As promised, here is a post about preserving food. In this day and age, so many of us are trying to save money. There’s talk of recession and inflation has been increasing like crazy.
One of the most healthful tips (for your wallet and your body) is preserving food. This may look different for various places around the world because we don’t all have access to the same types of food. Where I live, the summer is the best time to preserve food because you can’t really grow anything in the winter.
Even if you’re not able to grow your own food or you can only grow some of your own food, preserving can still be possible. We aren’t able to grow everything we want to freeze on account of space and the type of soil we have, but there are lots of other opportunities for us to access those food. For example, we cannot grow strawberries very well on our property, but we can go pick strawberries nearby. Even if we’re not physically able to pick, there are lots of fresh strawberries from various farms near us. We also love blueberries and we planted some bushes this year, but we won’t have enough to last us all year for several years as the plants are establishing themselves.
Preserving food may look like freezing it, water bath canning, pressure canning, drying, or freeze drying it. Once again, only some of these options may work for you and that’s okay! We freeze a lot of our fruit, but we’ve also had it freeze dried (someone we know has a freeze drier) and both ways are nutritious and delicious! I also tend to freeze corn, peas, and green beans. I water bath can tomatoes often (and they work wonderfully in chili!). My sister-in-law has helped me pressure can green beans in the past.
Certain preservation types do require an upfront investment for supplies. If you know someone who has extra supplies, you may be able to get them for a lower cost than buying them brand new. We’ve borrowed supplies from other family members in the past to save money. Garage sales are also a wonderful place to look!
Some people prefer to preserve just one ingredient in a jar at a time (for example: tomatoes) for versatility, while others prefer to can meals (chili or soups, etc) for quick and easy meals. Either way can save you money and allow you to control the ingredients. It is very important that you correctly preserve your food to avoid spoilage and harmful bacteria. There are tons of books, blogs, and videos to help you get started with this. You may want to start easy and small by preserving a small amount of something you’ve grown that you know your family will eat. Please don’t preserve something you know your family will never eat and will sit on a shelf for years to come; it is a waste of your time, money, food, and space. Some foods may even store for several months without having to freeze, dry, or can them. Onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots are wonderful examples of this and can do last several months when stored properly.
Some of my favorite foods to preserve are strawberries, blueberries, peas, green beans, corn, peppers, and tomatoes. I’m going to try squash this year as well for my daughter. What are some of your favorite foods and methods to preserve food? Let me know in the comments!