumption, please keep in mind the following:
Cleanliness - make sure your work area is clean, the tools, pots, pans, jars, lids, bottles, utensils, and the like are cleaned and sanitized where possible.
Food safety - be cognizant of food temperature and exposure to room temperatures while you are processing. The less time food is exposed to ambient temperatures, the less likely it will be contaminated.
Equipment - yes, you can improvise if you don't have what is recommended; however, having the right equipment and tools will certainly make things easier.
Handwashing - it is better to wash your hands more than less!
Most of us are familiar with freezing as a way to preserve food for later use. Wrap or put the food in a container, burp out as much air as you can, and stick it in the freezer. Hopefully, you remembered to label the food and included the date you froze it, otherwise, you will have 'mystery food' at the back of the freezer.
When preparing foods for freezing, it is best to blanch your vegetables before freezing them. Blanching is the process of dipping the fresh vegetables in boiling water with citric acid in it for a few minutes then turning them out into a bowl of water with ice in it (to stop the cooking process). "Flash" freezing is when you spread the sliced/diced fruit or vegetables on a tray to freeze the individual pieces. Once frozen, place them in a freezer bag.
To get the most out of your frozen food supply, consider using a vacuum sealer to remove all the air from the bags in which you will store the frozen food. The food will last longer in the freezer.
Unfortunately, many of us have had power outages that lasted long enough to defrost all the food in the freezer. Or, with newer freezers, when the power comes back on, an electrical surge is sent through the electronic components burning them out; but you don't know until everything inside defrosts since the light still comes on when you open the door. Then there's older freezers that simply quit working with the same result: an entire freezer of defrosted food!
Melissa K. Norris writes in her book Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide for Food Preservation At Home(p.77):
I prefer a chest freezer for maximum freezer space. But a stand-up freezer is preferred over the freezer/fridge combo as the temperature is colder and more consistent.
While you attempt to squeeze out the air of your containers when you get ready for freeze food, you don't really get all of it and the air in the packaging helps to cause the food to deteriorate faster. Investing in a good vacuum sealer can help since it sucks out all the air then seals the package. You can tell if the package develops a leak because the package will no longer be formed to the food inside.
Freeze-Drying
Freeze-Drying is not the same as freezing your food. Freeze-Drying is the process of sublimation where the food is frozen to below negative 40 degrees F. This turns the moisture in the food to crystals. The vacuum pump in the machine then removes these crystals. Once the moisture is removed, the machine changes from freeze to heat finishing the process by heat dehydrating the food.
You can save some time and energy if you prepare the food and freeze it on the freeze-dryer trays before starting the process as it will take less time to fully finish the freezing process as the freeze-drying process can take between 20 and 36 hours.
Freeze-Drying allows you to preserve foods that you normally would not be able to do with other processes, like raw eggs, dairy, raw meats, and fats. Freeze-Drying DOES NOT cook the food, so freeze drying raw meat, once rehydrated, will still be raw. You can freeze-dry cooked foods as well.
Once your food is finished freeze-drying, store it in sealed containers with O2 absorbers. Short term storage does not need O2 absorbers. You can use vacuum sealing to preserve it. In mylar bags with O2 absorbers, and stored properly (cool, dry, dark place), the food can last 25 years.
Freeze-drying preserves about 97% of the nutrients. It also does not change the size or shape of the food.
At this time, only Harvest Right sells Freeze-Dryers to consumers.
Dehydrating is the process of removing moisture from food using low-heat (95 to about 145F depending on the food being dehydrated). Dehydrated food, sealed and stored properly (vacuum sealed or O2 absorber; mason jars or vacuum bags or mylar bags; cool, dry, dark storage spot) can last 8 to 10 years.
Dehydrated food will shrink as it dehydrates. The end product takes up less space than all other methods of preservation.
You can simply air-dry (I do this with herbs), use your oven (if it can be set to 150F), a solar oven (you can build your own), https://www.backwoodshome.com/build-a-passive-solar-food-dehydrator/ a multi-use appliance that has a dehydrate function, or an actual dehydrator.
What foods can you dehydrate? Herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, fish, jerkey, cooked rice, cooked beans, and cooked pasta.
When dehydrating vegetables, you will want to blanch them in boiling water with citric acid (to maintain the color) then quick cool them in water with ice. Blot dry, then dehydrate.
When dehydrating fruits, it is recommended you soak them (especially light colored fruits to keep them from browning) in a pre-treatment of citric acid, lemon juice, or ascorbic acid for about 10 minutes before dehydrating.
If you are going to be dehydrating, it is recommended you keep track of how much you started with, how much you ended with, what temperature you used, and how long it took. The times most books give you are estimates. And there's no such thing as "over-dehydrated" if you are using low temps.
In general, 1 cup of fresh fruit or vegetable is equal to between 1/4 to 1/3 cup dehydrated which is equal to about 1 tbs powdered. If you weigh the food both before and after dehydrating, the difference in weight is how much liquid to add when reconstituting.
