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September 09, 2011

Tis the Season to Forage for Berries: Learning to Appreciate the Lesser Varieties

One of my hobbies this year has been to learn about edible wild plants. The spring season was abundant with porcini mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns but the heat of summer slowed my outdoor foraging adventures to a halt. Most of the edible green plants are only good as tender shoots fresh out of the ground. I lost track of my book (which I highly recommend) until some fresh red berries on the side of the road reminded me that it's berry season. I know the basics about common blackberries (which don't grow much on the east side of the state) and huckleberries, but I have been eager to learn about some of the lesser known varieties.

Last weekend our family had a chance to get away to Mount Spokane and explore. We did find an abundance of huckleberries but I'll offer a report here on what we learned about some of the other less-prized sweet little morsels of wild goodness. 

image from upload.wikimedia.org Thimbleberries: These are readily availbale along roadsides. They are in the raspberry family of plants, but are more tender and drier than some of the sweeter berries. I've heard they are considered a delicacy in the midwest where they are made into jam. My rule of the thumb is that if you take four cups of any berry and combine them with 8 cups of sugar for jam they will taste awesome and aparently that rule holds up with the thimbleberry.

Here's what the wikipedia entry says:

Thimbleberry fruits are larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries, and have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially. However, wild thimbleberries make an excellent jam which is sold as a local delicacy in some parts of their range, notably in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan.

image from upload.wikimedia.org Mountain Ash Berries: I noticed that these are abundant at Mt. Spokane and you don't have to look too hard in any landscaped area to find these berry-laden deciduous trees. I had no idea they are edible until I found them listed in my book. There edibility comes with a caveat - don't eat them raw and they are best when harvested after the first frost. Here's some more info.

The fruit of European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) can be made into a slightly bitter jelly which in Britain is traditionally eaten as an accompaniment to game, and into jams and other preserves, on their own, or with other fruit. The fruit can also be a substitute for coffee beans, and have many uses in alcoholic beverages: to flavour liqueurs and cordials, to produce country wine, and to flavour ale. In Austria a clear rowan schnapps is distilled which is called by its German name Vogelbeer. Rowan cultivars with superior fruit for human food use are available but not common; mostly the fruits are gathered from wild trees growing on public lands.

Rowan fruit contains sorbic acid, an acid that takes its name from the Latin name of the genus Sorbus. The raw fruit also contain parasorbic acid (about 0.4%-0.7% in the European rowan[7]), which causes indigestion and can lead to kidney damage, but heat treatment (cooking, heat-drying etc.) and, to a lesser extent, freezing, neutralises it, by changing it to the benign sorbic acid. Luckily, they are also usually too astringent to be palatable when raw. Collecting them after first frost (or putting in the freezer) cuts down on the bitter taste as well.

image from plants.usda.gov Elderberries: There are two varieties of elder berries that I've seen, one that has a shiny dark purple fruit, almost black, with a purple stem, and another that is a dusky light blue color with smaller berries. Here's the scoop on the shiny dark purple variety known as sambucis-nigra (pictured to the right). 

The dark blue/purple berries can be eaten when fully ripe but are mildly poisonous in their unripe state.[6] All green parts of the plant are poisonous, containingcyanogenic glycosides (Vedel & Lange 1960). The berries are edible after cooking and can be used to make jam, jelly, chutney and Pontack sauce. Also when cooked they go well with blackberries and with apples in pies.

Here's the link to the USDA citation. Here's another helpful link.

image from upload.wikimedia.org The pale light blue variety, which are more common in the northwest, are a cerulea variety. They are sweet, but have small stone-like seeds and the leaves and stems are poisonous. Here's some information on their edibility:

Edible Uses:The fruits of blue elderberry are edible raw, cooked or used in preserves. This is the most well-tasting of the North American elders, even though it is full of small seeds. The berries are rather sweet and juicy. They can however cause nausea if eaten raw, but ripe berries are edible when cooked. Berries can be used in portlike wine, jams, and pies. They should always be cooked and are used primarily in wines and syrups. The fruit is usually dried before being used. Some caution is advised, see the notes below on toxicity. The flowers are edible raw or cooked, and are said to be pleasant and refreshing raw. A pleasant tea can be made from the dried flowers.

