Part IV – What to do with all that food
Along with growing all this food comes the question of what to do with it. Harvests normally last a few weeks with all that glorious fruit ripening at once. Even if you share, sell and eat fresh, there will likely be too much at once, so you’ll need a plan. We’re lucky. The old ways are alive and well in our circles, so we drag out the stock pots, pressure canners, and insta-pots and get to work.
The go-to preservation technique for most people starting out is water-bath canning. It works for a lot of fresh vegetables, pickles, stocks and jams. For sauces, meats, soups and chilis, you’ll need a pressure canner. For all of this, you’ll need a bunch of jars … buy more than you think you’ll use, ‘cuz you’ll use ‘em.
Other methods we use, and you can, too, are dehydrating (herbs, fruit slices, fruit leathers, meat jerkies), smoking, drying, and curing meats, cold storage for root veggies (potatoes, onions, garlic, pumpkins, squashes), freezing (fruits, vegetables, fully cooked soups and sauces, meats), and freeze-drying … the ultimate process for food that lasts forever. Freeze-drying works especially well for making powdered foods (fruits, eggs, milk), instant potatoes, and even meats. Freeze-dried foods generally last up to 25 years when stored properly, and, trust me, I was skeptical, but reconstituting most things will amaze you. My favorite freeze-dried foods are fruits, eggs, and milk. Fruits literally taste like candy because the flavor is so concentrated, and eggs and milk that are shelf-stable for use in any and all kinds of recipes are as necessary as flour and rice.
Finally, part of preserving your harvest (unless you’re vegan) is learning to dispatch and part out your meats. We raise and process our own birds. For pork products and beef, we deal with a local family that specializes in raising those animals. Find your people and treat them right. For whatever you don’t know or can’t do, there is someone close to you that can help. We’re happy to teach if you ask.
When all is said and done, everybody’s journey will be a little different. The end result, though, is all about preserving … your food, your health, your sanity, your money, with tried and true methods we can all use to save the planet. Preservation is so much more than the shelf life of food.