Sugars in fresh peas begin converting to starch as soon as they are picked. So be sure to preserve them as soon as they are harvested or purchased. Preserve shelled green peas by freezing, salting (brining), drying, or canning. Preserve pea pods (snow peas and sugar snap peas) by freezing or salting. Try some dried, too, and see if you… …click to read more…
If you love asparagus, then you may want to preserve asparagus during the growing season to enjoy throughout the year. You can preserve asparagus by canning, pickling, freezing, drying, or salting It’s usually best to preserve only enough product to last until the following year, when the vegetable is in season again, or no longer than twelve months. So think… …click to read more…
In spring and early summer, I like to trim all but 2 to 3 stems from small whole radishes and pickle them for a refreshing and crunchy bite to accompany everything from sandwiches to grilled foods. These easy-to-make radish pickles are fermented with whey rather than salt, or pickled in vinegar. Lightly fermented vegetables have a refreshing effervescent quality, while fully fermented… …click to read more…
There are a surprising number of ways to preserve rhubarb, including canning, pickling, making jam or jelly, drying, freezing, or fermenting into wine. When preserving fruits and vegetables, use these guidelines: Mature, slightly underripe produce is optimal for canning, pickling, and jamming. Ripe produce is best for using fresh, drying and freezing. Overripe produce is suitable for fermenting. (And may… …click to read more…
Citrus fruit is in season during winter, from November to April in California and Florida. Specific types of citrus fruit ripen at different times. For example, grapefruit tend to ripen all season long, navel oranges ripen before Valencia oranges, and Meyer lemons ripen mid-season. Although most commonly eaten fresh, there are several food preservation methods suitable for citrus fruit. You… …click to read more…
Some experts on preserving foods stress safety and recommend that all dried meats such as beef jerky be precooked to a safe internal temperature before drying. This safety step results in a product with a different color and texture than traditionally dried meat, and is unacceptable to some people. Precooking meats to a minimum temperature of 160°F before drying ensures that… …click to read more…
You have a choice of several different methods to dry food. Conventional ovens and electric dehydrators are used indoors in controlled conditions. Shade drying places food out of direct sunlight, in a location with very warm air or very good circulation, or both. Suitable locations may be outdoors—such as an open shed or covered or screened porch—or indoors in a… …click to read more…
Refrigerator or fresh pickles are one of the easiest food preservation methods that anyone can do. You can make these pickles simply by washing, trimming, and soaking fresh vegetables in acid. The most common acids used to pickle foods are acetic (vinegar), citric (lemon juice), and lactic (whey). Because these pickles have unknown acidity and are not heat processed (such… …click to read more…
Brining, also known as corning or sweet pickling is a good meat curing method for beginners because it is easy and relatively inexpensive to do with delicious results. To make corned beef, you immerse meat in brine, which is simply a solution of salt and water. Besides salt and water, there are a few other ingredients commonly used in a… …click to read more…
If you want to try pressure canning low-acid meats and vegetables, here is a short tutorial on the essential concepts and a plan for getting started. Boiling Water Bath vs. Pressure Canning As you may know, there are two canning methods: boiling water–bath (BWB) canning and steam-pressure canning. Which method you use depends on whether the foods you want to… …click to read more…