Caution:The leaves, green fruits and stems of members of this genus are poisonous. The stems, bark, leaves and roots contain cyanide-producing glycosides, and are therefore poisonous, especially when fresh. The fruit of this species has been known to cause stomach upsets. Any toxin the fruit might contain is considered to be of low toxicity and is destroyed when the fruit is cooked.

As you can see, even with edible berries, there are cautions that need to be taken. Only eat wild berries and plants that you have identified with the help of a proven guide book. My post here is not enough to effectively ID these berries, and it is not offered as a guide. This is just a report from the field and a friendly invite to explore the often hidden wonder and beauty of what the land offers up.

I'll continue to explore and report on what I find. Let me know if you have a lesser-known berry that is a favorite.

BTW: Did you notice that I casually offered up the precious news that huckleberries are ripe and abundant on Mt. Spokane right now. Don't say I never did anything for you. :)

Posted by on September 09, 2011 in food preservation, foraging, fruit | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

October 15, 2010

Korean Kimchi Crisis Serves as a Reminder of Lost Food Culture in U.S.

image from www.walrusmagazine.com
picture: the Walrus blog

The story of how the rising price of Napa cabbage is creating a crisis of constraints on the Korean supply of kimchi is a fascinating story in its own right. (I wasn't aiming for alliteration in that sentence but, hey, sometimes it just happens) What has really got me thinking, though, is how the Korean way of life is so connected to food and food processes, in contrast to the American way of life that is so disconnected.

Kimchi is so much a part of Korean life that the kimchi crisis warranted a response  from the government as if they were talking about the supply of gasoline or fresh water;

“There is no reason for regular folks to have to buy items integral to daily life at higher prices than international prices,” Mr. Lee said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, while instructing his economists to more closely monitor commodity prices that have sent the South Korean consumer price index to a 17-month high.

Notice that the essential nature of the food item is not it's nutritional content, but something deeper, more cultural, more anchored in identity and frameworks of meaning.

The article describes the Autumn family ritual of making kimchi;

The price increases have caused many middle- and lower-income homemakers to cancel the making of kimchi at home this year, a traditional rite of autumn that typically brings together mothers, daughters, aunts, grannies and neighbors. Some families can go through a couple of hundred heads of cabbage, and it’s not unusual for all the bathtubs and sinks in a house to be filled with bobbing cabbages as they are washed, soaked and brined.

The question that arises for me is; What would be the American equivalent to Korean Kimchi? What food items and rituals are so central to our way of life that they would warrant a statement from the governor? What food rituals bring together the generations in our households?

Maybe Thanksgiving turkey comes the closest, but my basic observation is that there is no equivalent. American food culture has been plowed under like a chemically enhanced, genetically modified field of corn. There is not much of an identifiable food culture. By contrast, when we went to Thailand two years ago one of the most memorable, tasty meals was the Korean food on the Korean Airlines flight. Most cultures in the world are integrally connected to food and food processes. A big part of the movement toward local food in the U.S. is an effort to recover our food culture. That's something that economists will never get.

But Korea's food culture may be facing greater challenges than a cabbage shortage;

Mrs. Roh has two daughters, both in their 30s, and she said they learned to make kimchi “by looking over my shoulder, by tasting and doing, like all Korean girls are supposed to.”

One daughter works at an Outback steakhouse, the other at an upscale department store, and they have little time to make kimchi on their own, Mrs. Roh said, lamenting the loss of another tradition to the “ppali ppali” or “hurry hurry” lifestyle of modern South Korea.

Outback steakhouse? I wonder if they serve kimchi with the steak.

Posted by on October 15, 2010 in Current Affairs, farmers markets, food policy, food preservation, history, kids and family, local economy | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

June 23, 2010

How to Can Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Other Jams & Jellies

Here's the recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb jam (one of our favorites) from the mother ship web site of food preservation, the National Center for Home Food Preservation. The recipe you use is going to depend on the kind of pectin you get. I usually use powder pectin because that's what is readily available in the local grocery story. With the powder I recommend just using the recipes that come with the pack of pectin. Last summer we canned over 30 jars of jam and we are now on our last jar.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam
with liquid pectin

  • 1 cup cooked red-stalked rhubarb (about 1 pound rhubarb and ¼ cup water)
  • 2½ cups crushed strawberries (about 1½ quart boxes)
  • 6½ cups sugar
  • 1 pouch liquid pectin

Yield: About 7 or 8 half-pint jars

Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure: Sterilize canning jars and prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's directions.

