Canning and Food Preservation Newb Seeks Advice
August 27, 2023 4:37 PM Subscribe
#metafilterfundraiser2023. I've upped my vegetable garden game a lot this year, but it means we have tons more food than we can reasonably use before it spoils. I was so focused on the gardening side of things that I just decided to roll with the preservation side when it came. It's here and predictably I'm overwhelmed!
I'm looking for recipes, recommendations, tips, your experiences, anything you can think of! My search for recipes is unfortunately a bit more complicated because I dislike vinegar (and alcohol). I'm working on the vinegar part...sort of, but it's very difficult to make myself like it. I'm also a vegetarian, but I don't think that will make a huge difference for this stuff.
If you're wondering if I have a certain fruit or veggie, the answer is probably yes (unless it's tropical). The things I have the most of right now are cucumbers, basil, zucchini, jalapeños, apples, tomatoes and leeks. Soon I'll have a lot of concord grapes, potatoes, onions and a big variety of peppers from bell to ghost peppers. But honestly, don't hold back if you have something good that doesn't involve any of this stuff! And don't be afraid to share very beginner/obvious advice. I do have the Ball canning recipe book.
Here's what I've done so far: canning applesauce (my one and only canning project) using this recipe, dehydrated jalapeños and turned them into powder, dehydrated apple rings, made pesto (though I haven't canned or frozen any), make tzatziki (ditto on no preservation), made zucchini bread and froze some extra (PS this recipe with the lemon pudding mix traded out for pistachio pudding mix is the absolute best).
I'm looking for recipes, recommendations, tips, your experiences, anything you can think of! My search for recipes is unfortunately a bit more complicated because I dislike vinegar (and alcohol). I'm working on the vinegar part...sort of, but it's very difficult to make myself like it. I'm also a vegetarian, but I don't think that will make a huge difference for this stuff.
If you're wondering if I have a certain fruit or veggie, the answer is probably yes (unless it's tropical). The things I have the most of right now are cucumbers, basil, zucchini, jalapeños, apples, tomatoes and leeks. Soon I'll have a lot of concord grapes, potatoes, onions and a big variety of peppers from bell to ghost peppers. But honestly, don't hold back if you have something good that doesn't involve any of this stuff! And don't be afraid to share very beginner/obvious advice. I do have the Ball canning recipe book.
Here's what I've done so far: canning applesauce (my one and only canning project) using this recipe, dehydrated jalapeños and turned them into powder, dehydrated apple rings, made pesto (though I haven't canned or frozen any), make tzatziki (ditto on no preservation), made zucchini bread and froze some extra (PS this recipe with the lemon pudding mix traded out for pistachio pudding mix is the absolute best).
Make a bunch of hot sauce with the peppers. It's also easy to freeze them whole or minced for later use.
I got really obsessed with this tomato jam after working at a place that put it on their egg sandwiches.
This isn't preservation related but may help if you're really drowning in veggies: Do you have neighbors? My favorite way to "use" the ridiculous abundance my summer garden gives me is to share it with my neighbors. Put out a bunch of stuff with a sign that says FREE and watch it disappear.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 5:35 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I got really obsessed with this tomato jam after working at a place that put it on their egg sandwiches.
This isn't preservation related but may help if you're really drowning in veggies: Do you have neighbors? My favorite way to "use" the ridiculous abundance my summer garden gives me is to share it with my neighbors. Put out a bunch of stuff with a sign that says FREE and watch it disappear.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 5:35 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Lacto fermenting! It's very easy. The book I read told me all you need to know is "submerge it in brine, and it will be fine!"
In short: submerge most any cut veggies (not broccoli) in a salt brine, maybe add some herbs or spices. Onions and peppers work great on their own or added to most mixes.
Pack it in a large jar and cover with a towel, and let sit at room temps for anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on veggie, size, and temp. If any pops up to the air it will rot, so keeping fully submerged is important and really the only way to fail. When they taste good to you, you pop them in the fridge and they are good for a year.
Google around for lots of similar instructions, good general info here: https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/fermented-vegetables/how-to-make-a-lacto-fermentation/
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:40 PM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
In short: submerge most any cut veggies (not broccoli) in a salt brine, maybe add some herbs or spices. Onions and peppers work great on their own or added to most mixes.
