With the summer comes gardens flourishing with fresh produce. It can be difficult to keep up with the harvest, resulting in unpicked veggies going to waste. A wonderful way to prevent such food waste and to enjoy the fruits, or vegetables, of our labor all year long is to preserve them. There are multiple food preservation techniques that are suitable for even the novice. The most important thing to remember when preserving food is that there are certain principles to follow to ensure a safe and quality end product, so it is best to get instructions and recipes from a reliable source. (This is not the situation for trying the latest TikTok trend!). One such resource is the National Center for Home Food Preservation. The Center is home to instructions for a variety of food preservation methods, from canning to fermenting to smoking to freezing, and it also includes a frequently updated blog site addressing current food preservation topics and dispelling unsafe practices which may be promoted on social media, including “dry canning” raw vegetables. Another resource is the Ohio State Extension Food Preservation webpage, which includes links to reliable resources and fact sheets as well as recorded videos demonstrating food preservation techniques.
Let’s explore some of the most popular food preservation techniques, including canning. This preservation technique can be time-consuming and intimidating, considering the food safety concerns if not done properly. Yet canning has been done for generations and is a way to ensure the hunt and harvest provides nourishment all year round. The canning process heats the foods to a high temperature and drives air from the product, creating a vacuum seal, killing most of the bacteria and preventing microorganisms from entering and contaminating the food.
There are 2 basic canning methods:
- Water Bath Canning – appropriate for high-acid foods (pH of 4.6 or less), including pickles, most fruits, jams/jellies, and tomatoes (with appropriate addition of bottled lemon juice or citric acid).
- Pressure Canning – necessary for low-acid foods (pH higher than 4.6), such as meats, most vegetables, and combination foods, like soups. Such foods require processing at a higher temperature to destroy botulinum bacteria, which can grow within a sealed jar and produce a deadly toxin.
Another common food preservation method is freezing, which requires little equipment and less time overall than canning. Technically, any produce can be frozen, however, some freeze better than others. Vegetables with lower moisture content such as carrots, corn, beans, and broccoli can be frozen and thawed yielding a nice crispy vegetable. Foods with higher moisture content such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash don’t maintain texture as well, but may be suited for use in sauces or baked goods.
Ideally most vegetables should be blanched before freezing. This technique involves immersing the vegetable into boiling water or steam, followed by quickly cooling, a process which kills bacteria and deactivates enzymes that would promote further ripening/decomposition. Fruits, on the other hand, are usually treated with a form of ascorbic acid or packed in sugar/syrup to prevent browning, the effects caused by enzymes in fresh fruit.
With any form of food preservation, use appropriate storage containers, label, and date your finished product, and enjoy them all year long. Remember. Your summer harvest will add flavor and nutrition to warm fall soups or holiday dinners.
Written by: Jennifer Little, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences and Elizabeth Burkhalter, Dietetic Intern, OSU Extension, Hancock County.
Reviewed by: Shari Gallup, Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension, Licking County
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