To prepare fruit. Wash rhubarb and slice thin or chop; do not peel. Add water, cover, and simmer until rhubarb is tender (about 1 minute). Sort and wash fully ripe strawberries; remove stems and caps. Crush berries.

To make jam. Measure prepared rhubarb and strawberries into a kettle. Add sugar and stir well. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to a full boil with bubbles over the entire surface. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Skim.

Fill hot jam immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam in a boiling water canner.
  Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Hot Half-pints
or Pints		 5 min 10 15

Below are the general observations I made from my Master Food Preserver course about canning jams and jellies. For my whole series of posts on food preservation.

I have always been a big fan of jams and jellies and now I know why. I learned in my class that traditional cooked jams and jellies are 65-68% sugar. My new name for jam is fruit flavored sugar. That hasn't ruined it for me though. Over the weekend we made batches of raspberry and strawberry rhubarb. Insert Homer Simpson low growling noises here.

There are ways to reduce the sugar content of jams and jellies like using clear jel, or specially formulated pectin, or a freezer jam recipe, but don't reduce the sugar in traditional recipes or your jam won't gel. Turns out that jams require just the right balance of sugar, pectin, acid, and fruit. Messing with the ratio of any of those is enough to ruin a batch. It's really a great arrangement if you think about it. If your friend is aghast at you adding 8 cups of sugar to 5 cups of fruit, just explain that you'd really like to use less sugar but you need that much for it to gel properly. You're not being a glutton, just a conscientious chef.

Here are some things to consider as you make plans for your favorite fruit spread:

  • Commercial pectins are made from apples and citrus fruit and come in liquid and powdered forms. Make sure to use the kind of pectin specified in the recipe. You also may find different brands have a different standard package size. I bought the MCP brand and used their provided recipes to ensure the proper balance of ingredients.
  • Traditional Jams and Jellies have a reduced risk of foodborne illness because of the high sugar and acid content. If you want to make gifts for friends and families, jams and jellies may be a better option than that canned asparagus when it comes to having piece of mind about safety, both yours and theirs.
  • While jams and jellies have a high sugar content, the typical store varieties have high fructose corn syrup as their main ingredient, which is much worse for your health than sugar. Do your family a favor and make them some homemade jam and do your local farmer a favor and use their fruit. Here's the Greenbluff schedule of fruit availability.
  • If you're at altitude and need to process your jam for 10 minutes or more, you don't need to sterilize the jars, otherwise you need to boil the jars separately for 10 minutes. I say just plan on processing for 10 minutes and save yourself a step.
  • You can make jams and jellies without added pectin by taking advantage of the natural pectins in fruit, but this requires long cooking of the fruit, balancing ripe and less than ripe fruit, and other detailed instructions that I'd rather not have to deal with. I have a hard enough time just measuring 8 cups of sugar without my kids distracting me.
  • I've heard jams made with gelatin are kind of lame.
  • A kitchen scale is a must for figuring out the amount of fruit you'll need to start with in order to get the measured amount that goes into final mix.
  • Don't double the recipe. Changing the batch size changes ratios and cooking times, and will likely result in jam that doesn't set properly.
  • 1/4 teaspoon of butter or margarine is a good way of reducing foam during the cooking.
  • Sugar crystals in your jam or jelly probably means the ratio of sugar to water is higher than 68%, at which level it is impossible to completely dissolve it.

Posted by on June 23, 2010 in food preservation, fruit | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

May 05, 2010

How to Can Pickled Asparagus

Asparagus web Asparagus will start showing up in abundance at area farmers' markets in a few weeks. Below is the recipe for Canning Pickled Asparagus from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Always use a trusted, scientifically based home canning recipe and never improvise the recipe. Feel free to add some foodie flair when you're ready to use the asparagus. Note that if you are just going to can asparagus in water you will need to use a pressure canner.

Go here for my series on home food preservation from the Master Food Preserver Class. I plan on adding to and updating the section on food preservation this summer.