Pack it in a large jar and cover with a towel, and let sit at room temps for anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on veggie, size, and temp. If any pops up to the air it will rot, so keeping fully submerged is important and really the only way to fail. When they taste good to you, you pop them in the fridge and they are good for a year.
Google around for lots of similar instructions, good general info here: https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/fermented-vegetables/how-to-make-a-lacto-fermentation/
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:40 PM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
I am not very good at canning (so scared of messing up the acid part) so use my freezer a lot more. Pesto definitely freezes well. Tomato sauce freezes well; so do pureed or chopped tomatoes, cooked or not, to use throughout the winter in various recipes. Plum butter and apple butter are dead easy to make and are easy to actually can or freeze. Basically all the peppers I've ever tried it with (bell, jalapeno, birds eye, thai) can also be frozen (just straight whole, chuck em into the freezer) but afterward they need to be used in an application where they are soft and cooked like a sauce.
posted by holyrood at 5:42 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by holyrood at 5:42 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Concord grapes make a great syrup so you can have grape soda whenever you want! (I want to tell you to make a shrub but that’s vinegar-based, so maybe stick with a syrup. Wouldn’t that make a good milkshake with vanilla ice cream, too?)
posted by jeweled accumulation at 5:49 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jeweled accumulation at 5:49 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Going with the long-term preservation/storage part of the question, not so much canning.
You can freeze a lot of the things on your list like leeks, peppers, onions. That avoids the vinegar thing. Just clean and slice/chop, spread on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen place in freezer bag. That way you don’t have a solid clump of veg when you want to use it. None of these need defrosting, I just add them to the pot frozen.
People used to store apples, potatoes and onions for months without preservation - you need a dry, coolish (not the fridge) and darkish place.
Herbs can be frozen topped with water in an ice cube tray, or mixed with butter to make herb butter. Once frozen you can put the cubes in a freezer bag and re-claim your trays.
I’d also prep the zucchini ready for use and then freeze. I’d just portion it out for your standard zucchini bread recipe.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:51 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
You can freeze a lot of the things on your list like leeks, peppers, onions. That avoids the vinegar thing. Just clean and slice/chop, spread on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen place in freezer bag. That way you don’t have a solid clump of veg when you want to use it. None of these need defrosting, I just add them to the pot frozen.
People used to store apples, potatoes and onions for months without preservation - you need a dry, coolish (not the fridge) and darkish place.
Herbs can be frozen topped with water in an ice cube tray, or mixed with butter to make herb butter. Once frozen you can put the cubes in a freezer bag and re-claim your trays.
I’d also prep the zucchini ready for use and then freeze. I’d just portion it out for your standard zucchini bread recipe.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:51 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
You can freeze tomatoes whole! Any size! In the winter you can then blanch from frozen, peel the skins, and make fresh tasting pasta sauce.
posted by Wavelet at 6:44 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Wavelet at 6:44 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Basil: Blend with olive oil and freeze in ice cubes to add to dishes near the end of cooking or put on pizza, etc.
Peppers (hot and bell): Roast, peel skins if you don't want to eat them, and freeze, then add to pastas, etc. Alternatively, make fermented hot sauce or make a salsa and can or freeze.
Potatoes, onions: These keep for a long time in a cool place, you don't need to preserve them.
Apples: Also keep for quite a while in a cool place (make sure they have some ventilation). If you prefer, roast them whole and then run through a food mill for apple sauce, then freeze.
Tomatoes: Roast them whole, run through a food mill for sauce, then freeze.
Cucumbers, zucchini: Give away or use fresh, as without vinegar, your options are limited (unless you have some desire for frozen zucchini, which is not great).
Leeks: Make a leek-based soup and freeze that.
Grapes: These keep in the fridge for quite a long time, so just eat them.
posted by ssg at 8:19 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Peppers (hot and bell): Roast, peel skins if you don't want to eat them, and freeze, then add to pastas, etc. Alternatively, make fermented hot sauce or make a salsa and can or freeze.
Potatoes, onions: These keep for a long time in a cool place, you don't need to preserve them.
