If one of your goals in life is to enjoy peaches all year long, in your muesli or on your peanut butter and peach jam sandwich, then keep reading.

Close your eyes for a moment and try to remember the last amazing peach you ate.

Was it mouthwatering and juicy, perfectly ripe? Does it bring back visions of summer fun? Were you eating it fresh or in a scrumptious baked form, say in the shape of a healthy peach cobbler?

Take those positive feelings, and get ready to preserve them for a fantastic bite of summer all winter long.

The good news is that there is more than one practical way to preserve peaches.

The method you choose will be dependent on your canning skills and storage space, as well as your desire to try something new.

If you want to eat and enjoy life on the healthier side, consider preserving your own peaches – so you know exactly what ingredients go in them.

I am talking about sun-ripened, picked at the height of harvest peaches that are aromatic and fresh, with or without skins on. If you can find organic peaches, great! If you grow them yourself, even better.

Just find a good source of peaches (or learn how to plant and grow your own peach tree), then quickly get started on preserving your own!

How to Pick a Perfect Peach

Even before thinking about canning or freezing peaches, you should know where you are getting your peaches from.

Also, try to gauge how many – or how much – you have time to preserve.

Freezing peaches is among the simplest and least time-consuming methods of preservation, but have you tried peaches in light syrup? Nothing can compare to opening a honey-sweetened jar of those beauties for a quick and refreshing dessert.

In the quest for a perfectly ripe peach, sniff the air and follow your nose. The aroma will let you know just how ripe they are, as is the case with selecting cantaloupes. The peaches should also be firm but not hard.

Avoid using peaches that are too soft or have large overripe spots.

Beyond looking at ripeness (or smelling for it), you will also have to decide when you will be preserving or eating those delicious peaches.

For example, if you don’t have time in the next few days to dedicate to cooking/canning/freezing, though you are at the market and don’t want to lose out on a good deal, all you have to do, is buy firmer, less ripe peaches.

Depending on the peach variety, you will also want to look at the intensity of color. The skins vary from dark yellow to red, which will give you a good indication of ripeness.

A few more peach-picking tips:

White-fleshed peaches are not acidic enough to can without an additional acid, so save those for fresh eating, jam or freezing.

If the peaches are getting wrinkly (past their prime), save yourself the trouble of preserving bad fruit and bake a peach cake instead.

Putting ripe peaches in the fridge will slow down the ripening process, though you only want to keep them there for 2-3 days. While the flavor will still be lovely, the texture may become less than ideal.

How to store unripe peaches

The perfectly ripe peach, besides being fragrantly peachy, will also be firm to the touch, but not too hard.

What if your peaches don’t smell, smell very little or are hard as rocks?

All you have to do is have a little patience and wait for them to ripen. Peaches are almost always picked before they are ripe, for they couldn’t be shipped economically (without the danger of going bad) any other way. This rings true for other fruits that continue to ripen after they are picked, such as apricots, pears, bananas, kiwis, nectarines and plums. This is called post-ripening.

If you are willing to wait for that decadent peach, you only have to store them at room temperature for two days, up to a week, possibly more, until they reach that ripeness you seek.

To ripen peaches faster, use a paper bag.

Grab a clean paper bag, carefully fill it with peaches, scrunch the top of the bag closed and let nature do its work. The ethylene gas will be working its magic in no time, and you will have ripe peaches much sooner than you think. If you add an already-ripe banana or apple, your peaches will ripen even faster.

This brown paper bag method works great for smaller amounts of peaches, but when you are getting a bushel of peaches – about 48 pounds! – it’s best to let them ripen at their own speed.

Once your peaches (however many of them) are fully ripe, it’s time to get to business and set about preserving them for later with any or all of these 4 techniques: dehydrating, canning, freezing or freeze-drying.

Dehydrating Peaches

For those of you with a dehydrator, things are about to get super peachy. There are two basic ways of dehydrating peaches: in slices or as homemade fruit leather.

One is for grownups who like chunks of peaches in their morning oatmeal; the other is for children who like to munch on a fruit roll. Or is it the other way around? Both sound good to me.

To dehydrate peaches, first, you will want to peel them. Here is the easiest way to peel peaches.

Once you’ve mastered that slippery step, you’re ready to go. Take your time to learn it because it applies to canning peaches as well. If you are freezing peaches, you can skip the peeling if you want to.

Next, you will want to thinly slice your peaches. Dip them in a solution of lemon water to prevent browning, then strain off the excess liquid.

Arrange the peach slices on your dehydrator trays, setting the temperature to 135 °F (57 °C). Dry for 8-16 hours, depending on the thickness of the slices. The trick to preserving them for a longer period of time is in knowing when they are done.

Dehydrated peaches should feel leathery and pliable yet dry to the touch.

Homemade peach leather is another option that is even easier to make, plus it can even be accomplished with the use of your oven.

If you don’t have the time or patience to wait around 6+ hours for your peaches to finish drying, let’s move on to some canning options instead. Most recipes take less than an hour to make, that is, if you are planning to make a small batch.

Canning Peaches

Let’s focus on the positives of a well-stocked pantry.

Canning is a wonderful way to:

• save electricity – by using none at all for storage (with zero risk if the power goes out)
• have ready-to-eat meals, snacks or side dishes
• preserve food for up to a year or longer
• stock up on essentials such as tomato sauce, pickles and jams, and even meats
• eat healthy food with ingredients that you can pronounce

Wash those jars, prepare your pots and your cooking station, then start processing those peaches for all they are worth – and that is a lot!

If canning brings you joy, why not try preserving peaches in a new way this summer? Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Peach Jam

There are several thoughts on making fruit jams.

Some like it sweet, while others like it more characteristically fruity and acidic.

If you are in the mood for a classic version of country peach preserves, and you also happen to have 11 pounds of peaches on hand, this recipe for peach preserves has many accolades.

However, if you are seeking something more out of the ordinary, let me suggest making a batch, or two, of honey-sweetened peach vanilla jam.

Use either of these on your pancakes or crepes for a delicious morning treat, sparingly, of course, lest the jam runs out too soon!

Peach Chutney

Chutney is a beautiful thing to fill in canning jars, that falls somewhere between the flavors of a jam and a pickle. Our pantry is never without several jars of peach chutney, apple chutney, plum chutney or even ginger pumpkin chutney – because one can only eat so much jam! Or so many pickles.

Peach chutney is a winning combination of ingredients that will help to spice up meals in the winter months, with a little hint of summer. Here’s the recipe.

Peaches in Syrup

One jar of homemade goodness that everyone loves is peaches in syrup. Heavy, medium or light skins on or without, it is a must to preserve every summer.

You can even make the syrup with sugar, honey or maple syrup for an extra special treat.

The big question is, how many jars of peaches in syrup do you have space for? Keeping in mind that fewer peaches fit into each jar, compared to jam or chutney.

In my opinion, if you have plenty of peaches to choose from, it is best to learn how to can all three: jam, chutney and peaches in syrup.

If nature leaves you with fewer peaches this season, choose your favorite way to preserve them now and wait for a bigger harvest next year.

Freezing Peaches

One of the simplest and most uncomplicated ways to freeze peaches is with the skins on. In this way, they can last for up to a year in the freezer and are ready for immediate use in smoothies, muffins and peach pies.

Freezing peaches goes quickly, like this:

1. wash the peaches
2. cut into even slices (peeled or unpeeled)
3. soak the peach slices in a mixture of lemon juice and water (this prevents browning of the the fruit)
4. drain the juice off the peaches
5. arrange peach slices on a lined baking sheet
6. freeze for several hours, then store them in a labeled bag (or jar) in the freezer

If you are willing to go the extra mile, feel free to peel your peaches before freezing. It is an additional step that makes them ready for just about any recipe they may encounter.

An alternative way to freeze peaches is to puree them – which can be a real space saver in the freezer.

However, if space is of no concern, you can even freeze peaches whole! Now that is definitely something to think about.

Freeze-drying Peaches

Not everyone has this option to consider, yet if you are looking for long-term food storage methods (up to 25 years!), freeze-drying may be just what you need.

Consider the following before setting out.

First and foremost, freeze-drying requires a lot of energy, in fact, it is one of the most energy intensive ways to preserve food. Here is an overview of the freeze-drying process for fruits.

At the same time, freeze-drying is also one of the best ways to preserve nutrients.

I’ve eaten my share of freeze-dried meals when camping and while waiting out a storm in our basement, though I’ve never had the chance to freeze-dry our own food. If the chance ever comes up, we’ll give it a try. Till then, the other methods of preserving peaches win out.

What will it be for you?

Eating your peaches fresh in season

An article on preserving peaches would be incomplete if it didn’t mention at least a handful of ways to eat peaches in season.

After all, it is hard to resist the urge to bite into a juicy, deliciously ripe peach when there is a bowlful in the room and the warm summer breezes are blowing the fragrant aroma your way.

