Food Preservation Tips

A few tips and preservation techniques I thought I'd pass along. Seems like the appropriate time of year, when people are hauling in the last of their crops!

* Beans to be dried for later use in soups or bean dishes can usually be left to dry on the plant. When they rattle in the pods, they're dry. If you live in an area, like I do, where frost or rain would threaten the beans before they're dry, you can pick them early. If you have the space, pull the entire plant and hang somewhere warm and dry until the pods turn brown and the beans rattle. If you don't have space, pull the individual pods, then string together 2 or 3 feet-worth on a heavy beading thread, and hang somewhere warm and dry (such as near a woodstove.) When the beans rattle in the pods, you can either continue to store them in the pods, or pop them out of their pods and store them in a glass jar.

* Many vegetables can be sliced and dehydrated. You can follow the instructions on your home dehydrator, or you can use your oven turned to the very lowest setting, around 175 degrees. Celery should be blanched first. Zucchini, apples, pears, eggplant, carrots, and tomatoes can be merely sliced and dried. All of the above can be stored in glass jars. (Note: Potatoes need to be blanched and steamed to absolute transparency before dehydrating. Skipping this step or under-steaming will result in your dried potatoes turning black.)

* Most herbs can be dried by gathering a bunch early in the morning (when the aromatic compounds in the plants are at their peak) and then hanging them upside down somewhere cool and dry.

* Winter Squashes can be stored for months. Pick the squash, leaving at least 2-3" of stem. Allow to toughen on your counter for 2 weeks, then rub the skin lightly with olive oil. Store on your counter if you like, or in cold storage. Do NOT store in a basket or bowl, as the restricted airflow and retained moisture may cause them to rot prematurely. Thinner-skinned summer squashes can also be stored longer by the same method, though they should be refrigerated and may only last a couple of extra weeks.

* Other things can be fermented and made into "sauerkraut"-like concoctions in the same way sauerkraut is made. Shredded carrots and red onions make an amazing combination.

So, if you want to extend the life of your harvest and don't want to dry, can, or ferment your pickings, you can also keep them in a kind of "suspended animation" using vinegar, salt, or a combination. This would be the kind of storage folks used before refrigeration, when copious quantities of salt or storage in cold root cellars were the preferred method for storing foods.

* Basic Brining Formula - 1 Tbl salt per 1 quart of filtered or spring water. Pour over green beans, sliced carrots, peppers, eggplant, or other vegetables to extend their storage life. Keep in the fridge for up to a month. The salt retards the growth of mold and other spoiling organisms, as does the cool temperature.

* Basic Vinegar Formula - Wash your vegetables and dry thoroughly. Pack a jar with your vegetables, poke holes in larger ones like Japanese eggplants and peppers. Fill jar 1/2 full with vinegar, 1/2 full with good filtered water, and top with a few drops of olive oil to create a seal at the top. Store in cold storage for several months.

NOTE: I don't vouch for the safety of storing foods without proper canning or refrigeration, unless fermented safely as in sauerkraut. Botulism, while uncommon, is a dangerous potential side-effect of improper storage under anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions such as produced when submerging vegetables in liquid and sealing the surface with oil. The acidity of the vinegar should provide protection from most toxic growths, but as it's not a measured, tested recipe, variables may change results. Proceed at your own risk, and do your own research online or in books!