Apples: Also keep for quite a while in a cool place (make sure they have some ventilation). If you prefer, roast them whole and then run through a food mill for apple sauce, then freeze.
Tomatoes: Roast them whole, run through a food mill for sauce, then freeze.
Cucumbers, zucchini: Give away or use fresh, as without vinegar, your options are limited (unless you have some desire for frozen zucchini, which is not great).
Leeks: Make a leek-based soup and freeze that.
Grapes: These keep in the fridge for quite a long time, so just eat them.
posted by ssg at 8:19 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Refrigerator Pickles!
And you can do stuff other than your cucumbers, but I don't. They don't keep very long, but, if you have the space... Yummy.
Have had two years of gross, failed, cucumbers, and I got a late start this year, but do have some coming on. Toss them in with the spices you like, and bonus pickles! We tried the fermented pickles route a few years ago, and they were more work than they were worth. And forget canning them properly. Way beyond my skill set.
And what everyone else has said upthread.
Grapes: eat em or Jam them.
Peppers: yes, eat them asap or make them into hot sauces! A new hobby!
Ugh, now I am hungry
posted by Windopaene at 9:18 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
And you can do stuff other than your cucumbers, but I don't. They don't keep very long, but, if you have the space... Yummy.
Have had two years of gross, failed, cucumbers, and I got a late start this year, but do have some coming on. Toss them in with the spices you like, and bonus pickles! We tried the fermented pickles route a few years ago, and they were more work than they were worth. And forget canning them properly. Way beyond my skill set.
And what everyone else has said upthread.
Grapes: eat em or Jam them.
Peppers: yes, eat them asap or make them into hot sauces! A new hobby!
Ugh, now I am hungry
posted by Windopaene at 9:18 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you have any small cucumbers, the kind that can be stuffed at least 6 to a litre jar pickling them in brine is excellent and keeps for literal years - I've had five year old jars that were fine. Per kilo of cucumbers you need a head of garlic, half a big bunch of dill (preferably with flowers included) and 5cm of horseradish root. A handful of leaves - horseradish, oak, black currant, cherry or grape leaves are all traditional, it sounds like you have grape at least.
Divide the garlic into cloves (peeling optional), line the bottom of two sterilised litre/two-pint jars with half the non-cucumber ingredients and stuff them full of whole cucumbers before piling the rest of the add ons on top. Boil a litre of water with two tablespoons of salt, pour over to fill the jars entirely, put the lids on. Room temperature is important for the first 3 days of fermentation, later you can put them somewhere cooler like the basement. They'll be ready in 2-4 weeks.
Same recipe except half the salt and extras, they'll be ready in 2 days (with hot water) to a week (cold water) and fantastically crisp. You do need to eat those cucumbers within the week but they're very moreish. Good party food when scaled up to a big non metal bucket.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 3:03 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Divide the garlic into cloves (peeling optional), line the bottom of two sterilised litre/two-pint jars with half the non-cucumber ingredients and stuff them full of whole cucumbers before piling the rest of the add ons on top. Boil a litre of water with two tablespoons of salt, pour over to fill the jars entirely, put the lids on. Room temperature is important for the first 3 days of fermentation, later you can put them somewhere cooler like the basement. They'll be ready in 2-4 weeks.
Same recipe except half the salt and extras, they'll be ready in 2 days (with hot water) to a week (cold water) and fantastically crisp. You do need to eat those cucumbers within the week but they're very moreish. Good party food when scaled up to a big non metal bucket.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 3:03 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
A general note/rule of thumb for canning:
There are two ways to home-can things; either "water bath" canning, where you seal something in a mason jar and then boil that jar for a prescribed length of time, or "pressure canning", where you submerge the sealed jars in a pot and then the whole things goes into a pressure cooker. The water bath method you can do at home on your stove, but this will ONLY work for fruit. Seriously, don't try to do it with vegetables; for that you need the pressure canner. (Tomatoes are the only exception, but even there most recipes require you to add a splash of lemon juice in each jar.)
For every single fruit you have, there will be about 85 recipes online for how to can it.