Think about using peaches for more than just pies and cobblers, and you will find that the peach season is very short indeed.

Find inspiration in the following recipes and see how you can preserve some peachy keen goodness for later:

Peach and Bacon Salad @ Paleo Leap

Naturally Sweetened Fresh Peach BBQ Sauce @ Whole Food Bellies

Frozen Peach Lemonade @ As Easy As Apple Pie

One Skillet Peach Glazed Chicken @ The Seasoned Mom

Fresh Peach Salsa @ Feasting At Home

Peach Ice Cream @ Allrecipes

Honey-Pickled Peaches @ Vegetarian Ventures

The post 4 Tasty Ways To Preserve Peaches + Ripen Picked Peaches Fast appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Berry season is here! And if blueberries are your jam (See what I did there?), you probably enjoy tossing them on your morning yogurt, into a smoothie or directly in your mouth.

Whether you’re picking from your own blueberry bushes, hitting up the local u-pick farm, or enjoying this seasonal fruit from your local market, there are a few things you should know about storing them fresh. It only takes a few minutes to ensure your blueberries stay plump, juicy and sweet for days.

It’s always disappointing when you’ve got blueberries on your mind, and you go to grab some only to find moldy purple blobs or wrinkly blueberry stones.

It’s a whole other level of disappointment when you’ve grown them yourself or spent the time to go somewhere and pick them. Storing fresh blueberries correctly is essential if you want to avoid this kind of crushing disappointment first thing in the morning when making your breakfast smoothie.

Luckily, it only takes a few minutes of prep work to make fresh blueberries last. Follow these steps as soon as you get your blueberries home, and you’ll enjoy them for weeks rather than days.

Inspect and Remove Damaged Blueberries

Before you do anything else, pick over your blueberries and remove any that are damaged, moldy, or overripe. You don’t want to eat those anyway. These little buggers will cause the other berries around them to spoil faster.

Don’t Wash the Berries Until You’re Ready to Use Them

One of the worst things you can do with fresh berries is wash them and put them in the fridge. It’s always best to wash blueberries just before you eat or cook with them. Excess moisture can lead to mold growth and a shorter shelf life. And depending on where you store them in your fridge, the leftover water can freeze, causing mushy berries.

Refrigerate Immediately

Place the unwashed blueberries in a clean, dry container. Choose a large, shallow dish as opposed to something deep. Berries are delicate and bruise easily. Once you begin heaping them on top of themselves, you will inevitably crush the berries at the bottom. Seal the container with a lid or airtight wrap and tuck them in the fridge as soon as possible.

U-pick Tip

If you plan on picking blueberries at a farm, pack a cooler with ice packs to put your berries in for the ride home. Cooling the sun-warmed blueberries off and keeping them cool until you get home will ensure they last longer.

Ideal Temperature and Humidity

Blueberries need appropriate temperature and humidity if they’re going to last more than a few days. As I’ve just noted, the refrigerator is the best place to store them. However, where you put them in the fridge is just as important. If you have a spot in your fridge that gets especially cold, don’t store your blueberries there. Your crisper drawer is the best location for blueberries.

Let Your Blueberries Breathe

Blueberries should be stored in a container that allows ventilation. You don’t want moisture or condensation to build up, which can cause moldy berries. Storebought blueberries already come in packaging with vents. If you use plastic wrap to cover your container, poke several small holes in it. Even better, use foil, as it’s easy to recycle or reuse and much easier to poke holes in.

Keep Them Out of the Sun

We often forget about light as a factor in spoilage. While those blueberries might look great in your fancy ceramic berry bowl under the golden sunlight splashed across your counter, they’ll spoil much faster. Again, the best place for blueberries is in your nice dark, cold fridge.

Eat Them

I know, this whole article is supposed to be about extending how long you have to eat them. But like all produce, blueberries taste best when eaten right away. You’ve got about a week before the flavor and texture begin to decline. I’m not saying they’ll go off a cliff once you hit that 7-day mark, just that you’ve got a short window before “Oh my gosh, amazing blueberries!” becomes, “These are pretty good blueberries.”

If you need some ideas on what to make we’ve got quite a few.

Freeze Them

If you’ve got plans to make jam or preserve the berries in another manner but can’t get to them right away, you can always freeze them. While freezing the blueberries will inevitably lead to soft, squishy blueberries once they thaw, it’s better than losing them to spoilage.

If you’re curious about why frozen blueberries always end up soft, you can read about it here, where I show you how to freeze blueberries so they don’t stick together.  

Don’t Store More Than You Need

I am terrible at this one. I always overestimate how many blueberries I will eat fresh. To help minimize food waste, only store as many fresh berries as you think you’ll eat in a week. You can easily freeze the rest and not feel guilty about pitching wrinkly blueberries in your compost later.  

Remember, fresh blueberries are one of those “highly perishable” perishables, so they need a little TLC when handling and storing them. But the reward for your extra care is berries that are just as tasty as the day you picked them a week or even two later.

Finally, the best way to store fresh blueberries for eating is right on the bush. If you’ve got the space, consider growing these delicious berries yourself. We’ve got all the secrets to a great blueberry harvest, from proper pruning to when to fertilize them.

The post How to Store Blueberries So They Stay Plump and Juicy For Longer appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Mouthwateringly ripe cherries of the red or black kind hang but once a year on the most beloved trees. Picking a bowlful (one for the bowl, one for the mouth) or eating them without restraint straight from the tree is one easy option for taking care of a few, no matter what your age.

When cherries are in abundance, however, you won’t want to leave more dangling from those highest and furthest out of reach branches than necessary.

To deal with a delicious bounty of cherries, canning cherries in honey comes first on the list of common preservation techniques. This is quickly followed by freezing and dehydrating them.

But what about boozy cherries?

They deserve some space on your pantry shelf too. Just keep them out of reach of children, especially the ones in syrup.

In a few moments, you’ll find out how easy these homemade brandied cherries are to make. You can even make this recipe by looking at the pictures alone. No special tools or canning methods are required.

All you need is a fruiting cherry tree or access to one, some good quality brandy and a jar.

In our home, syrup is optional. Wherever brandy is involved, as in healing herbal tinctures, it’s omitted. We’ve gone simplistic on the boozy cherries, too – cherries and brandy are all it takes, sometimes vanilla bean or cloves if we’re feeling frisky.

If we are making brandied cherries as Christmas gifts, syrup will be added to sweeten up the present.

Take this as a reminder that, although the gift-giving season is far away, homemade gifts are best made “in season”, meaning when the fruit is ripe.

It takes some thinking ahead on your part, but as is the case with brandied cherries, you can never go wrong. A small jar makes an excellent gift for just about anyone with a penchant for imbibing the occasional drink.

Harvesting Cherries for Brandied Cherries

Our maturing cherry tree sits just inside our fence, and this is the first year we’ve gotten a stellar harvest. We’ve harvested about 20 kilograms (about 45 pounds) of cherries in the past couple of weeks.

Locals are helping out too. As they head out to their fields on foot, they are often pulling down branches that hang over the fence with their hay rakes to grab a few refreshing bites.

To harvest cherries for brandying, you’re going to want to pick only the best.

Or harvest a lot and pick through them later.

Also, make sure to leave the stems on as you pick your way through the tree, and touch them minimally.

Naturally, you can buy cherries at the market or a store if you don’t have access to a tree. Keep in mind that you’ll want to purchase more than what fits in the jars you have set aside to ensure top-notch quality control. Only use what is firm and ripe, without any blemishes or worm holes.

Imagine serving a perfect Old Fashioned, or a Manhattan, only to have your guest bite into something less than expected. After a few drinks, they probably wouldn’t notice, but to be sure, start with wholesome fruit.

How To Make Brandied Cherries

I won’t bog you down with too many steps. Here’s the quick and easy process for brandied cherries without syrup:

1. Pick and wash cherries.
2. Sort through for best color (ripeness) and wholesomeness.
3. Allow them to air dry.
4. Cut – or not cut – the stems. It’s more of a cosmetic thing.

5. Fill the jars with cherries.
6. Add any additional ingredients: vanilla pod, cloves, or a few crushed cherry seeds for a more intense flavor.

7. Pour your favorite brandy over them.
8. Wait for 3 months. (That’s the hard part.)

A note about cherry pits and cyanide:

I understand some of you will be concerned about cherry pits containing cyanide. The fear of cyanide in cherry pits is another case where folks have heard a snippet of the facts but not the whole story.

Cherry pits or stones contain amygdalin, which the body converts into cyanide. However, the pit must be crushed or chewed to release the amygdalin. So accidentally swallowing the occasional cherry pit doesn’t pose a risk as it will pass through your digestive system whole.

Even if you were able to manage cracking open and eating a cherry pit, the amount of cyanide contained in each pit is so small it would be negligible. (poison.org)

Many traditional liqueurs contain them in either raw or roasted form. Here’s how you can make your own stone fruit pit liqueur from cherries, peaches or plums.