Pickled Asparagus
For six wide-mouth pint jars

 
10 pounds asparagus
6 large garlic cloves
4½ cups water
4½ cups white distilled vinegar (5%)
6 small hot peppers (optional)
½ cup canning salt
3 teaspoons dill seed

For seven 12-ounce jars

7 pounds asparagus
7 large garlic cloves
3 cups water
3 cups white distilled vinegar (5%)
7 small hot peppers (optional)
1/3 cup canning salt 


2 teaspoons dill seed Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure:

   1.   Wash and rinse canning jars; keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions.
   2. Wash asparagus well, but gently, under running water. Cut stems from the bottom to leave spears with tips that fit into the canning jar with a little less than ½-inch headspace. Peel and wash garlic cloves. Place a garlic clove at the bottom of each jar, and tightly pack asparagus into jars with the blunt ends down.
   3. In an 8-quart Dutch oven or saucepot, combine water, vinegar, hot peppers (optional), salt and dill seed. Bring to a boil. Place one hot pepper (if used) in each jar over asparagus spears. Pour boiling hot pickling brine over spears, leaving ½-inch headspace.
   4. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids.
   5. Process in a boiling water canner according to the recommendations in Table 1. Let cool, undisturbed, for 12 to 24 hours and check for seals.
Allow pickled asparagus to sit in processed jars for 3 to 5 days before consumption for best flavor development.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Pickled Asparagus in a boiling-water canner.
  Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Raw 12-ounce or Pints 10 min 15 20

Posted by on May 05, 2010 in food preservation, vegetables | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

August 05, 2008

Community Canning Centers and Spokane Eat Local Challenge

Of_course_i_can_wwii_poster

I came across this article at www.eatlocalchallenge.com about the history of community canning centers, where you could take food from your garden have them can it for you. Someone was telling me that in the not too distant past they had one of these in Greenacres, east of Spokane. Some folks are saying that the nature of our times calls for a renewal of this kind of thing. I'm guessing our current regulatory and liability environment are not very conducive to this but who knows.

By the way, I'm going to go ahead and see if I can stir up some momentum for a September eat local challenge in Spokane. See here for the rundown. I'm looking for organizations and individuals who are interested in being a part of it. Spread the word.   

Posted by on August 05, 2008 in food preservation, gardening | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

August 04, 2008

Master Food Preserver Week 6 - Jams and Jellies

Jam_2I have always been a big fan of jams and jellies and now I know why. I learned in my class that traditional cooked jams and jellies are 65-68% sugar. My new name for jam is fruit flavored sugar. That hasn't ruined it for me though. Over the weekend we made batches of raspberry and strawberry rhubarb. Insert Homer Simpson low growling noises here.

There are ways to reduce the sugar content of jams and jellies like using clear jel, or specially formulated pectin, or a freezer jam recipe, but don't reduce the sugar in traditional recipes or your jam won't gel. Turns out that jams require just the righ balance of sugar, pectin, acid, and fruit. Messing with the ratio of any of those is enough to ruin a batch. It's really a great arrangement if you think about it. If your friend is aghast at you adding 8 cups of sugar to 5 cups of fruit, just explain that you'd really like to use less sugar but you need that much for it to gel properly. You're not being a glutton, just a conscientious chef.

Here are some things to consider as you make plans for your favorite fruit spread:

  • Commercial pectins are made from apples and citrus fruit and come in liquid and powdered forms. Make sure to use the kind of pectin specified in the recipe. You also may find different brands have a different standard package size. I bought the MCP brand and used their provided recipes to ensure the proper balance of ingredients.
  • Traditional Jams and Jellies have a reduced risk of foodborne illness because of the high sugar and acid content. If you want to make gifts for friends and families, jams and jellies may be a better option than that canned asparagus when it comes to having piece of mind about safety, both yours and theirs.
  • While jams and jellies have a high sugar content, the typical store varieties have high fructose corn syrup as their main ingredient, which is much worse for your health than sugar. Do your family a favor and make them some homemade jam and do your local farmer a favor and use their fruit. Here's the Greenbluff schedule of fruit availability.
  • If you're at altitude and need to process your jam for 10 minutes or more, you don't need to sterilize the jars, otherwise you need to boil the jars seperately for 10 minutes. I say just plan on processing for 10 minutes and save yourself a step.
  • You can make jams and jellies without added pectin by taking advantage of the natural pectins in fruit, but this requires long cooking of the fruit, balancing ripe and less than ripe fruit, and other detailed instructions that I'd rather not have to deal with. I have a hard enough time just measuring 8 cups of sugar without my kids distracting me.
  • I've heard jams made with gelatin are kind of lame.
  • A kitchen scale is a must for figuring out the amount of fruit you'll need to start with in order to get the measured amount that goes into final mix.
  • Don't double the recipe. Changing the batch size changes ratios and cooking times, and will likely result in jam that doesn't set properly.
  • 1/4 teaspoon of butter or margarine is a good way of reducing foam during the cooking.
  • Sugar crystals in your jam or jelly probably means the ratio of sugar to water is higher than 68%, at which level it is impossible to completely dissolve it.