For vegetables, freezing works beautifully. Just chop up the peppers the size you'd use them first and then freeze. You can do what koahiatamadi suggests above, where you spread the chopped things out on a cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour or two first, but I do something easier: I pack chopped things in those little "snack-size" plastic baggies, then seal them and stuff a bunch of those bags inside a larger freezer safe baggie. They'll still freeze together into a lump, but it's a smaller lump, and it's way easier to fish out just one of those little baggies and break off what you need. Each snack-size baggie holds about a cup of whatever.
For freezing things where you may only need a tablespoon of something, like for garlic or chopped herbs, you can use an ice cube tray. Blitz whatever in a food processor, and then stuff the minced whatever into the wells of an ice cube tray and freeze. Then pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer baggie. You can also chop and freeze some things together this way - if you do a lot of Asian cooking, which often calls for minced ginger and garlic, then you can chop a bunch of ginger and garlic together, and pack an ice cube tray with cubes of that - and then when you cook you've got a cube of pre-chopped garlic and ginger together and you're already set. This same principle works for minced "Italian herbs" (oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil chopped up together) or for Mexican cooking (garlic and jalapeno chopped together).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:57 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
There are two ways to home-can things; either "water bath" canning, where you seal something in a mason jar and then boil that jar for a prescribed length of time, or "pressure canning", where you submerge the sealed jars in a pot and then the whole things goes into a pressure cooker. The water bath method you can do at home on your stove, but this will ONLY work for fruit. Seriously, don't try to do it with vegetables; for that you need the pressure canner. (Tomatoes are the only exception, but even there most recipes require you to add a splash of lemon juice in each jar.)
For every single fruit you have, there will be about 85 recipes online for how to can it.
For vegetables, freezing works beautifully. Just chop up the peppers the size you'd use them first and then freeze. You can do what koahiatamadi suggests above, where you spread the chopped things out on a cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour or two first, but I do something easier: I pack chopped things in those little "snack-size" plastic baggies, then seal them and stuff a bunch of those bags inside a larger freezer safe baggie. They'll still freeze together into a lump, but it's a smaller lump, and it's way easier to fish out just one of those little baggies and break off what you need. Each snack-size baggie holds about a cup of whatever.
For freezing things where you may only need a tablespoon of something, like for garlic or chopped herbs, you can use an ice cube tray. Blitz whatever in a food processor, and then stuff the minced whatever into the wells of an ice cube tray and freeze. Then pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer baggie. You can also chop and freeze some things together this way - if you do a lot of Asian cooking, which often calls for minced ginger and garlic, then you can chop a bunch of ginger and garlic together, and pack an ice cube tray with cubes of that - and then when you cook you've got a cube of pre-chopped garlic and ginger together and you're already set. This same principle works for minced "Italian herbs" (oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil chopped up together) or for Mexican cooking (garlic and jalapeno chopped together).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:57 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
Even better than applesauce is apple butter! I've made it in a slow cooker and it's so easy and sooooo good.
posted by misskaz at 4:29 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by misskaz at 4:29 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Basil salt is a good thing to do when you have lots of basil; green and purple are best for this. I usually double the recipe. You can also do this with other leafy herbs such as celery leaves. It's fun to put this in small jars and gift to people.
Other ideas:
jalapeno honey
cucumber basil agua fresca
ratatouille is a good way to use your zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, leeks (you could sub leeks for the onions listed in the recipe) and it will freeze well
roasted tomato sauce: freeze in smaller containers (such as 8 oz glass jars) so you can grab one for a recipe and thaw it faster, rather than a big jar that will take a long time to defrost and maybe not get used up quickly once thawed
refrigerator zucchini relish
refrigerator grape jam
Also, depending on where you are and whether this is of interest, you may be able to donate some of your produce. My community garden has a weekly pickup of gardener excess that goes to a local advocacy org for unhoused and low-income people.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
Other ideas:
jalapeno honey
cucumber basil agua fresca
ratatouille is a good way to use your zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, leeks (you could sub leeks for the onions listed in the recipe) and it will freeze well
roasted tomato sauce: freeze in smaller containers (such as 8 oz glass jars) so you can grab one for a recipe and thaw it faster, rather than a big jar that will take a long time to defrost and maybe not get used up quickly once thawed
refrigerator zucchini relish
refrigerator grape jam
Also, depending on where you are and whether this is of interest, you may be able to donate some of your produce. My community garden has a weekly pickup of gardener excess that goes to a local advocacy org for unhoused and low-income people.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
Herbs - blenderize or food process to paste with just enough oil to get them going, freeze in small containers (try old plastic med bottles, that's my new fav) or ice cube trays (though I use those less - seems like for me, it's never the right ammt).