Here’s some more on cherry pits for further thought:

• Italian Cherry Liquor Recipe
• Homemade Kirsch Recipe With Only 2 Ingredients!

Brandied Cherries With Syrup – Additional Steps

If you prefer your brandied cherries on the sweeter side with a little less booze, you can concoct a simple syrup in a few minutes.

For every pound of cherries you are brandying, you’ll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (or honey – this will lend a different flavor to the finished cherries)
• 1 cup brandy

Dissolve the sugar in water over medium heat on the stove. Once the sugar is dissolved, go ahead and gently stir in the cherries, heating them up for no more than a few minutes.

Put the cherries in jars (they can be de-stemmed and pitted if you choose) and allow the syrup to come to room temperature. Then mix the portioned brandy into the syrup.

Cover the cherries and allow them to sit, some say for 6 weeks, before serving.

How long do brandied cherries keep on the shelf?

Most food experts agree that brandied cherries will last up to a year if they are water-bath canned for 10 minutes. They’ll last even longer if they are stored in the fridge.

Considering how they taste, I don’t think you’ll have any leftovers by the next cherry-picking season. So, you don’t need to worry about shelf life either way. Simply eat and enjoy them in moderation.

While you are picking, eating and canning cherries, don’t forget to set aside the stems and dry them for winter teas.

How to Use Up a Jar of Brandied Cherries

As mentioned above, sophisticated cocktails are one way you can use brandied cherries.

Some other tasty options are:

• chocolate brownies
• cakes
• boozy milkshakes (I’m not sure when you’d drink that, but it is a thing)
• cheese board
• butter board
• pancakes, waffles or crepes
• dip them in chocolate
• and use them as an ice cream topping with whipped cream, of course

Make a jar, or three, and come up with your own ways to use them. My favorite is a single cherry, straight from the jar.

Brandied Cherries

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 3 months

Total Time: 3 months 15 minutes

Delightfully boozy, these brandied cherries are the best thing to do with a glut of cherries.

Print

Ingredients

• - ripe cherries
• - brandy
• - simple syrup (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash cherries and sort through for best color and firmness. Allow to air dry.
2. Fill the jars with cherries.
3. Add any additional ingredients: vanilla pod, cloves, or a few crushed cherry seeds for a more intense flavor.
4. Pour over high quality brandy.
5. For a sweeter product, add a cup of simple syrup for every cup of brandy. To make the syrup, dissolve one cup sugar in one cup water. Allow to cool, mix with the brandy and pour over the cherries.

The post Brandied Cherries Recipe – With (or Without) Syrup appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Are you planning to can this summer for the first time, or are you an experienced canner in need of inspiration to find modern ways of doing old-fashioned things?

Either way, you are in the right place at the right time, because canning is making a comeback, and it’s not just for homesteaders.

Canning is for everyone interested in preserving their bounty.

There are several reasons why canning is gaining in popularity once again. And you may fall into one, or all of them at the same time.

Top Reasons for Canning and Preserving Food at Home

1. Saving money.

While some canned goods may seem cheap at the store, the quality is often lacking. Take into consideration that you can also take the liberty to preserve heirloom veggies, and you’ll always come out on top.

2. Ingredients and preservatives.

Or lack of them. When you preserve your own food, you are in control of how much salt, sugar and chemicals go into each jar. Seriously, if you care about what you eat, then canning at home is increasingly becoming the healthiest way to go.

3. Using glass jars over aluminum cans.

From an environmental perspective, reusing jars is always benefiting the Earth. Sure, there is a one-time fee for purchasing them, but they can withstand several rounds (seasons) of being put to work. On occasion, you will need to replace the lids. You’ll also prevent loads of plastic food packaging from piling up when you buy in bulk – in boxes, baskets or reusable bags.

4. Easy is as easy does.

Our great-grandparents knew not to stress over the little stuff. They also learned from a young age that preserving food for winter was essential. Truth be told, it’s much easier than you think, and you don’t need a lot to get started. A large cooking pot, lids, jars and bands are all that you need, Ball can help you with the rest.

5. Canning is an act of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

The future is always uncertain; recent events have certainly brought this to light. One way forward to producing a reassuring sense of food security is to gather the skills to grow your own food – and to preserve it too. Here are 44 more skills to learn as you gain more insight into a self-reliant lifestyle.

Harvest Fresh and Can the Same Day

As opposed to most ideas of gardening, where succession planting is key to eating fresh vegetables all throughout the summer, canning gardens are more apt to provide you with a bulk of ingredients all at once.

Both are wonderful in their own ways.

One thing is for sure, to have the most success in canning, you are going to have to preserve fruits and veggies that are harvested fresh.

Avoid using overripe produce, or any with blemishes. Always save those for eating fresh, in an effort not to contaminate the pot and ruin your jarred harvest.

Mark the potential harvest time(s) on a calendar, so you can plan time for canning. It often takes longer than you expect, for example, to peel, core and chop 200 apples. With experience, you will become a better judge of food preparation time.

Related reading: Canning 101 – A Beginners Guide To Get Started Canning & Preserving Food

Finding and Making Space

Before canning season starts, it’s always good to clear your preparation and storage spaces.

Cabinets, drawers, shelf space, etc. Declutter and remove anything that is no longer of use and pass it on to someone who may find value in such. If anything is broken, dispose of it responsibly.

You’ll also want to make sure that you have plenty of counter and table space for processing all those fresh veggies. For filling the jars, and giving them space to cool.

How much space you need depends on how much you are canning at once.

Even if your kitchen feels small, don’t let that limitation prevent you from having a great canning experience. Most times, when we are processing fruit for jams, we’re working outside on the porch, with a selection of large and small bowls.

Cleaning the fridge and freezer may also be on your list of tasks to get your kitchen “canning-ready”.

Early in the growing season, if you are using a pressure canner to preserve food, be sure to check that the gaskets are in good working order. Have your pressure gauge tested at your nearest agriculture extension office. This way, if you need to replace anything, you aren’t doing so when you’ve got a bushel of tomatoes ready to go in your kitchen.

The same goes for your vacuum sealer, dehydrator, and all manner of tools below.

Tools and Equipment for Canning

Now, that you have envisioned space for all your canning equipment, it’s time to see if that space is enough in reality.

As previously mentioned, it doesn’t take much to get started with canning; certainly not everything on this list.

With each season, you may feel the need to invest more in your food preservation endeavors, especially if you wish to diversify what you make. More money, more time, more fruits and veggies, more jars and more tools to achieve the results you desire. (It is a slightly addictive skill.)

Start small and grow a little each season, finding out how much (of everything) you need.

Water bath canner, pressure canner or extra-large pot

If you aren’t ready to invest in a water bath canner, an extra-large pot can serve you for several seasons. In the bottom, you will need to put several metal lids or a wire rack, along with a kitchen towel to cover them, to prevent the jars from touching the hot bottom. You can also find silicone trivets that work.

Given the choice, if you’re going to be canning a hundred jars this season, a water bath canner is definitely a must.

Water bath canning is perfect for preserving high-acid foods and those that have acid added to them. This includes:

• jams and jellies
• pie fillings
• tomatoes
• salsas
• chutneys
• pickles
• relishes
• vinegars
• condiments

On the other hand, a stainless steel pressure canner is the only way to go for preserving low-acid foods, such as:

• vegetables (corn, beans, winter squash and more)
• meats
• chili
• seafood

Our editor, Tracey, swears by her All American pressure canner. No silly gaskets to mess with ever again and your grandkids will be able to can with this thing.

Whatever method you decide to go with, choose it based on the types of food you will be processing the most.

Jars and lids

An important aspect of canning is the jars which are to be filled with homemade goodness.

They come in all sizes; some are heavily branded, others more decorative. In essence, the style and size of jars you choose comes down to personal preference.

If you are canning for a multi-person family, obviously, you are going to be packing as much jam as humanly possible into larger jars. If you happily live alone, it makes much more sense to can in smaller jars. In this way, the contents can be finished without them going off.

Of course, even with a large family, you may choose to use smaller jars as they can be used up quickly before going bad.

Size is just one aspect of searching for the perfect canning jars, and it can take a few seasons to really dial in what your needs and preferences are.

The kind of lids that go on them is quite another.

Just be sure to buy the right size and have plenty on hand.

The time to buy jars is before you need them. Jar shortages become more common each year when canning season is in full swing.

More lids than jars is a goal to shoot for, as they will have to be replaced on occasion.

8 oz. canning jars are great for condiments, jams and jellies.

16 oz. canning jars are perfect for pickles, family-sized fruit compotes and pie fillings.

We have an entire guide on great places to find jars. (And the one place you should never purchase jars.)

Cooking pots

Chances are good, that you already have all the cooking pots you need for canning. Just be sure to clean them with extra attention before adding your ingredients.

Stainless steel pots and enamel pots are both great choices for cooking jams and chutneys.