Links: General Guide for Jellies, Jams, and Spreads, Another General Guide, Making Reduced Sugar Spreads, Troubleshooting Problems, Lots of great and trustworthy recipes and instructions here.   

Posted by on August 04, 2008 in food preservation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 28, 2008

Master Food Preserver Week 5 - Canning Vegetables, Meat, Seafood, and other Low Acid Foods

GreenbeansI was talking with a canning veteran about food preservation the other day and she said in a forboding voice, "Don't can green beans." The implication was that it isn't safe to can a low acid food like green beans because of the risk of deadly and debilitating botulism. The truth is that low acid foods are safe to can as long as you follow tested recipes from here, , or . It is also true that improperly canned low acid foods can be deadly.

The key to safely canning low-acid foods is the proper use of a pressure canner which will get the foods to the 240-250 degrees necessary to kill botulism. You can use a pressure canner with a dial guage, that shows a number reading of the internal pressure, or a pressure canner with a weighted-guage that makes a jiggling noise when at proper pressure. The plus side of a dial guage is more flexible adjustments for needed pressure, especially when you need to make adjustments for altitude. For example, if a processing recipe at 2,500 feet of elevation calls for 12 pounds of pressure on a dial guage you can make the adjustment with some precision. Your only option with a weighted guage is to use the 15 pound setting. The down side of a dial guage canner is that it must be tested every year for accuracy and in general is less precise than a weighted guage.

I'm going with the weighted guage. I've been told that there is minimal loss of quality using the canner at 15 pounds, and I have more of a comfort level with the weighted guage being more accurate.

Here are some things to know about canning low acid foods.

  • It is important to vent the canner for 10 minutes to get out air pockets. This includes "self-venting" canners. Otherwise the food will be under-processed.
  • It is recommended that all properly canned low acid foods be boiled before eating for 10 minutes to ensure safety. Above 1,000 feet of elevation add a minute for every 1,000 feet.
  • The cool down time is not optional. It is actually part of the processing time built into the recipe. (30 minutes with pints and 45 minutes with quarts in older canners. New canners have a vent lock indicator.)
  • Loss of liquid may be caused by fluctuations in temperature during processing.
  • Yellow,gray or black crystals on asparagus are probably rutin, a safe, naturally occuring pigment.
  • If the pressure sinks below the recommended pressure during processing you've got to bring it back up to pressure and make sure it is processed at the proper pressure without interruption for the entire processing time.
  • I've been told canned meats, beef especially, and stews are very good when pressure canned.
  • "Pressure cookers" should not be used.

Helpful Links:
- Canning Seafood pdf
- Instructions for canning asparagus, beans or peas (shelled), snap beans, beets, carrots, mixed vegetables, peppers, soups, and others.
- Instructions for canning poultry, red meats, and seafood (including chili)
- Special instructions for canning pumpkin
- Resources for preparing Venison   
- Using and Caring for Your Pressure Canner

   

Posted by on July 28, 2008 in food preservation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 23, 2008

Spokane County Fair Deadline is August 5

Giant_pumpkin_3Last year the girls and I entered a bunch of stuff in the fair including our 80 pound giant pumpkin. We're hoping for something over 100 pounds this year. We also entered some sunflowers, and other items from the garden. It was a great shared experience for me, Noel and Lily and they even got $25 out of the deal.

The Deadline for getting in your entry form in is August 5 and you turn them in at the Fair office right by the main entrance to the fairgrounds. Just enter everything that you think you might conceivably have to offer in early September and you can sort it out when you arrive with your items. The entry form is here.

Here are some of the categories: Food Preservation, Floral, Baking/Cooking, Wine, Beer, Fruits/Vegetables (including the Giant Pumpkin contest.)