Second lacto fermenting (easy! No vineger), apple sauce and butter (expand this to other fruits too and use as yougart add-in), and canning. As this is always a season of overwhelm for me in both garden and kitchen, I'm not nuanced about what I make, my goal is 'preserve it' and I'll make it into a real foodstuff later).
I haven't seen chutneys mentioned, but they're another option.
Oh! How do you know when you should toss your lacto ferment (ie 'how do I know when something goes wrong?') - smell, mold anywhere but on top (sometimes happens if you can't get all air out), a notably thicker liquid, even if it doesn't smell or mold). I'm not sure if that last one us 'bad' but they don't taste right so I put them in the compost.
posted by esoteric things at 9:19 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Second lacto fermenting (easy! No vineger), apple sauce and butter (expand this to other fruits too and use as yougart add-in), and canning. As this is always a season of overwhelm for me in both garden and kitchen, I'm not nuanced about what I make, my goal is 'preserve it' and I'll make it into a real foodstuff later).
I haven't seen chutneys mentioned, but they're another option.
Oh! How do you know when you should toss your lacto ferment (ie 'how do I know when something goes wrong?') - smell, mold anywhere but on top (sometimes happens if you can't get all air out), a notably thicker liquid, even if it doesn't smell or mold). I'm not sure if that last one us 'bad' but they don't taste right so I put them in the compost.
posted by esoteric things at 9:19 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Depending on what you have, you will find safe and accurate canning and dehydration info at the National Center for Food Preservation. Also, look for canning and preservation books that are newer than 2015 or so at your local library. Your state extension service will also be helpful.
Someone above mentioned oil preservation-- be super super careful with that, it elevates the risk of botulism. I'm not saying don't do it but I am saying look up how to do it safely from a source that is not "somebody on the internet."
Dehydrated tomatoes can be ground up for tomato powder which is delicious on a lot of things. Use it like paprika but more acid.
If you have a lot of fresh nice vegetables it's very likely a local food pantry would welcome them.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:58 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Someone above mentioned oil preservation-- be super super careful with that, it elevates the risk of botulism. I'm not saying don't do it but I am saying look up how to do it safely from a source that is not "somebody on the internet."
Dehydrated tomatoes can be ground up for tomato powder which is delicious on a lot of things. Use it like paprika but more acid.
If you have a lot of fresh nice vegetables it's very likely a local food pantry would welcome them.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:58 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, pesto!!! You can grind up basically any vegetable with oil, salt, nuts, garlic, and lemon to make a pesto. They freeze well and grinding stuff up really compacts it down so you can stuff more in the freezer.
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:00 PM on August 28, 2023
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:00 PM on August 28, 2023
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Also on dehydration, sundried tomatoes can be made in a dehydrator easily enough. Store them in oil and you get flavoured oil too. (Check on storage times and requirements, they don't last forever but can be refrigerated or frozen.) Tomatoes can also be cooked down to sauce, passata and paste, all of which are much smaller than the tomatoes themselves.
I don't know whether vinegar as an ingredient is a no no for you versus vinegar as the primary flavour, but there are a wide variety of fruit and tomato chutneys out there that make fantastic toppings for salads and particularly cheese. They're mostly sweet and umami. (They get better after six weeks the the jar, so don't assume if they taste sour at the outset that all is lost.)
I inevitably recommend marrow ginger jam (a jelly in US parlance). A marrow is an overgrown zucchini where the seeds have formed shells are are no longer edible, the ones that have gone as thick as your arm because you didn't notice them for a couple of days. If you don't know what they are yet, you will work it out sooner or later; it happens to us all...
Applesauce will freeze. Chopped up apples will also freeze. Pesto will also freeze once made. I appreciate that your freezer space is limited, but if you have any...
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 5:06 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]