Mixing bowls

Again, you already have these in your kitchen cabinets, but do you have enough in the right sizes?

The more people that are helping to can, the more bowls you will need. For example, if you are having a canning party, ask others to bring bowls from their homes, perhaps in exchange for a jarful of the end product. It makes for a learning, zero-waste experience, where everyone benefits.

Stainless steel bowls are the best, due to them being lightweight and easy to wash. Glass or ceramic bowls are good, though heavier. Plastic should be something that you are gradually phasing out of your kitchen, in favor of sustainable alternatives.

Stirring spoons and slotted spoons

If you are going to be using wooden spoons like Grandma used to, be sure to have a dedicated one for canning fruits. After all, you don’t want your plum jam with a hint of spaghetti sauce.

It’s not too much to ask to have dedicated canning spoons. Go ahead and splurge here.

Be sure to have enough and of the right kinds. At least one slotted spoon, a few stirring spoons, and a couple more for variety’s sake and good measure.

We like to use a stainless steel spoon when making pickles, or anything with a high vinegar content.

Measuring cups

Outside the realm of baking, a set of measuring cups belongs in every kitchen, because they are useful in measuring ingredients for canning too.

Prepare your measuring spoons at the same time for the work ahead (measuring spices in your apple chutney, for instance).

Funnels

One often overlooked item needed for canning is a wide-mouth jar funnel or set of funnels for canning fruit juices and other liquids.

It makes filling the jars so much easier than just using a ladle and a guiding spoon. Though, if a ladle is all you have, don’t let that stop you! Where there is a will, there is a way. You can get what you need into those jars, and develop your fine motor skills along the way.

Chopsticks

One thing you need to watch out for when canning is air bubbles.

Air can get trapped between the food as it’s placed inside the jar, preventing the lid from sealing or leading to a discoloration of the preserves inside. A way to get some of the bubbles out is to tap, or burp, the jar from the bottom. Using chopsticks is another.

It isn’t essential to get them all out but try to leave as few as possible for the best results.

Jar lifter

With a water bath canner or pressure canner, you will inevitably need a jar lifter.

This helps to prevent any steam, or boiling water-related accidents that can happen when you are in a hurry. Better safe than sorry!

Kitchen towels

Never underestimate the mess that a simmering pot of jam can make. Apples get the most upset, especially when your sauce begins to really thicken. Just as you are ready to start stirring again, boom. Splatters all around.

Not only do you need to restore your kitchen back to its original condition at the end of a long canning day, but cotton kitchen towels are also useful for placing the jars on as they cool.

Or, as we do in the village, wrap up the jars in warming towels and blankets in a box or basket, as they gradually come to room temperature after an entire day or two.

Either way, to move the ready-filled hot jars around, a soft cloth towel serves perfectly well.

Knives

One more group of items to not take for granted is a set of knives perfect for the laborious job of preparing fruits and vegetables for canning.

Paring knives work wonders when dealing with softer fruits. When working with quinces, you may need a bit more power and a longer blade.

Most of all, be sure they are sharp. There is no excuse for a dull knife.

Even more canning tools…

What will I be canning this summer?

That is the question to ask yourself before investing in more specialized canning equipment.

Also, ask yourself, would I be likely to use these canning tools again?

If the answer is no, consider borrowing before buying. If you have home-canning friends who could lend you an item, be grateful. Sometimes you may find a useful tool second-hand.

Say, the plan is to can a lot of tomatoes. But instead of chunky spaghetti sauces, you also want some seedless ketchup and seedless tomato sauce.

What you really need to help you achieve those seedless tomato options, is a stainless steel food mill or a manual food strainer and sauce maker.

Dehydrating supplies

If you start to run out of pantry space for all those jars of jams, chutneys, salsa and pickles, or simply want to have a diverse amount of saved food that can be opened and eaten as needed, dehydrating is another uncomplicated way of preserving to explore.

Depending on the amount of fruits, vegetables and meats you wish to preserve, you can use either your oven or a dehydrator. If you live in a sunny and hot climate, solar drying may be the way to go.

If you have kids at home and they are interested in making homemade fruit leathers, a dehydrator is definitely worth the investment.

With stainless steel in mind, you might want to check out this COSORI food dehydrator with easy to clean stainless steel trays. This is another tool our editor swears by after her first food dehydrator melted on her.

When Freezing is an Option

While we don’t have a freezer at home, we know that most people do. In many cases, it is a good, quick way to preserve vegetables that are trickier to process, such as sweet corn, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and winter greens.

If you have space in your freezer at the beginning of the canning season, be sure to make a quick list of other things you will need:

• storage containers (freezer bags or glass jars)
• baking sheet (for freezing berries and other veggies in a single layer)
• colander and strainer (for blanching and draining)
• a way to label your frozen goods

It can also be said that freezing is an almost instant way to preserve an overabundance of your garden crop – leaving you with more time to can what works better in jars.

Freezing is also a great way to retain garden-fresh flavor and nutrients.

We’ve got some great tutorials for freezing your bounty:

• Basil
• Zucchini
• Mushrooms
• Butternut squash
• Blueberries
• Potatoes (yes, potatoes)
• Strawberries
• Asparagus
• Onions
• Plus 20 foods you probably didn’t know you could freeze

Canning Recipes

If you will be canning and preserving fruits and vegetables from your own garden, then you will already have a clear idea about the best recipes to collect.

However, if you are going to be shopping at a farmers market or store to supplement the growing amount of jars in your pantry, you may be able to branch out and try more diverse recipes with fruits and vegetables you don’t or can’t grow yourself.

If you wish to make 7 quarts of canned tomatoes, you’ll need about 21 pounds of fresh fruit. Shopping at a market is a great way to supplement your own garden crop, particularly when preserving items such as salsa, which take several ingredients. Ingredients which may, or may not be ready to harvest all at the same time.

You might also plan for canning month-by-month.

Here is what you can expect to can throughout the year.

Where to find canning recipes?

Outside of searching for the best canning recipes online, there are other ways to find what you need.

Join some online canning groups. Get involved, ask questions and share your canning experiences.

Take a canning/cooking class.

Or simply, read a book – and try a new canning recipe each season.

These books are wonderful resources for beginners and experienced canners alike – with the added benefit of having the recipe right in front of you, in non-digital form:

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry

Canning and Preserving for Beginners: The Essential Canning Recipes and Canning Supplies Guide by Rockridge Press

The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning: Everything You Need to Know to Can Meats, Vegetables, Meals in a Jar, and More by Diane Devereaux

Last thoughts on preparing for a successful canning season

When it all boils down to it, you need a plan to prepare for the canning season.

Without it, you may feel the rush to cut corners, run out of time and let your produce go to waste, or worse yet, make some mistakes that cost you both time and money. And time is something we could all use more of! Especially when canning season comes around.

Once you get your preparation areas, tools and canning recipes organized, you’ll be off to a terrific head start.

So what will it be?

Applesauce, pickles, strawberry jam or cherry chutney?

Take your pick, and can as many jars as time (and your pantry!) will allow.

The post Everything You Need to Prepare For A Successful Canning Season appeared first on Rural Sprout.

I am incredibly selective about kitchen appliances and doodads. If it’s going to take up space in my kitchen, it better work hard. And there’s one appliance that outworks all the others year after year – my freezer.

Not only does it save me money by allowing me to stock up when staples go on sale, but it’s also made a huge difference in our family’s food waste.

Everyone knows you can keep meat and most vegetables in the freezer, but it may surprise you how many other foods can be frozen. Read on and put your freezer space to good use.

1. Buttermilk

Why does every single recipe call for a couple of tablespoons or, at most, one cup of buttermilk, and yet every single container of buttermilk you find in the store is a pint or larger? It’s infuriating, right? This enforced food waste is ridiculous. That is, until you learn that you can freeze buttermilk. (Did you know you can easily make your own cultured buttermilk?)

You don’t even need to repackage it. Use what you need for your recipe, and then pop the container in the freezer. If you want to make it easier to use in the future, freeze it in ice cube trays, so you have pre-measured portions ready to thaw and use.

2. Corn on the Cob

Storing frozen corn on the cob is great if you get a bunch of local sweetcorn and want to enjoy it all year. Husk and blanch it first before storing it in an airtight container.

This is also a great way to reduce food waste. If you have the spare cob of sweetcorn left over after a barbecue or summertime dinner, toss it in a freezer bag. You can add to the bag throughout the season.

Frozen corn on the cob is great as is, or you can slice the kernels off to be roasted or tossed in with your black bean tacos or corn chowder.

3. Diced or Minced Onions

After mincing or dicing up what you need for dinner from that onion, why not finish it off and then pack the excess in ice cube trays? Once the onion cubes are fully frozen, store them in double-bagged freezer bags, and you’ll have them ready for cooking.

Frozen onions are super handy for quick weeknight dinners and I share my step-by-step tutorial for freezing onions here.

