Preserving the Harvest

Across Montana

Photography by Amy Grisak

It’s that time of the year – people lock their car doors and check their front step for illicit zucchini dumping activity. 

As summer winds down, while an abundant harvest is welcome, the seasons end can be overwhelming. With a little effort, the bounty can be preserved well into the winter months and there are several ways to do so.

Freezing for short term storage:

One preferred technique is to freeze everything as it’s harvested to can later for long-term storage. 

As tomatoes ripen, what isn’t used fresh can be placed in gallon-sized Ziplock bags and kept in the freezer until there’s time to cook up a batch of sauce or stewed tomatoes. There is no preparation needed besides rinsing off any soil. 

This method also works for fruits to later be made into jams and jellies. It works well with grapes, crabapples, raspberries, chokecherries, and any other fruit used for spreads. Simply pull a bag or two of fruit from the freezer and extract the juice using a steam juicer for a batch of jelly.

Freezing produce to process later is a convenient way to quickly deal with excess. Plus, it’s nice to have the stove roaring and the smell of fruits and vegetables when it’s -20 degrees in the middle of winter. 

Freezing for long term storage:

Freezing fruits and vegetables maintains excellent quality with little effort given plentiful freezer space.

To freeze vegetables, start by washing and chopping them into usable sizes. Blanching is required as it eliminates enzymes which would otherwise degrade the quality of the food. Blanching time varies depending on the vegetable, but in general, it entails dropping the vegetables in boiling water, then moving to an ice bath before bagging or placing in containers.  It is typically easiest to cut the vegetables prior to blanching, except with corn – which can be blanched first, then held on top of an angel food cake pan, and sliced down the sides. The corn falls into the pan and is easy to scoop up and bag. 

Recommended blanching times are as follows: 

Asparagus: 2-3 minutes (blanch a little longer for larger spears)
Beans: 2 minutes
Broccoli: 3 minutes
Brussels sprouts: 4 minutes 
Carrots: 2 minutes
Corn on the cob: 9 minutes
Peas: 2 minutes
Sugar peas: 2 minutes
Zucchini slices: 3 minutes
Peppers: Not needed
Tomatoes: 1 minute, then peel off skins

Dehydrate:

Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is another great option, especially if freezer space is limited.  

Similar to freezing, dehydrating some vegetables requires a quick blanch to preserve color and quality – the same times can be applied. Some produce, such as beets, onions, peppers, herbs, mushrooms, horseradish, and garlic do not require blanching.  

Fruits do not require blanching either but some, such as apples, peaches, and bananas, benefit from a lemon juice or citric acid rinse, although this is mostly to preserve color. 

To dehydrate fruits and vegetables, first slice to preferred sizes, then place on trays and dry at the recommended temperature until they are leathery and dry, but not brittle. Local extension offices have specifics on how long to dry each kind of fruit or vegetable.  

Tomato or apple sauces can be turned into fruit leather for future cooking or tasty snacks. Silicon liners or parchament paper can be used to line the dehydrator to make leathers. 

Store dried fruits and vegetables in small, usable amounts in sealed bags or mason jars in a cool, dry place. 

Canning:

Canning is the ultimate way to preserve bulk produce in short order. For example, it requires 21 pounds of tomatoes to make nine pints of a thin tomato sauce. Twenty-one pounds of apples will yield seven quarts of applesauce, and a bushel (roughly 50 pounds) of pears results in approximately 16 – 25 quarts of canned pear quarters or halves. Fourteen pounds of cucumbers will make seven quarts of pickles and 21 pounds of beets are needed for seven quarts of pickled beets.  

An abundance in the garden is something to be shared, but with preservation techniques it can be kept and enjoyed into the winter as well.