How Do You Store Potatoes?

The potato vines are all starting to die back now. This means that in another week or so, I'll finally get my answer as to if the bins did better this year over last year, or not. If the volunteers are any indication, it's been a good year for them in general; I've dug three of the random plants out already and have been pleased to see a good number of medium-sized tubers on each vine.

So, between the 7 bins, I'm anticipating at least 25 pounds of potatoes coming in. Seeing as how there's just the two of us, I need to come up with a way to make sure all of those spuds last through the cold months. Our main food storage area is in our basement, which stays around 55 degrees year 'round, and we have a dehumidifier to keep things from getting too damp. Unfortunately, 55 degrees is a bit warmer than is recommended for a root cellar (they should be around 40-45) so keeping the potatoes in there isn't a sure thing.

There are other options for storing potatoes that I think could work for us. I've been reading up on dehydrating and canning as possibilities, and I'm curious. I remember, vaguely, disliking store-bought canned potatoes as a kid, but I have never tried home-canned ones. Because they're a low-acid vegetable, I'll need to use the pressure canner versus a water bath, just to keep things safe. I happen to have some potatoes in the pantry that are starting to look a little rough, so I think I'll make up a test batch to see how they turn out. There's no real comparison between store-bought potatoes and home grown, but I think it'll be close enough to see if we like them canned or not.

To dry potatoes, it seems that they need to be cut thin and blanched, in order to take out some of the starch and prevent discoloration. That seems easy enough, so I'll definitely do a test batch of those, as well. I'd like to see how well they rehydrate before I invest too much time and energy into them.

I should probably look at freezing, too, while I'm coming up with ideas. We need to get a chest freezer anyway, with the beef coming in soon, so I think I'll have some extra cold storage space. I imagine it's really similar to drying, in that we'll need to blanch them first- so I could test freezing and drying out at the same time since the preparation is essentially the same.

Do you have any experience with canning, drying, or freezing potatoes? Or something I haven't thought of yet? Let me know over on Facebook; I'm always open for suggestions!

Food Preservation: Freezing

Now that the garden is more or less on auto-pilot, it's time for me to focus on getting things brought in and stored for the winter. With the weather still being really warm, however, I don't really have an interest in breaking out the canning supplies and making up huge batches of... anything. I'd much rather put that sort of project on hold for a rainy day. So, I turn to my freezer. It's a great way to put up small batches of produce, keeping things manageable in the kitchen.

Berries lend themselves particularly well to freezing. Yes, the texture can change dramatically once thawed, but with frozen berries I feel like I have more options on their use. I can put them in baked goods, use them in smoothies, make fruit leather, or even make a jam out of them. If I were to can them up front, I'd lose that flexibility. 

Freezing berries couldn't be any easier. First, wash your fruit and let them dry a bit. I just leave them to drip dry in a colander for a few minutes, while I gather up my baking sheet and make sure there's a space cleared in the freezer. Then, I spread the berries out in a single layer, and pop it in the freezer. The next morning (or in a couple of hours, if I remember) the berries are frozen solid and can go into a freezer bag or your container of choice. Since they were frozen individually, they stay separated and I can just measure out whatever I need as I go. 

Veggies are also easy to freeze at home, but they generally need a quick blanch in some boiling water, in order to halt enzyme activity and keep the texture/color at its best. Here's a handy link to the National Center for Food Preservation website and their list of blanching times, by veg. Once the blanching is done, I treat them the same as I do the berries: freeze in a single layer, then portion out into vacuum-sealed bags. I even have a couple of bags of green beans left from last year in the freezer, and they still look and taste great!

I also like to make use of my freezer for pre-cooked meals. Whenever I make a batch of something that I'd consider a one-dish meal (soup, stews, chili, etc.) I like to make a little extra so I can freeze it for lunches or a fast dinner. I like using my straight-sided canning jars for this, as they can go right from the freezer to the microwave (minus the metal ring/lid), if someone's in a hurry.Otherwise, they thaw nicely in the fridge. I generally avoid using jars with a necked-down opening, just because it's harder to get something out if it's still frozen. 

The key to using glass in the freezer is to always remember that liquids expand as they freeze. In order to avoid any shattered containers, I do two things: first, I make sure to leave at least an inch of space between the food and the top of the jar. Second, I initially freeze the jars overnight without their lids on, and then cover them the next morning- no lid means that the filling in the jar has a place to go, if I happen to have overfilled it. If you're not keen on leaving something uncovered, then use some plastic wrap or foil in the interim. Once everything is frozen and the lids are on, the jars stack nicely in the freezer until you're ready to use them. 

Do you make use of your freezer to preserve foods from your garden? Stop by Facebook and tell me about it!

Food Preservation- An Overview

There's a lot of information out there about canning, which is a pretty great thing, in my opinion. Often times, though, it can be overwhelming to read a story about how the writer processed and canned a couple hundred pounds of, say, tomatoes- in just two days! I love the idea of doing that, don't get me wrong- but for most people, unless you're planning on taking a day off from work and/or inviting some friends over, it's just not practical. 

I don't know about you, but for me, if something is impractical or inconvenient I find it difficult to fit it into my day- let alone make it a routine. This is where knowing your options comes in handy, and a really great place to start is over at the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. There are also a number of excellent bloggers out there who focus on food preservation, but I'm getting ahead of myself already. 

Freezing. Dehydrating. Canning. Fermenting/Pickling. Curing/Smoking. These are all ways to store different foods, and in many cases can be done in small batches so that it's not a huge time commitment. Freezing can be as simple as doubling a recipe, and packaging up the extra half for another time. I do that often when I make soups- I'll freeze up individual portions in jars, so we have them for later. (Yes, you can freeze in glass. You just have to allow space for expansion- I'll go over this in another post.)

Dehydrating is a great way to preserve things- and you can do it with more than just fruit. If you're a hiker or a camper, getting into dehydrating your trail/camp foods can save you a chunk of change. Vegetables (hello, zucchini), herbs, meats and even some soups can all be dried at home. I have a dehydrator that I use, but an oven works just fine, if you're just wanting to try it out. Remember, people have been dehydrating things since long before our modern appliances came around, so you don't need fancy gear to get started. 

Canning... oh, how I love canning! Taking fresh, in-season food and making it shelf stable is practically magic, in my book. Yes, there are safety issues that you need to be aware of - like botulism - but once you know the rules it's easy to play the game. There are TONS of great resources for canning; tried-and-true recipes, that will turn out safe to store as well as delicious, provided you follow the instructions.

Fermenting and Pickling are also great ways to preserve things, and they go way beyond the sandwich pickles that you find in the grocery store. Sauerkraut, kimchi, giardiniera- I think nearly every culture in the world has their own signature fermented/pickled dish. Fermenting takes a little more time, but that's how it was done, before you could go buy gallon jugs of vinegar. Not that there's anything wrong with a quick pickle... they certainly have their place too. 

I haven't done much curing and smoking, for no reason other than I just haven't gotten around to it. I do, however, have plans to build a smoker this year. I love smoked salmon, so when that season comes around, I want to take a stab at it. Of all the methods above, though, curing and smoking do take the most time but a good portion of that is hands-off. 

Of course, these are just broad categories to describe the processes you can use to preserve things. We'll go over each one in more detail over the next few weeks, complete with recipes and links to other great sites to get you started. Until then, check out the basics over at the National Center, and start thinking about your favorite preserved foods so we can talk about them over on Facebook!

What's your favorite method of preserving?