4. Minced Garlic

One of the handiest things I have in my freezer is frozen cubes of minced garlic and olive oil. Toss the cloves into a food processor and mince them finely. Then press the garlic into ice cube trays and drizzle olive oil over them. After the cubes are frozen, store the cubes in a freezer bag for easy and quick minced garlic while cooking.

You can also store whole bulbs, although that requires a bit more careful selection. You want the freshest garlic you can find, with no brown spots or green shoots beginning to grow. And organic garlic will give you the best flavor after it has thawed. The garlic bulb should be firm, dry and papery; otherwise, it won’t freeze well. Place in an airtight container and remove the air before freezing.

5. Overripe Bananas

It seems like my kids will eat nothing but bananas for days, then suddenly, bananas are out, and apples are in. Inevitably I get left with three or our bananas that are overripe. Instead of rushing to make something with them, I peel them and toss them whole into the “banana” freezer bag in the freezer.

I have plenty of overripe bananas ready to go when I want to make smoothies, banana pancakes, banana bread, or banana muffins. Not only is it convenient, but it’s just one more way my freezer cuts down on our family’s food waste.  

6. Nuts

Nuts shouldn’t be stored in your cupboard or pantry. The oil in nuts goes rancid fairly quickly, leading to funky flavors. Keep them in the fridge for the best-tasting peanuts, cashews, almonds, and other nuts. If you buy in bulk, store larger quantities in the freezer.

7. Flour

Most people have no idea how well flour freezes. And if you buy flour in bulk or catch a great sale (those holiday baking sales are perfect for stocking up on flour), it can go bad quickly sitting in your pantry. Heat and light destroy the delicate oils in wheat, leading to off flavors.

Store unopened flour in the freezer. Put it in a freezer bag to keep out moisture or weird flavors. If you have the space in a large chest freezer, consider storing your flour in a 5-gallon food-grade bucket. It’s the best way to keep flour fresh, and you can measure it out as you need it.

8. Potatoes

This one always seems to surprise people. Yes, you can freeze potatoes. I wrote up an entire article on how to freeze potatoes the correct way. I also explain why you end up with black (gross) potatoes if you do it wrong.

9. Minced Herbs

I don’t know about you, but I’m not too fond of those bunches of herbs at the grocery store. You always end up with way more than what you need. Then they inevitably sit in the crisper drawer drying out or getting moldy. Eliminate the waste and cut down on how many bunches of herbs you buy each year by chopping up and freezing the excess.

After you’ve snipped what you need for the recipe you bought the herbs for, take a few moments to rough-chop the rest of the bunch. Pack the chopped herb into ice cube trays and then top up with olive oil. Pop the ice cube tray into the freezer. Once completely frozen, store the cubes in an airtight container. Now you have one or two tablespoon portions ready to go whenever you need them.  

Related Reading: How To Keep Supermarket Herbs Alive Forever

10. Frozen Eggs

Yup, you can freeze raw eggs. And it’s pretty easy to do. You’ll need to take them out of the shell, though; otherwise, the egg white will expand as it freezes and crack the shell. While that might be okay in the freezer, it gets pretty messy when they thaw.

Silicone or non-stick muffin tins are great for freezing individual eggs in. Then once they are frozen, you can pop them out and store them in a freezer bag.

Don’t forget to put those leftover eggshells to good use – they can be used in some brilliant ways.

11. Grapes

Some foods are a pain to buy for smaller families, and grapes are one of them. No matter how quickly you eat them, they start going bad before you can finish the package. I started popping the grapes in the freezer as soon as I noticed a couple looking wrinkly.

Let me tell you, frozen grapes are now a favorite household snack. My kids have even requested that we freeze the whole package as soon as we get them home from the store.

You don’t have to do anything special to store them; I toss them in as is.

They also make fantastic edible ice cubes for punches, lemonade, cocktails and sangria.

12. Cooked Rice

Believe it or not, rice that’s been cooked and frozen has better flavor and texture than eating it immediately after cooking. This is great news because pulling a bag of rice out of the freezer to go with a meal is so much more convenient than waiting for it to cook.

Make up a few large batches of rice and freeze them in batches in freezer bags. Seal up the bag while it’s still warm and toss it in the fridge. You’ll have tender and moist rice in minutes when you thaw it and reheat it.

13. Avocados

Oh, avocados; I’m ashamed to admit to the number of them I’ve had to pitch over the years. You buy a bag, and it’s always the same. Not ripe. Not ripe. Not ripe. Sorry, you missed it; we’re all brown and gross inside.

If you want to avoid the shame of pitching half a bag of avocados, cut them in half, remove the pit and the skin and smoosh them into a freezer bag. While they won’t be good for topping salads or anything where you want them to look nice, frozen avocado is perfect for avocado toast and guacamole.

14. Cheese

Oh yes, you can freeze cheese. But not all cheeses freeze well; softer cheese, for instance, doesn’t freeze well. But have no fear; Cheryl walks you through the whole process in her great piece – How to Properly Store Cheese For Longer.

15. Frosting

Am I the only one who starts with a recipe for buttercream frosting that supposedly yields four cups of icing and ends up with fifteen? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Freeze your excess frosting and make spontaneous cupcake day a thing. Package the frosting in an airtight freezer bag, removing all the air. Put it in the fridge for a few hours before popping it in the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge for the best texture, too.

16. Milk

Milk is another staple that freezes surprisingly well. If you’re freezing a full container, remove about a half cup of milk to leave room for expansion. When you thaw it, the milkfats will separate a bit. Give it a good shake, and it will be as good as fresh milk.

17. Chocolate

Did you buy too much chocolate for a holiday or score some great post-holiday sales? Believe it or not, you can freeze chocolate without the texture and taste suffering. To freeze chocolate correctly, vacuum seal it in an airtight container first and then put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After the chocolate is well-chilled, you can put it in the freezer.

To thaw it, put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Then remove it and let it come to room temperature completely before opening the sealed bag.

18. Ginger

I don’t even bother keeping my ginger in the fridge anymore. It goes straight into a jar in the freezer. Frozen ginger is so easy to grate. I rarely mess around with peeling it either, but if you prefer peeled ginger, peel it with a spoon before freezing it.

19. Pancakes and Waffles

We always do the big, fun breakfasts on the weekend when we’ve got more time. So, I started making extra pancakes and waffles on those days to freeze. Once they are completely cooled, they get stored in a freezer bag. Then, if the kids want pancakes or waffles during the week, all they have to do is toss them in the toaster. And mom’s waffles are always better than those cardboard ones in the freezer section at the store.

20. Tomato Paste

Much like buttermilk, tomato paste can be a real pain in the can. In my three-plus decades of cooking, I have yet to make a recipe that uses an entire can of tomato paste. Inevitably, I would put the rest of the can in the fridge only to find a dried-up, moldy can of tomato paste several weeks later.

Now when a recipe calls for tomato paste, I open my freezer. Inside is a jar with frozen, pre-measured one-tablespoon portions of tomato paste. Whenever I open a can of tomato paste, I scoop out tablespoonfuls onto a piece of wax paper and then freeze them. Once they’re solid, they go in the jar. No more moldy cans of tomato paste.

The post 20 Foods You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Growing pumpkins in your garden can be incredibly rewarding, especially if you enjoy the taste of homemade puree for pies, soups and even pasta sauce. But if you get a bumper crop or have limited space, it doesn’t take long before you sacrifice a lot of freezer space for orange blocks of frozen pumpkin.

Luckily, with a food dehydrator, you can make pumpkin powder. Not only can you use it just like fresh puree, but it takes up less space and is a breeze to work with.

Pumpkin powder, also known as pumpkin flour, is an excellent way to preserve your annual bounty of everyone’s favorite fall gourd.

If you’ve frozen homemade pumpkin puree, you know how quickly it can take over your freezer. Pumpkins are about 90% water, so when you think about it, storing it as frozen puree doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’re making large pumpkin ice cubes and taking up all that precious freezer real estate with excess water.

By dehydrating the pumpkin, you’re removing the water and leaving behind the flesh. In effect, you reduce its volume by about 90% when you dehydrate the puree and powder it. The lost water is easily added in again when you need to make puree. In the end, the finished pumpkin powder takes up about 1/10 of the room that the puree would.

That’s some serious space gained by switching preservation methods.

And there’s no chance of spoilage due to power loss. Nor does the powder need a constant supply of electricity to preserve it like freezing. This tasty powder can be stored in an airtight jar in your pantry for up to a year.

Whenever you need it, you’re only fifteen minutes away from reconstituted pumpkin puree.

To begin with, you will need to roast your pumpkin and make puree. (If you’ve already done that, you can skip ahead.)

How to Roast a Pumpkin & Make Puree

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash any dirt off your pumpkin and snap off the stem. (I usually give the stem a solid whack against the edge of the counter, and it pops right off.)

Cut the pumpkin into quarters or smaller wedges if it’s a large squash.

