August 15, 2018 at 5:46 p.m.
Save those veggies for winter consumption
Save those veggies for winter consumption
By Cassie Shefchik-
Things like apples, carrots, rutabagas, cabbage, some potatoes, and winter squash can be stored for quite a while. But there are so many other vegetables that have to be used in a relatively short period of time. Let's navigate some of the methods of "putting food by for winter."
One of the easiest methods is dehydration. I like to dry herbs and fruit. I dry herbs in my gas oven using only the pilot light as a heat source. Herbs are placed on a platter or cookie sheet and popped into the oven; the oven does the work for me without even turning it on. When using a dehydrator, I dry herbs using a low setting since too high of heat will greatly discolor some herbs. I also use my dehydrator for drying fruit (apples, strawberries, and tomatoes) and some vegetables: Carrots (which must be boiled first), diced peppers, and onions. I always use the clean-a-screen on the trays of my Oster dehydrator so small items don't fall through and sticky items can easily be removed without damaging the trays.
Another easy method is freezing. Most herbs can be frozen with little or no preparation. One of my all-time favorite things to freeze is a sweet pepper and onion mix. Simply cut the sweet peppers and onions into 1/4" to 1/2" wide strips, mix together, and place into zip-lock bags. I like to use the snack size or pint size bags (perfect meal sizes) and place all of the smaller bags into a gallon-size freezer bag. Tomatoes can also be placed directly into freezer bags and frozen for later use. Other vegetables such as beans, broccoli, peas, and carrots have to be blanched (boiled first and then plunged into ice water) before being frozen.
Water bath canning is a very popular method of storing fruit and vegetables for later use and it's a great way to learn proper canning methods. Jams, jellies, salsas, relishes, tomato sauce, apple sauce, pickles, sauerkraut, and all other high acid foods use the water bath method. Zucchinis can easily be canned into pickles or relish.
Lastly, there's pressure canning. I know that most everyone has a pressure cooker, but a pressure cooker is not a pressure canner. However, a pressure canner can be used as a pressure cooker. Anyone who doesn't know the difference should not be pressure canning.
All of the methods I mentioned for food preservation, as well as recipes, can be further researched through the UW Home Extension and Ball Canning book.
The Hodag Farmers' Market is held at Rhinelander's Pioneer Park on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.
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