Go here for the full list. Good luck

Posted by on July 23, 2008 in baking, community, food preservation, gardening, kids and family, vegetables | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 28, 2008

Master Food Preserver Week 4 - Canning Acid Foods

StrawberriesI just had my last Master Food Preserver Class but I'm not up to date on reporting on each class so I'll report in sequence even if the class was actually a couple of weeks ago.

The fruit is about to arrive from Greenbluff and Yakima so let's talk canning low acid foods.

We learned that the key to sorting out what method of canning to use is the acid level of foods. Foods higher in acid with a pH 4.6 or lower include rhubarb, apples, grapefruit, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sweet cherries, pears, and apricots. Note: the lower the pH the higher the acidity. These foods are safe to can using the water bath method using a recipe from here, , or . Note that the growth of molds can reduce the acidity and move fruits into the low acid category and make them susceptible to the growth of botulism. Go here for help choosing the right set-up for canning.

Tomatoes have a pH that ranges from 4.0 to 4.6, and because of this borderline status of acidity they must be acidified before processing with either bottled lemon juice (1 tbs/pint or 2 tbs/qt), citric acid (1/4 tsp/pt or 1/2 tsp/qt) or vinegar of 5% acidity (2 tbs/pt, 4 tbs/qt). Note that acid must be added whether you are using a boiling water bath or a pressure canner. The state of Washington extension office recommends boiling canned tomatoes for 10 minutes before eating as an extra measure of caution against botulism poisoning. Please note that canning times have changed recently for tomatoes, so  make sure to use an up to date version of recipes available here, , or    

Random notes on safety and quality: Make sure to adjust water bath time for altitude. Steam canners have major problems and are not recommended as a replacement for water bath canning. Vacuum packing machines are not a substitute for heat processing home canned foods. Use jars made for canning and lids with screw bands. Using metal scrubbers to clean jars can weaken them and lead to breakage. Screwing the band on too tight can lead to the lid buckling. Hot packing is generally recommended for improved quality. Check your appliance manufacturer's recommendations before you can on your ceramic stove stop. It is not considered safe to can quick breads. It is also not safe to home preserve veggies in oil, so throw out that garlic in oil your cousin gave you and that oil that you added peppers to last summer for the fun of it. The oil creates an anaerobic environment which can lead to the growth of botulism toxin. Some thing we see in the store we can't safely prepare in the home. 

Links:
Canning Fruits pdf
Canning Fruits and Tomatoes ($2)
How Do I Can?
How Do I Can Tomatoes?
How Do I Can Salsa?

The information in this post is taken from the Master Food Preserver Class taught by Washington State Extension in May and June of 2008. I will soon be dubbed a Master Food Preserver which I will put right up there with my Master of Divinity.

Posted by on June 28, 2008 in food preservation | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

June 10, 2008

Master Food Preserver Week 3 - Freezing Foods

Freezer2I've got some catching up to do  on our Master Food Preserver classes. Week 3 focused on freezing foods. We've got a large upright freezer in the garage that we haven't been using. When the fruit comes on in a couple of weeks we're going to fire it up and slowly but surely fill it up with the summer's bounty, so that we can enjoy it next fall, winter and spring. Here are a few observations from the class.

1. Start with high quality food. None off the methods of preservation will take half rotten food and traansform it into something better.

2. Freeze the food rapidly. To help this happen, lower the freezer temp. to 0 degrees or lower about 24 hours in advance of prepping and packaging your food. Spread them around, don't put in too much unfrozen food at one time. Once they are frozen you can return to a more normal temp for the freezer.

3. Freezing seasonal fruits is a great way to extend the season. Freezing them in some sort of sugar pack helps them maintain texture.

4. Freezing vegetables is also a great option but you have to make sure to blanch them according to instructions. Underblanching them is worse than not blanching at all when it comes to quality. Your canned veggies are one of your greatest risks of botulism, so if you want to avoid this risk altogether, freezing is a good way to go. Note, that if you can vegetables according to instructions here, , or , you are safe from botulism. 

Go here for a free pdf guide to freezing fruits and veggies.
Go here for a free pdf guide to freezing seafood.
Go here for a free pdf guide to freezing home prepared convenience foods like soups, breads, etc.
Go here for a free pdf guide to preserving big game, including freezing instructions.

Note that one downside of freezing is the ongoing energy expense of keeping everything frozen. There also is the risk of losing power to the freezer.

Posted by on June 10, 2008 in food preservation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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