Place the pumpkin wedges onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes. You should be able to pierce the skin easily with a fork. Let the pumpkin cool before scooping it out of the skin with an ice cream scoop.

Process the baked pumpkin in small batches in a blender or food processor until it’s smooth.

Now on to turning that golden puree into powdered pumpkin.

You can either spread a thin layer of pumpkin puree on a sheet of parchment paper before placing it on the shelves of your dehydrator, or if your particular machine comes with fruit leather trays, you can spread the pumpkin puree directly on those.

Dehydrate the puree for 8-10 hours at 125 degrees F. When it’s finished, let it cool completely. You should have nearly paper-thin pumpkin bark that crumbles easily.

If you use the fruit leather sheets provided with your dehydrator, you may notice the finished pumpkin is slightly bendy. It will turn into a gummy, sticky mess if you try to make powder with it. To dry out the pumpkin leather completely, break it into smaller pieces and place it on a metal baking sheet in a 200-degree F oven for 15 minutes, then turn the oven off and allow the pieces to cool completely in the oven.

Your pumpkin will be crumbly and dry at this point.

To powder the pumpkin, use a blender, food processor or coffee grinder (also marketed as a spice mill). Any of these will work well, but I find that having a dedicated coffee grinder does the best job. I have one that’s never seen a single coffee bean but is used whenever I need to make powdered anything.

It might be easiest to start with a blender and then transfer the resulting pumpkin flakes to the coffee grinder to get a fine powder.

While processing your pumpkin, it’s a great time to add spices to create custom powdered pumpkin blends.

Pumpkin spice? Add in pie spices. Curried pumpkin? Add in curry powder. Hot and Spicy pumpkin? Blend it with powdered ginger and cayenne pepper.

Spiced pumpkin powder blends make excellent soups and are wonderful stirred into coffee, pudding or pie. Try some in your morning smoothie or yogurt for an extra flavor boost and nutritious pumpkin.

To rehydrate your pumpkin, use a ratio of four parts of boiling water to one part pumpkin puree (4:1). A good place to start is one cup of boiling water with a ¼ cup of pumpkin powder. Stir the two together well and cover the bowl. Let it sit for fifteen minutes to soak up all the water.

I have to say; I was a bit skeptical of preserving and storing my pumpkin this way until the first time I rehydrated it. Sure, it saved space, but would it be as nice as my frozen puree?

Needless to say, I was blown away by the results. Yes, you should let the powder soak up the water for fifteen minutes, but almost as soon as I began stirring the water and powder together – poof! There was my perfect pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin powder is easy and delicious and frees up precious freezer space for things like meat or, more importantly, ice cream. Oooh, I’m going to use some pumpkin powder to make ice cream!

Here are a few other ways to use pumpkin powder:

• Stir a small amount into your coffee
• Add some to your morning smoothie
• Reconstitute two teaspoons and make a brightening facial mask
• Add pumpkin powder to muffin, cookie and cake recipes for bigger pumpkin flavor
• Create quick and easy soups in minutes
• Reconstitute pumpkin powder with milk or cream for an easy and delicious pasta sauce
• Use pumpkin powder to make pumpkin pancakes and waffles
• Whip up a batch of easy slow-cooker pumpkin butter
• For even more ideas and tasty pumpkin dishes, click here.

Pumpkin powder has limitless uses, and you don’t have to stick with pumpkin. All of your winter squash purees can be dehydrated into powder for a whole pantry full of your favorite winter squash in powder form.

While you’ve got your dehydrator out, why not make powdered ginger and onion powder? And make sure you don’t have a dehydrator that could melt – like my old one.

The post How To Make Pumpkin Powder & Stop Wasting Freezer Space appeared first on Rural Sprout.

If cheese is an essential food in your life, listen up, for there is more than one brilliant way to store cheese, so it lasts longer. There may even be a couple that you haven’t tried or thought of yet.

Let’s take the following scenario: your favorite cheese goes on sale, and you buy 10 pounds of the delicious, creamy stuff and bite off more than you can chew at once. You know what happens if you eat too much cheese.

So, you take your fill and ponder what to do with the rest.

Well, you have a few options. Freezing is excellent (for some cheeses) if you have sufficient space in your freezer. Vacuum sealing is great if you have the equipment. Storing cheese in brine is easy enough for everyone to try. And dehydrating cheese comes with its challenges, though it allows you to store it for the longest amount of time.

Cheese lovers know that when cheese is involved, there must be a way to make it last long enough to have a chance to eat it before it gets moldy; unless it’s moldy by design. Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton, Blue Cheddar – it’s all good if you love cheese.

So, let’s start with the basics. Knowing what kind of cheese you want to store is the first step in storing it the proper way.

Different Storage For Different Cheeses

Around the world, it’s said that there are 1,800 different types of cheese, but I’m willing to bet the number is greater than that. If you ate one type of cheese every day, it would take you 4 years and 340 days to try them all.

But we all have our favorites, whether it be Colby Jack, Mozzarella, Swiss, Feta, Provolone, Brie, Parmigiano-Reggiano or the stinky Limburger cheese. And we tend to eat them on repeat, with some variations in there, for the mere pleasure of trying something new.

But not all cheeses can be stored the same way.

Wash Your Hands

The single most important thing you can do to make your cheese last longer is to wash your hands thoroughly before you handle it. Our hands are great at transferring bacteria to cheese which will cause it to spoil much quicker.

Storing Hard Cheeses

Hard cheeses, like Parmesan, are best stored unopened in the crisper drawer of your fridge for about 6-9 months. Consider the expiration date a “best by” date and perform a smell and taste test before adding the grated cheese to your meal.

What happens once the vacuum seal is broken?

Well, whole blocks of Parmesan can also be stored in the fridge, preferably wrapped in cheese paper or a Mason jar, depending on your approach to using less plastic in the kitchen.

If you’ve grated more than what fits comfortably on your pizza, know that grated Parmesan cheese can be frozen. The texture will change slightly, though it will still be quite enjoyable. You can even add it frozen to any meal that is ready to bake, no thawing required.

However, you should never freeze chunks of Parmesan whole because it will lose its crumbliness and become difficult to grate.

For other hard cheeses, once you open the vacuum seal, you should wrap them in cheese paper, or wrap them in parchment and store them in an airtight container such as a storage container or zip-top bag. Cheese needs to breathe. One of the worst things you can do is wrap it in plastic wrap.

When it smells like the end is coming near, put a plate of mac and cheese on the menu, or whip up an easy cheese quiche.

Storing Semihard to Semisoft Cheeses

Just like with hard cheese, these slightly softer cheeses, such as young cheddars, Swiss, Gruyère and Gouda, are best stored in their original packing. As soon as you open them up, they should be eaten within a couple of weeks. Wrap any leftover cheese in parchment paper and store it inside a Ziploc bag in the fridge, so the air in the bag can circulate without the cheese drying out.

Storing cheese in blocks is favorable to storing it in slices. In fact, slices should only be cut as you are ready to cook with or eat them.

Storing Soft Cheeses

Soft cheeses have a much shorter shelf-life of just 1-2 weeks due to their high moisture content. Remember, it’s moisture that spoils foods quickly, but bacteria have a bad reputation too.

Store soft cheese in its original packaging until you are ready to eat it. It’s best to buy soft cheese right before consuming them. Any leftovers should be stored in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and should be consumed within a matter of days.

Freezing Cheese For Long-Term Storage

Most soft cheeses can’t be frozen, or rather, shouldn’t be frozen. They will suffer a disappointing loss in texture, becoming crumbly and losing their flavor. However, if it’s a matter of letting it go moldy, or trying to save it, go ahead and toss it in the freezer to prevent food waste. When you have a chance to eat it, try to fold it into something like lasagna, where it can blend into the other ingredients.

While the nutritional value of frozen cheese won’t change, the texture will and sometimes the flavor can be affected.

If you choose to go the long-term freezing route, you’ll quickly find that frozen cheese really doesn’t melt very well. Previously frozen cheese is best used in recipes that are either baked or cooked.

Quick Tips For Freezing Cheese

• When freezing cheese, be sure to wrap it tightly in a way that air can’t directly touch it, lest freezer burn ruin the show.
• The best way to freeze cheese is to cut blocks into amounts that you’d use in one week. If a brick of Colby cheese normally lasts a month, cut it into four sections and wrap them individually. Thaw a smaller brick in the fridge when you are ready.
• Whole blocks of cheese can also be stored in their original packing. To defrost it, simply let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
• Shredded cheese is another easy way to store it in a freezer bag, or jar. Slices of cheese should be separated by a piece of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together, then placed in a freezer bag, or box.
• Hard cheeses can be frozen for up to 9 months. Allow less time for semihard and semisoft cheeses to chill before eating, about 3 to 6 months.

