by Megan Minnick, Purchasing Director
The local growing season is upon us, and that means it’s already time to start thinking about preserving this season’s harvest to enjoy in those long winter months to come!
Last year, there was a national shortage on canning jars and other food preservation equipment, so this year it’s a good idea to think ahead, make a plan, and get what you need now to ensure that you’ll be ready to can, dry, ferment, and freeze as many local goodies as you can! We’ll have a large shipment of canning jars coming later this month, but we can’t guarantee our supply after that.
To help you plan, we’ve prepared a guide for the most common foods that can (pun intended) be preserved in the coming months.
Remember that all types of food preservation, especially canning, can be risky if not done correctly. To avoid any food safety risk, make sure that you use a well vetted recipe and follow it carefully. The UW Extension publishes some great information about food safety and home food preservation on their website: fyi.extension.wisc.edu/safefood/recipes. Another great resource for information and recipes is the National Center for Home Food Preservation: nchfp.uga.edu.
June
Asparagus
- Preservation Methods: canning, fermenting, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: pickled asparagus.
- Note: The season for asparagus tends to wind down sometime in June, so now is the time! Frozen asparagus loses much of its rigidity, so it’s good for applications like soups, but not for eating as you would fresh asparagus.
Strawberries
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: jam, pie filling, syrup, smoothies
- Note: The strawberry crop typically starts mid-month and only lasts for a few weeks.
Rhubarb
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: jam; pie filling.
- Note: Rhubarb by itself can be a bit astringent. Consider pairing it with strawberries to make an excellent jam or pie.
Culinary Herbs & Teas
- Preservation Methods: drying, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: custom herbal blends for tea or cooking; frozen pesto.
- Note: Herbs can be preserved at almost any time during the season. To dry herbs, use a dehydrator, or use an open oven at its lowest heat for 30 minutes to an hour.
July
Cucumbers
- Preservation Methods: canning, fermenting.
- Recommended Applications: sweet pickles.
- Note: Local cucumbers are in abundance in July, but the flowering tops of dill are not ready quite yet, so if you want to make pickles this month sweet pickles are your best bet.
Blueberries
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: jam; pie filling; syrup; smoothies; pancakes.
Cherries
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing
- Recommended Applications: jam; pie filling; brandied cherries; maraschino cherries.
- Note: Tart cherries are preferred for jams, jellies and pie, although sweet cherries can also be used in a pinch.
August
Peaches
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing, drying
- Recommended Applications: jam; pie filling; diced, halves, or quarters canned in syrup, fruit leather.
Plums
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing
- Recommended Applications: jam; pie filling; pickles; canned in syrup.
Cucumbers (Dill Pickles)
- Preservation Methods: canning, fermenting.
- Recommended Applications: dill pickles.
- Note: Depending on the year, the window of time when pickling dill (the flowers of the dill plant) and cucumbers are available at the same time can be very short, so it’s a good idea to make your dill pickles as soon as pickling dill becomes available. If you can’t find fresh pickling dill, dried dill seed from the spice aisle is a good substitute!
Green Beans
- Preservation Methods: canning, fermenting, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: dilly beans.
- Note: The same advice for dill pickles applies here. If you like dilly beans, and plan to also make dill pickles, it’s quite easy to do both at the same time. Green beans can be frozen, but they will lose their rigidity so are only good in recipes where it’s okay that they are soft.
Tomatoes
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing, drying.
- Recommended Applications: marinara; salsas; whole peeled tomatoes; diced tomatoes; tomato paste; ketchup; BBQ sauce.
- Note: Tomato preservation will likely take you into September. If you’re feeling like it’s all too much, try freezing whole tomatoes, skin and all in freezer bags. These won’t be good for fresh applications, but you can process them however you wish later in the winter when there’s more time and energy for such things. Another August tomato trick is to sear them on the grill to get the skins to split before canning. This takes some of the cooking out of the hot kitchen on warm summer days.
Sweet Corn
- Preservation Methods: freezing.
- Recommended Applications: any recipe that uses frozen corn!
- Note: Just cut the corn off of the cob and freeze! Unlike a lot of other frozen veggies, no blanching or cooking is necessary.
September
Watermelon Rind
- Preservation Methods: canning.
- Recommended Applications: pickled watermelon rind.
Raspberries
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: jam; smoothies.
- Note: Summer bearing raspberry varieties ripen in June or July, but the bulk of the harvest comes in the fall.
Peppers
- Preservation Methods: canning, drying, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: pickled peppers; chipotle or ancho peppers; (dried, smoked jalapeño or poblano peppers); roasted red peppers (frozen).
October
Apples
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing, drying.
- Recommended Applications: apple sauce; apple butter, dried apple rings; fruit leather.
Beets
- Preservation Methods: pickling, fermentation.
- Recommended Applications: pickled beets.
- Note: Beets are in season from late July through most of the winter, so if you want to preserve some, do it when there’s a break in the work from other crops!
Pumpkin
- Preservation Methods: canning, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin butter, frozen puree.
- Note: Frozen puree is extremely convenient for winter baking or soups.
Cabbage
- Preservation Methods: fermentation.
- Recommended Applications: sauerkraut; kimchi.
Cranberries
- Preservation Methods: canning, fermentation, freezing.
- Recommended Applications: jam or jelly; cranberry sauce.