It's that time of year again. The leaves are beginning to fall, scattering their colourful skeletons in the streets. The smell is unmistakable, reminiscent of days gone by, a reminder of the year's slow progression toward cold and darkness. It's bittersweet. Every year, when autumn arrives, I think, "this is my favourite season!" But then again, I think that with every season.
In my mind, autumn is a time of celebration. As with every other season, I celebrate with food. And there is much to celebrate! The squash and pumpkins are ripe on the vine, turnips, carrots, cabbage and parsnips (as well as any other late root veggies you've got growing) are awaiting the last frost, and the fatted calves and lambs are ready for harvest too. Apples are in abundance, ready to be made into pies and crisps and cider and sauce.
In my mind, this time of year is a time to plan for winter. It's time to think ahead to ensure there is plenty of food to sustain us through those cold winter months when homegrown veggies are hard to find.
This year I've done more canning than any year before. For the most part, it's been experimental. Here's a summary of what I have learned about preserving my own food.
1. The basic principle is to preserve food by placing it in a jar that is sealed by creating a vacuum. The most common way of doing this is by sealing the jar tightly by hand and then heating the jar and its contents. As the jar cools, the air inside contracts and creates a vacuum seal. Basic canning often also makes use of an acidic brine, which is antibacterial and generally makes for safer preserving. The basic premise behind pickling is ensuring that the veggies don't rot if the seal isn't perfect. An exception to this is with foods that are already acidic, like fruit and tomatoes, which don't require a brine.
2. In order to preserve foods that are not acidic without pickling them, one can make use of a pressure cooker or canner. By increasing the pressure under which the canning jars are processed, you can ensure that the jars seal successfully. Using a pressure canner, you can preserve pretty much anything. This includes greens, non-acidic veggies like beans, corn, peas, and even meat!
3. Because canning essentially requires cooking the contents of the jars to some degree, there are certain foods that preserve better than others. For example, this year I decided to try canning some of the abundance of kale that I grew. Although the kale probably held its own better than spinach or another green might have, kale is generally thought to be tastier when cooked very litte. So I am pretty sure that opening those jars is going to be interesting.
4. Some things are just better suited to being frozen. As much as I love my toast and jam in the mornings, I do prefer to freeze my fruit. Freezing retains more of a food's nutritional value, and also quite often tastes better. The only downside to freezing is that it requires freezer space (at least, until temperatures drop low enough to permit putting the food outside)!
This year, I tried to keep it simple: no fancy chutneys, and no weird relishes that are going to sit on the shelf for months on end. My goal was to can things that I could either eat straight out of the jar, or that could be used as ingredients in other recipes. Here is a list of what I've accomplished so far:
- Summer Squash and Cucumber Bread & Butter Pickles
- Spicy Pickled Beets
- Canned Kale
- Canned Tomato Sauce (in Spicy and Kale varieties!)
- Canned Salsa
- Canned Applesauce
- Frozen Kale
- Frozen Blueberries (picked in Tweed)
- Frozen Strawberries (picked in Foxboro)
- Frozen Asparagus
- Frozen Rhubarb (for those mid-winter strawberry-rhubarb pies!)
- Frozen Summer Squash and Zucchini
In addition to these items, I'll have plenty of carrots, turnips, squash, pumpkins and parsnips to last me well into the winter.
Someday, I really hope to live a largely self-sufficient lifestyle. It's probably a long way off, but I think this is a step in the right direction. Let me know if you are curious about a recipe for a specific item mentioned above-- I'm happy to oblige.
In my mind, this time of year is a time to plan for winter. It's time to think ahead to ensure there is plenty of food to sustain us through those cold winter months when homegrown veggies are hard to find.
This year I've done more canning than any year before. For the most part, it's been experimental. Here's a summary of what I have learned about preserving my own food.
1. The basic principle is to preserve food by placing it in a jar that is sealed by creating a vacuum. The most common way of doing this is by sealing the jar tightly by hand and then heating the jar and its contents. As the jar cools, the air inside contracts and creates a vacuum seal. Basic canning often also makes use of an acidic brine, which is antibacterial and generally makes for safer preserving. The basic premise behind pickling is ensuring that the veggies don't rot if the seal isn't perfect. An exception to this is with foods that are already acidic, like fruit and tomatoes, which don't require a brine.2. In order to preserve foods that are not acidic without pickling them, one can make use of a pressure cooker or canner. By increasing the pressure under which the canning jars are processed, you can ensure that the jars seal successfully. Using a pressure canner, you can preserve pretty much anything. This includes greens, non-acidic veggies like beans, corn, peas, and even meat!
3. Because canning essentially requires cooking the contents of the jars to some degree, there are certain foods that preserve better than others. For example, this year I decided to try canning some of the abundance of kale that I grew. Although the kale probably held its own better than spinach or another green might have, kale is generally thought to be tastier when cooked very litte. So I am pretty sure that opening those jars is going to be interesting.
4. Some things are just better suited to being frozen. As much as I love my toast and jam in the mornings, I do prefer to freeze my fruit. Freezing retains more of a food's nutritional value, and also quite often tastes better. The only downside to freezing is that it requires freezer space (at least, until temperatures drop low enough to permit putting the food outside)!
- Summer Squash and Cucumber Bread & Butter Pickles
- Spicy Pickled Beets
- Canned Kale
- Canned Tomato Sauce (in Spicy and Kale varieties!)
- Canned Salsa
- Canned Applesauce
- Frozen Kale
- Frozen Blueberries (picked in Tweed)
- Frozen Strawberries (picked in Foxboro)
- Frozen Asparagus
- Frozen Rhubarb (for those mid-winter strawberry-rhubarb pies!)
- Frozen Summer Squash and Zucchini
In addition to these items, I'll have plenty of carrots, turnips, squash, pumpkins and parsnips to last me well into the winter.
Someday, I really hope to live a largely self-sufficient lifestyle. It's probably a long way off, but I think this is a step in the right direction. Let me know if you are curious about a recipe for a specific item mentioned above-- I'm happy to oblige.
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