Best Cheeses For Freezing

• Cheddar
• Colby
• Edam
• Gouda
• Monterey Jack
• Mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Provolone
• Swiss

Cheeses that don’t freeze well and are best eaten fresh are Blue, Brie, Camembert, Cottage, Feta, Goat and Ricotta.

Cheese thawing tip: frozen chunks can go directly into soups, stews and casseroles. Otherwise, thaw frozen cheese slowly in the refrigerator overnight.

Vacuum-Sealing Cheese

The long-term storage of cheese is all about the balance of moisture and air. Excess moisture welcomes mold, whereas air dries out the cheese.

This, combined with not buying too much at once, ensures you get to enjoy your cheese when you are ready to eat it. Just remember, soft cheeses need to be consumed right away; harder cheeses are the ones you can preserve for longer.

Vacuum-sealing cheese is a way that keeps both moisture and air from reaching the prize inside. However, you need to observe the fact that cheese is a living, breathing organism.

That being said, vacuum sealing your cheese still works for a certain amount of time. It’s recommended that you wrap the cheese in parchment or wax paper first, then seal it. If you’ve grated the cheese, use the gentle setting, so it doesn’t turn into a clump. This will keep your cheese fresh for a few months in the fridge.

Dehydrating Cheese

If you find yourself taking on some prepping tendencies, you’ll want to read all about the 25 longest-lasting foods to store in your pantry. Then go ahead and stock up on them.

At the same time, consider dehydrating cheese. It’s always a good idea to have some extra food laying around, food that doesn’t even need to be heated to be enjoyed.

Why dehydrate cheese? First of all, it may help you cut down on food waste, especially if you bought too much. Secondly, dehydrated cheese is quite versatile. You can add it to salads, popcorn, pasta, burgers; the list goes on and on.

Homesteaders say that homemade cheeses taste best when dehydrated. Using Tracey’s mozzarella recipe, you may want to give it a try.

Home-dehydrated cheese will keep for about a month, while factory-made powdered cheese can last 1-2 years if unopened. It all depends on the quality and purity you are after.

Check out the following articles for more in-depth information on dehydrating your cheese:

6 Steps Guide on Dehydrating Cheese at Home from Ultimate Food Preservation

How to Dehydrate Cheese for Long Term Storage from Joybilee Farm

Storing Waxed Cheeses

For the longest possible storage of cheese, even up to 25 years, it’s waxed cheese for the win. This assumes, however, that the cheese is kept in a cool location, such as a cellar. Not everyone has this, but I don’t think anyone would want to save cheese for that long anyway.

Keep in mind that humans started making cheese more than 7,000 years ago, long before refrigeration entered the scene. So, yes, it’s still possible to store unrefrigerated cheese; we just need to think outside the box (or fridge).

If you can afford it, splurge on your love for cheese and purchase an entire cheese wheel. As mentioned above, harder cheeses are best for long-term storage, so you might want to go with a Pecorino or Parmesan cheese wheel for the tastiest results. If a 60-pound cheese wheel is too much, go smaller with a 14-pounder or even smaller at just 2 pounds.

Once you cut into the cheese, it can be resealed with wax to prevent it from getting moldy. And the storage can continue.

Preppers have been onto this for a while now, and they will be able to answer your questions:

Cheese Wax Will Save Us All from Preparedness Pro

A giant waxed cheese wheel is the apocalypse prep you didn’t know you needed from The Prepared

Cheesy Questions

We often buy a couple of wheels of Pecorino cheese each winter and keep them in an unheated room. They survive the winter quite well with flavor and texture intact. Once the temperatures heat up in summer, the cheese that is cut into will ooze oils and dry out at the same time, but rarely does mold set in.

Drier, aged cheeses really are what you should be looking at in terms of storing cheese for longer.

But from one cheese-lover to another, it’s best to have a little bit of all kinds, from creamy Camembert to melty Fontina Val d’Aosta to the hardest Parmesan.

Is it okay to eat cheese past the expiration date?

I’ve accidentally picked up moldy store-bought yogurt well before the expiration date, and I’ve eaten meat well beyond the date on the package, so I personally take printed dates as a guideline. It all depends on how they were transported and stored.

In the case of knowing whether cheese is still safe to eat, always use your intuition and sense of smell. On a semi-hard to hard cheese, it’s perfectly acceptable to cut off the mold and continue eating the rest, so long as it still tastes and smells as it should.

Pasteurized, soft cheeses go bad quickly; you’ll want to be more cautious with those. If it tastes off, onto the compost it goes.

How long is cheese safe out of the fridge?

This is highly dependent on what kind of cheese you are getting ready to eat.

Soft cheeses shouldn’t sit out for more than a couple of hours.

Harder cheeses could sit out for several hours without losing in quality.

What you want to watch out for is how much surface area is exposed to the air. If you are going to leave the cheese out, keep it in a brick, only cutting slices right before eating. Same with grated cheese, only grate it as you need it; otherwise, keep it in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Now that you are hankering for some cheese, it’s time to go shopping for your favorites, possibly some new flavors too.

Cheese for thought: don’t forget to deep-fry a mouthwatering batch of cheese curds the next time you find them on sale. They are amazing!

The post How To Properly Store Cheese For Longer appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Halloween has come and gone. All the ‘good’ candy is gone; it’s nothing but pink pieces of cement (also known as Hubba Bubba) and those weird peanut butter taffy things in the black and orange wax paper. The jack-o-lanterns were posted to Instagram, but now comes the question, “What do you do with pumpkins after Halloween?”

Whether you went all out and decorated with a dozen pastel-colored heirloom pumpkins or have a couple of sad-looking jack-o-lanterns sitting on your porch, deciding what to do with these perishable decorations can be a hassle.

The first and most obvious choice always seems to be – pitch ‘em.

But that’s just silly. It creates extra waste, and there are much better options for laying your pumpkins to rest each fall.

1. Compost Them

One of the easiest options for getting rid of Jack when he’s past his prime is tossing your pumpkin on the compost heap. Send it back where it came from, and it will turn into gardener’s black gold.

To help pumpkins decompose faster, chop them into smaller chunks first. If you don’t have a compost pile or bin, I’ll bet you have a friend who does. You can also see if there is a community composting site where you live.

2. Save the Seeds

Of course, if you didn’t carve your pumpkins, consider cutting a couple open to save the seeds. They make a marvelously crunchy fall snack. Or you can save the seeds and grow pumpkins next year.

3. Eat Your Decorations

Make pie or soup, or pumpkin bread or pumpkin butter. Those beautiful gourds aren’t just for decorating. Many of the prettiest pumpkins are also tasty heirloom varieties. And because they are frost and cold hearty, you can still cook and eat them. It all starts with pumpkin puree, which is surprisingly easy to make. Learn how here.  

4. Make a Donation

Local zoos, large animal rescues and even farms are happy to take pumpkins off your hands to feed to the animals. You may be surprised how many places in your community would be happy to have your Halloween cast-offs. What better way to kick off the season of giving?

5. Bird Feeder

This is such a cool idea, and you can do it with whole pumpkins or carved pumpkins.

For carved pumpkins, leave the top off and fill the inside with your favorite birdseed. Place Jack where your local songbirds hang out, and they will take care of the rest. Along with the seeds, wild birds will happily eat the pumpkin as well.

If you have a whole pumpkin, slice it in half horizontally, scoop out some of the inner flesh and fill both halves with seeds. You can use twine to hang these feeders from branches or place them on the ground.

6. Feed Your Flock

If you have chickens (and you really should), then you’ve got the perfect pumpkin disposal mechanism in your run. Chickens love pumpkins. As long as the pumpkins are rotten, you can cut them in half and feed them to your girls. Your flock will happily take your Halloween discards and turn them into delicious eggs for you.

7. Use Your Decomposing Pumpkin to Winter Over Mums

If you decorated with mums, then you’ve probably read our article on how to keep them blooming all fall and winter them over.

One of the ways is to bury the mums in the ground. Take it a step further, repot them in one of your pumpkins, and plant the whole thing in the ground. The pumpkin will decompose, adding nutrients back to the soil while protecting the roots of your Chrysanthemums from frost damage.

See? You have plenty of easy options for getting rid of your pumpkins once Halloween is over. And most of them involve making another creature happy, whether it’s you or the local wildlife.

The post 7 Frighteningly Clever Things To Do With Pumpkins After Halloween appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Blink, and you’ll miss it. The asparagus season, that is. For gardeners, fresh asparagus and rhubarb are the first two plants to harvest each spring, but only if you’ve taken care of your spring asparagus chores.

After a winter of eating heavy food, these early season harbingers are a welcome change to the table. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as the crunch and fresh, green taste of new asparagus. Even the color seems to scream, “Spring is finally here!”

But with a well-established asparagus bed, you will often have more than you could eat fresh in its short growing season. Cheryl has graciously shared how to keep asparagus fresher longer once it’s been cut, but that still leaves you with plenty to preserve to enjoy later in the year.