To reconstitute, just add water or broth. Dehydrated vegetables are best in soups, stews, sauces, and casseroles.
For fruits, reconstitution is not actually necessary. You can eat dehydrated fruit as is. However, you can reconstitute the fruit with water, juice, or alcohol and use in cooked desserts, smoothies, breads, pies, puddings, etc.
To use cooked, dehydrated pasta or rice, simply add to the casserole at the beginning or to soups & stews the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Personally, I have a 6 shelf Corsori Food Dehydrator, Bigger Than 7 Trays With Large 6.5" Drying Space, 600W Power Saves More Time Than 480W, 165F Dehydrated Dryer for Jerky, Dog Treats, Herbs, Meat, Fruit, and Yogurt, Silver that I have been using for 4 years with no problem. I have also gifted family members with that same Corsori as well.
Must have Equipment:
Jarswith lids and bands
Kitchen scale
Knives
Cutting Board
Twine or string for air drying
Dehydrator - I use the Cosori Food Dehydrator, Bigger Than 7 Trays With Large 6.5" Drying Space, 600W Power Saves More Time Than 480W, 165F Dehydrated Dryer for Jerky, Dog Treats, Herbs, Meat, Fruit, and Yogurt, Silver
Sharpie
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Mandoline
Parchment paper or silicone mats
Vacuum sealer with jar attachment
Food Processor
Mylar Bags
O2 absorbers
Additional Equipment Suggestions:
Vacuum Sealer
Bags or Rolls
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
Once you have dehydrated your foods, you might want to "powder" some.Powdering is when you use a heavy-duty blender to blend the dehydrated food into a powder. Powders have a shelf life of about a year. You can powder herbs to create ground herbs (like garlic, onion, etc.). If you dehydrate broth, you can powder the broth to make it easier to reconstitute.
Must have Equipment:
Blender
Jarswith lids and bands
Sharpie
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Makeup or small paint brush (to brush out the powder that sticks to the blender)
Additional Equipment Suggestions:
Vacuum Sealer with jar attachment
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dehydrating Foods, Jeanette Hurt
The Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food, Teresa Marrone
Complete Dehydrator Cookbook, Carole Cancler
The Ultimate Healthy Dehydrator Cookbook, Pamela Ellgen
Salt can be used to preserve meat, herbs, eggs, and some citrus fruits. But this is usually followed by smoking or dehydrating for meats. Salt for preservation is different from the salt you use in cooking. It contains sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, or sodium chloride. This salt is NOT safe for regular consumption.
Curing can be done either dry or wet:
Dry curing is not recommended without official training by someone qualified in dry curing. Dry curing is the process where meat hangs from hooks and is weighed consistently to insure the correct percentage of liquid has been reduced before it can be consumed.
Wet curing (aka brining) is where the food is submerged in a (spiced if desired) salted brine solution then stored in a cold environment up to 7 days. This method is safe for beginners provided you follow a tested recipe.
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Smoking
Hot smoking can be done in either a dedicated smoker or your BBQ that has been turned into a smoker. It is recommended that you brine the meat before hot smoking it. Be sure to follow the instructions that came with your smoker or follow a tested recipe.
Cold smoking is done at temperatures between 68F to 86F on meats that have been first dry-cured or brined. This method slowly dries out the meat thereby preserving it. Be sure to use a tested recipe.
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Fermenting
Fermenting is a great way to preserve foods and is high in probiotics. Fill a quart jar with your vegetables. Mix 15 grams salt with 1 liter non-chlorinated water then pour over the vegetables making sure you cover the vegetables entirely. Put a small bowl or weight on top of the vegetables to make sure they stay submerged. "Burp" the jar once a day for up to 2 weeks. Make sure you start with the freshest ingredients you can source. Watch for "colorful" mold, if you see it, toss the jar. Yeast buildup is no problem, simply scrape it off. Try to keep your fermenting jar between 60F and 75F. If you add additional spices, make sure you add less than normal because the fermentation process will bring out the flavor.
For sauerkraut mix 4 lbs of shredded cabbage, a few carrots, a few slices of jalapenos with 3 tbs salt in a large bowl or bucket or fermenting crock. Mash the cabbage mix with the salt until the salt brings the water out of the cabbage. Place it in a jar with the liquid. Push the veggies down to be below the level of the water. Place a cover in the jar to make sure the vegetables stay covered. If using a sealed jar, burp daily. The sauerkraut will be ready anytime after 2 weeks, longer will make the flavor more intense.
Must have Equipment:
Jars with lids and bands (wide mouth jars are preferred)
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
Pickling/Brining
There are 3 methods for pickling.
'Refrigerator' pickles uses salt & sugar and are meant to be eaten shortly after making.
Salt and sugar in water poured over the pickles in a jar, then water bathed (see water bath canning section below).
Lacto-fermented (sour) pickles. Add salt water brine to pickles in a jar. Set on shelf to ferment.
