By Christine Reid

After all your hard work in the garden, now comes the time to reap the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor. But as you look at buckets and baskets brimming with things like okra, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans or tomatoes, you’re faced with the niggling question: What in the world will I do with all this? And, no, slipping squash into your neighbor’s unlocked car is not an option!

Of course, the first step and the most fun is to eat the fresh produce. Most of us have favorite recipes for garden tomatoes and green beans. And a great way to use cucumbers (sliced), sweet peppers (cut up) and cherry tomatoes is to keep a bowl of them out for everyone to snack on. That gives kids and grownups a much healthier alternative to salty, fatty snacks. But after making snacks, sandwiches, salads and side dishes, how do you deal with pounds and pounds of extra produce?

There are several excellent ways to preserve your garden bounty, including canning, freezing, pickling and dehydrating. Water bath canners are used for preserving high acid foods, like  tomatoes, fruits and pickled foods, while pressure canners, which operate at a much higher temperature, preserve meat, green beans and other low acid vegetables. Even though food preparation is not a new skill, techniques and guidelines are always being updated, making it worth the time to learn the best ways to make food safer and more flavorful.

Canning

According to Laura Petty, Hays County Extension Agent-Family and Consumer Sciences, sticking to the basics in preserving food is the best route. Using the proper equipment, she said, following guidelines and having USDA or extension-tested recipes on hand will give you food that is both safe and tasty.That means, she added, avoiding the use of mayonnaise jars for canning and, instead of using a regular jar lid or pouring wax on top, properly sealing jars with canning lids and bands. While jars and bands, if in good condition, can be re-used, lids need to be new and less than two years old, as the rubber can deteriorate with time. Also, when using a water bath canner, use bottled lemon juice instead of fresh lemon juice, when called for in a recipe, to assure the proper acidity level. After canning, the dome of a cooled, unopened jar should not have any “give.” When it is opened, it should make a distinct popping sound. If, within 24 hours of processing, a jar hasn’t sealed properly, re-process it or refrigerate it.

Petty noted that while many people can be intimidated by the idea of canning, there are many excellent resources available to consumers such as the Hays County Agrilife Extension website, the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) website, USDA food preservation publications, libraries and the county extension office. She also highly recommends the book, “So Easy to Preserve,” available from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. It contains step-by-step instructions, more than 185 tested recipes and information for both new and experienced food preservers.

In addition, Petty said, there is a free, self-paced online course, located on the NCHFP website, for those who would like to learn more about food preservation. It covers an introduction to food preservation, general canning and canning both acid and low-acid foods. The Hays County Agrilife Extension Office also holds canning workshops about once a year, Petty said. If there’s enough interest, the office can schedule them more often in the future.

Since preserving food doesn’t improve the quality of the product, it’s important to use vegetables and fruits when they’re fresh, not when they’re overripe or are becoming spoiled. Also, follow recipes exactly since ingredients such as salt and vinegar are there not just for flavor but for safety. There are tested low-salt and low-sugar recipes available online, at the extension office or in publications.

Freezing

Along with canning, people may also freeze their extra produce. Freezing can be one of the easiest preservation methods but also the most expensive because of the cost of keeping a freezer running. Many vegetables, such as corn, require blanching (briefly boiling or steaming) before freezing to prevent spoilage and to help retain flavor and color, while other foods, such as blackberries, can be packed dry (after being rinsed and dried) into containers or bags. There are some foods that shouldn’t be frozen separately at all, such as Irish potatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and most dishes containing egg or dairy products. When freezing combination dishes, check current information on the best way to preserve the flavor.

Along with using containers and bags that are meant for freezer storage, there are a few tips to freezing successfully. Freeze foods as soon as they are packed, at 0 degrees or colder. In fact, you can set the temperature control at 10 degrees below 0 about 24 hours before you put food in the freezer to help cool food down quicker. And don’t overload your freezer. Only put in the amount of food that will freeze within 24 hours, which is approximately 2-3 pounds of food per foot of freezer space. Put the name and date on the bags or containers so that you can use older food first.

Pickling not only helps preserve food, it adds flavor to many vegetables, such as cucumbers, cabbage, peppers and more. Because there has to be a uniform level of acidity to a pickled food, don’t alter the recipe ingredients. Vinegar should have five percent acidity and canning salt should be used instead of table salt, as it can cause the pickling liquid to become cloudy. Since pickled foods can be subject to spoilage from microorganisms, they should be processed in a water bath canner.

Dehydrating

For centuries, people have been preserving their food through dehydration. Many feel that dehydration is one of the best and most affordable ways to preserve food. You can make fruit leathers and you can dry herbs, fruits and vegetables with the dehydration method. You can dry food outdoors, in an oven or in a food dehydrator, which is probably the fastest method. We purchase and consume dried food daily, like raisins, prunes and peas, as well as herbs and spices. Drying your own fruits, vegetables and herbs will almost certainly result in food that has a better taste, higher quality and lower cost.

Take it to the bank

What if after all these choices, you still have more produce than you can handle?  Well, put it in the bank! Margaret Denson, Client Services Coordinator at the Hays County Food bank, said they welcome donations of garden fruits and vegetables. It’s very helpful, when donating root crops, to rinse and dry them first. If the box you use to deliver the fruits or vegetables doesn’t need to be returned, so much the better. Otherwise, the crew just needs a few moments to transfer the produce to another container. The best times to donate garden produce is before 11 a.m. Monday through Thursday and before 9 a.m. on Fridays, as they send out orders earlier that day. Call them at (512) 392-8300 with any questions. 

With these different ways of dealing with a bumper crop of vegetables, you can have a pantry full of food from your own garden and, best of all, your friends and neighbors won’t have to live in fear of errant zucchini and okra popping up in their cars, mailboxes or front steps!

Any questions? Send an email to reidsnursery@gmail.com or call (512) 398-6011.