You can, of course, preserve asparagus with a pressure canner. It is a low-acid food and thus requires pressure canning to prevent botulism. Unless you decide to pickle it,  pickled asparagus can be canned using the water bath method. Or, if you prefer the extra crunch and instant satisfaction that comes with quick pickles, you can always make refrigerator asparagus pickles.

However, one of the best (and surprisingly quick) ways to preserve and enjoy a bumper crop of asparagus is to freeze it.

And the best part is, freezing is the perfect way to preserve those thicker, more fibrous stems of asparagus. You know, the ones you didn’t see right away when picking.

That extra fiber helps retain a firm texture once it’s thawed.

So, if you’ve got a bunch of hefty stems that are too tough for pickling or sautéing with butter, they’re perfect candidates for freezing. You’ll find their texture much improved when you get around to thawing them and eating them.

Of course, in today’s modern world, we’ve become accustomed to having no seasons when it comes to our food. In most areas, asparagus is available in the supermarket all year through. Granted, what you can purchase in the spring and what is available in, say, October is usually two very different grades of quality.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of a good sale and snatch up fresh asparagus to freeze. Especially if it’s well-picked over, and all that is left are the bunches of thick stems. The smart consumer you are, you know these are the perfect candidates for the freezer.

First Thing’s First

Rinse the asparagus and then trim those stems. If you’re freezing your asparagus immediately after harvesting, well, now you’re just showing off and making the rest of us look bad. You don’t have to trim your ends.

However, for the rest of us who have let our asparagus sit in the fridge in a jar for a few days or just brought it home from the supermarket, we will have to trim off the woody stems. While they aren’t great for eating, you can still toss them into a broth, so save them for your ugly broth bag.  

The Snap Method and Why I Stopped Using It

Anyone who loves a good kitchen hack has heard how to hold the bottom of the stem and head and bend until it snaps. Supposedly this leaves you with only the tender part still attached to the end with the head. After doing this for ages, I got frustrated with how I always ended up with dinky stems that were usually always snapped in half, leaving plenty of tender asparagus still attached to the woody end.

These days I chop the ends off and inspect the bottoms where I cut. If the bottoms are mostly green, I know I’ve cut far enough up to remove the tougher portion. If there is still a good bit of white in the center of the stem, I need to take a little more off.

Stems or Chunks

Decide whether you want to freeze your asparagus as whole stems or slice it into chunks. You could get crazy and do a few batches of each. Go on, you rebel, you.

Blanch

Asparagus needs to be blanched before you freeze it. Blanching slows down the naturally occurring enzymes in food that causes spoilage. This will also give you the best flavor and texture and that lovely bright green.

Prepare a large pot of boiling water with a teaspoon of salt. Seriously, you want the asparagus to swim about freely, don’t cramp them.

While waiting for your water to boil, prepare an ice bath in the sink. Now, don’t go cutting corners here. When I say ice bath, I mean you need to put actual ice in it, not just let your faucet run on cold for a bit. The idea here is to stop the cooking process immediately.

Add the asparagus to the boiling water and blanch for three minutes. Remove the asparagus directly into the ice bath using a large slotted spoon or skimmer. Once the asparagus has cooled (another three minutes), transfer it to a colander to drain.

Freeze

Lay the blanched spears or chunks on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 3 hours. Freezing the asparagus before you package it means you won’t end up with a rock-hard asparagus blob.

Package and Seal

Have your freezer bags or vacuum sealer equipment all lined up and ready to go. It’s important to work quickly when transferring the frozen spears or chunks to their bags. Once they begin to thaw, they can get a little mushy if handled roughly.

If you’re using a vacuum sealer, opt for the gentle setting to avoid squashing delicate stems.

Seal with a vacuum sealer or sip out extra air with a straw or your mouth before sealing the bags, labeling them and tossing them back into the freezer.

Enjoy

Since the asparagus is cooked during the blanching process, it only needs to be warmed once thawed. You can quickly sauté them with a little butter. Frozen asparagus is perfect for things like quiche and frittatas, asparagus dip and my favorite – cream of asparagus soup.

See? I told you it was easy. Now, who wants quiche for dinner?

The post How to Freeze Asparagus Quickly and Easily appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Do you know what’s awful? Mushy canned asparagus. That’s what’s awful. You know what’s amazing? Dilly pickled asparagus. Especially dilly pickled asparagus that only takes a whopping five minutes of your time to make.

Tender, crunchy green spears laced with the tang of vinegar and dill. Oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.

It only takes about five minutes and a handful of ingredients to make up a jar or two of these amazing pickles. They’re ready to eat in twenty-four hours, but if you can refrain from gobbling up the entire jar, they get even better after they hit the two-week mark.

Grab your asparagus and a mason jar or two, and let’s make some pickles!

Choosing Asparagus

In Season

Let’s face it, despite asparagus being available in the supermarket all year long, you can’t beat the delicate new stalks that poke up from the ground every spring. Gardeners, if you’re lucky enough to have an asparagus bed, you know how quick the season goes.

So, the next time asparagus season rolls around, and you find yourself with a bumper crop, consider making up this recipe to enjoy quick, pickled asparagus long after you pick the final spear.

If you’ve always wanted to grow your own but don’t know where to start, Lydia will walk you through establishing an asparagus bed.

New asparagus beds can take between two to three years to produce regularly. But considering that asparagus beds can produce without much maintenance for thirty years or more, it’s worth the wait.

Out of Season

If you’re looking to make a batch of dilly pickled asparagus out of season, you’re in luck. Most supermarkets carry asparagus year-round. However, you’ll need to be a little choosy when buying asparagus out of season.

Look for bunches with slender stalks, as they make the best pickles. Larger stalks tend to be woody and fibrous; these are better suited for freezing. Skip asparagus with wrinkled or yellow-green stalks. Check the tips as well; you want tight, compact buds at the top. If you aren’t able to make your pickles right away, you’ll want to check out Cheryl’s guide on how to keep asparagus fresh longer.

Asparagus Prep

Rinse your asparagus well, and prep the bottoms. Once cut, the ends of asparagus can quickly turn dry and woody.

I used to be a big fan of snapping them by holding the bottom of the stalk and the bud and then bending until it snapped in two, but I always found there was still plenty of tasty, tender stalk left on the supposed woody end. These days I trim the bottoms and inspect them to ensure I have removed all the woody portions.

If your asparagus is a little limp after its journey from farm to store to your place, tuck them, trimmed end down, in a jar or glass of water. Put the jar in the fridge for an hour or two, and the cold water will perk them right up.

How do you like your pickles?

Do you prefer bite-sized pieces you can pop in your mouth straight from the jar? Or do long, tender spears you can nibble appeal to you? You can easily do either. However, it’s worth noting that you can fit more bite-sized pieces in a jar than full-size stalks. (But don’t let that deter you, I’m a big fan of whole stalks, I like using them in martinis instead of olives.) If you have plenty of asparagus to work with, make a jar of each.

Start With One Jar of Pickled Asparagus

This recipe is by the jar, which is always a great place to start for fridge or quick pickles, as you don’t have to have bushels of your chosen vegetable on hand. Naturally, you can scale the recipe up if you’re making several jars.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup of white vinegar (or vinegar of your choice with at least 5% acidity)
• 1 tsp of pickling salt (or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt)
• 3 whole garlic cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 large head of dill, ½ cup of chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp of dill seed
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, or if you want to get crazy, toss a whole hot pepper in there
• Asparagus trimmed so the stalks will fit in the jar or cut into bite-sized pieces
• Clean mason jar or jars with a lids

Instructions

1. Make your pickling brine by heating the water, vinegar and salt in a small saucepan until boiling. Turn off the heat and cover.
2. In a clean jar, add the garlic cloves, dill and spices. Gently pack the jar with spears or pieces, leaving ½ inch of head space at the top.
3. Pour the hot brine over the spears, again, leaving ½ inch of head space. Wipe the rim clean, and put the lid on. Let the jar cool completely before storing it in the fridge. The pickles are ready to enjoy the next day. However, their flavor improves drastically over a matter of a couple of weeks.

Note: If you like extra crispy pickles, let your brine cool completely before adding it to the jar, as hot brine will cook the asparagus a bit. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for the best pickle flavor, but it’s worth the wait to nibble on ridiculously crisp asparagus pickles. Especially if you’re swizzling them in a gin martini before nibbling them. Ask me how I know.

Your quick pickled asparagus will keep for up to six months in the fridge.

But let’s be honest with each other; these suckers will be long gone way before six months have passed. Use a clean utensil to remove them from the jar rather than your fingers. This way, you won’t introduce bacteria to the jar, which will cause spoilage.

And that’s all there is to it. What are you doing sitting here still? You could have made pickles by now. If you need even more pickled goodness in your life, give our five-minute fridge pickles a try or how about an entire jar of pickled garlic?

The post Easy Dilly Pickled Asparagus in Under 5 Minutes appeared first on Rural Sprout.