To make pickles pour 5 1/2 ounces pickling salt into 1 gallon of water (filtered or bottled so it doesn't have chlorine in it). Into a large crock, add 1 tsp dill seed & 1 large bunch of dill fronds, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbs black peppercorns, 1 tbs red pepper flakes. Place the cucumbers over the flavorings. Pour brine over the pickles. Use a clean storage bag filled with brine as a cover to keep the pickles submerged. Reasoning is if the bag gets a leak, you are not changing the salt/water brine ratio. Store in area where temp is between 68-70F. Store 3 days. Then remove scum from top daily for the next 6-10 days. Store in fridge for up to 2 months.
Must have Equipment:
Jars with lids and bands
Sharpie
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Fermentation weight
Storage bags
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Fermentation versus Pickling
In fermenting you use a salt-water brine. Fermenting takes longer but is rich in probiotics. In pickling you use a vinegar-based brine. Pickling, because it uses vinegar, produces no probiotics. Fermenting takes weeks. Pickling can take a few hours up to a few days.
Infusion is the method of using oil, honey, vinegar, or other liquid with fresh or died spices, herbs, or other food. Once combined, the solution is set aside to "infuse" for however long your recipe calls for, then the solution is strained to remove the solid matter. When you use alcohol as your liquid base, it is called an extract (like vanilla extract).
Must have Equipment:
Jars with lids and bands
Strainer
Coffee filter or Cheesecloth
Sharpie
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Funnels
Tea ball
Labels
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
Root Cellaring/Cold Storage
You do not need an actual root cellar to use this method of food preservation. For some vegetables, like root crops and cabbage, you can actually leave them in your well-drained garden to "cellar" over winter, digging them up as you need to use them. Be sure to cover them with enough mulch to keep them safe through your temperature drops.
Beware of temperature, humidity, and sunlight when attempting to root cellar or cold storage your vegetables. Be sure to look up the required temperatures for the vegetables you want to put in storage using these methods. Cornell University https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_500.pdf provides an easy chart to include recommended temperature, humidity, and maximum time to be held in storage for a variety of vegetables.
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Canning
Depending on the food you are canning, you will use one of 2 methods: Water-bath or pressure.
Water-Bath Canning - acid foods: fruits (but not bananas, melons, or Asian pears), jams, jellies, conserves, preserves, marmalades, pickles, radishes, pie fillings, tomatoes and tomatillos, and salsas.
* Do not use metal knives inside your jars to de-bubble.
Must have Equipment:
Jars with lids and bands
Large pot
Canning rack
Sharpie
Pot holders
Kitchen towels
Canning Funnel
Candy thermometer for jams, jellies, & syrups
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Canning salt
Bottled lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid
[a Canning Supplies Starter Kit has everything you'd need rather than buying separately]
Jar lifter
Plastic headspace measurer and air bubbler tool
Canning rack
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Foolproof Preserving & Canning - A Guide to Small Batch James, Jellies, Pickles & Condiments, America's Test Kitchen
Complete Guide to Home Canning, US Dept of Agriculture
The Homestead Canning Cookbook, Georgia Varozza
Pressure Canning - non-acid foods: Meats, soup and soup stocks/broths, and vegetables including spaghetti sauce and 'combination' foods like soups, stews, and chilis. A pint jar will hold 1 lb of meat (4 each 4 ounce servings).
One thing to note about using "tested recipes" is the fact that the vinegar % has changed over time. Most of what you buy today is about 5% vinegar. Recipes prior to about 1970 use 7% vinegar.
Must have Equipment:
Jars with lids and bands
Canner
Canning rack
Sharpie
Pot holders
Kitchen towels
Canning Funnel
Recommended Equipment Suggestions:
Canning salt
Canning Rack
[a Canning Supplies Starter Kit has everything you'd need rather than buying separately]
Jar lifter
Plastic headspace measurer and air bubbler tool
Books for your library
Everything Worth Preserving - The Complete Guide For Food Preservation At Home, Melissa K. Norris
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emory
The Amish Ways, Eddie Swartzentruber
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Complete Guide to Home Canning, US Dept of Agriculture
The video above was created before Instant Pot came out with it's multi-function Instant Pot that also does canning. You need to be sure you look for the one with the "canning" feature. The Canning one will be the Instant Pot Pro Plus Wi-Fi Smart 10-in-1, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saut Pan, Yogurt Maker, Warmer, Canning Pot, Sous Vide, Includes App with Over 800 Recipes, 6 Quart (which does pint or smaller jars).
There are now 3 brands of electronic pressure canners: Nesco, Presto, and Instant Pot. I have both the Presto12 Qt Stainless steel Electric Pressure Canner (which will do quart jars) and Instant Pot listed above (which does pint or smaller jars).
I prefer the Instant Pot because it is a "set it and forget it" process. In fact, I like it so much I have purchased the exact same model for both friends & family as gifts. Put the jars in, start the unit, and it lets you know when it's done (about 3 hours later). The Presto needs constant attention. Each step in the process requires input from the user. But, it's worth it to be able to do quart jars.
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