So you’ve run amok at the farmers’ market again and can’t eat everything you brought home before it spoils? Or your CSA is producing well beyond your wildest imagination? Or perhaps you got a really good deal on a case of something at your local co-op? Don’t waste all that glorious local produce - preserve it!

Contrary to popular belief, home food preservation is not limited to old-time farm folks and self-sufficiency fanatics-it is alive and thriving in Minnesota. There are many options available to you to deal with the produce overloading your counter and refrigerator, and this article outlines the basics of each one to get you started. You’ll thank yourself over the holidays and long Minnesota winter as you feast on summer’s bounty!

Freezing meat and produce is the most common preserving practice, and the one that is familiar to most people. In most cases it provides the best nutritional value in the preserved food as well as leaving the taste and texture the closest possible to fresh. It is also the most expensive option in terms of initial outlay for equipment and energy use.

Freezing is a suspended animation technique. It doesn’t stop the spoilage process - it merely slows it down considerably. This is why you can get freezer burn and changes in the color and texture of frozen foods. To prevent some of these processes you generally blanch foods or otherwise cook them prior to freezing. (Blanching is essentially treating your food to a sauna - a quick dip in boiling water and then a quick plunge into ice water to kill enzymes and stop certain biological processes in the food.) Otherwise the process is simple - put the food in freezer bags or other freezer-safe containers and put them in the freezer.

But not just any freezer will do for long-term storage of several months or more. The freezer that goes with your typical kitchen frig-freezer combo is almost certainly frost-free. Frost-free freezers operate by cycling through lower and higher temperatures to melt the frost that may have formed. Each time your food gets a little warmer the spoilage process speeds up. This is fine for a month or two, but hard on food any longer than that. It will generally still be safe, but the texture and taste will suffer. Besides - you need to save some room for your ice cream and other frozen goodies!

The best option is to purchase a stand alone freezer - either a chest or an upright will work. The chest is the most efficient, but requires you to be more organized if you don’t want to lose track of food in its depths. Chest freezers come in sizes from 5 to 25 cubic feet and cost approximately $180 to $450. Uprights run from 5 to 20 cubic feet and cost approximately $200 to $450. A 15 cubic foot model is a good choice for a family or a two-person household that likes to cook.

Dehydrating food is one of the most ancient ways to preserve food. It is easy, inexpensive, saves storage space, and concentrates the flavor of the food. It works by removing water from the food so that bacteria, yeasts, and molds simply can’t grow - usually between 80 to 90%, depending on the food.

In Minnesota, with our hot and humid summers, you’ll need to either use your oven or a dehydrator to produce reliable results. (If we were in Tuscany we could spread our tomatoes on racks in the sun, but alas, it is not to be.) To use your oven, put the food on a cookie sheet or rack of some sort and place it in the oven. Put the oven on the lowest possible setting and leave the door slightly ajar to allow the moisture leaving the food to escape. Keep an eye on the food and turn occasionally.

Both the dehydrator and the oven will give you a good product, but you need to stick around and watch the oven for safety reasons and to make sure the food doesn’t burn. You can purchase inexpensive dehydrators for about $30.00, and then of course there are more expensive models - up to $200.00 or more.

To store your dehydrated food, place it in a jar or other airtight container and place it somewhere cool and dry and out of the sun. Nothing could be easier!

Wait - don’t skip this section! Canning really is safe and easy! Home canning produces a product that is nutritionally very good and very convenient to store and use - no rehydrating or thawing needed. And for many foods, such as pickles, sauces, and condiments, it also gives the best texture and flavor. It works by killing off organisms that could spoil food, with heat, and creating a vacuum so that no other organisms can enter the jar. (Acid levels play a key role here as well, but this discussion is beyond the scope of this article, as is a comparison of the two types of canning.)

You do need to purchase some equipment, such as a canner and jars, but, with the exception of the jar lids, all of the equipment is reusable. (And the jars are handy for all sorts of things other than canning.) You can get started in canning for an initial outlay of about $100.00. And storage of the food then only requires a cool dry place out of the sun. I do need to interject one point very emphatically for your safety. One of the reasons that home canning is so often regarded as a mystical and scary process is that you can make yourself very ill or even die if you don’t do it correctly. That is why it is so important to follow safe canning procedure whenever you decide to can. Fortunately, if you do follow safe, USDA-approved procedures it is perfectly simple, safe and reliable. Many of my students have been amazed at how easy the basic process is to understand and do after being afraid of it for years. I recommend taking classes from a Master Food Preserver, or at least finding a good book to follow - printed in 1990 or later.

Storing roots in cellars is natural refrigeration. It is the most energy-efficient of the methods, but also the most labor-intensive and least reliable. If done correctly, you can have onions and garlic, potatoes, beets, and apples that are fresh until late winter to early spring. It’s like having your own fresh produce section in your house!

You’ll need a cool, dark, dry space, such as an unheated attic room for your squash, onions, garlic, and shallots. And you’ll need a cool, dark, damp room, such as a room insulated from the heated area of your basement for your root veggies and apples. Both rooms should be cool (about 35-38 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal) but should not freeze. Then you’ll need shelves or some way to store the food in the room, and a thermometer and hygrometer. Some way to ventilate the room is ideal as well.

Wait until the weather is cold enough to chill the room reliably, then stock up. Store only blemish-free food, and monitor it frequently to watch for any signs of spoilage. That’s it!

Obviously, this article only touches on the barest basics of these methods of food preservation. For more details, the following are all excellent resources:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/ Follow the link for "Living" and then "Food Preservation." There are fact sheets, recipes, newsletters, and links to other good web resources.

www.homecanning.com This is the home site for Altrista, the maker of Ball and Kerr canning jars and other equipment. Recipes and equipment.

Altrista Corp. The Ball Bluebook Guide to Home Canning, Freezing, & Dehydration.

Bell, M. (1994). Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook. New York, NY: William Morrow & Co.

Bubel M., & Bubel N. (1991). Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables. Pownal,VT: Storey Books.

McClure, S. (Ed.). (1998). Preserving Summer’s Bounty. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press.

Rich, C and Crawford, L.A. (1997) The Food Lover’s Guide to Canning: Contemporary Recipes and Techniques. Asheville, N.C. Lark.

U of M Extension Info Line: (612) 624-2200 in the Metro area, or (800) 525-UofM (8636) in Greater Minnesota.

Karen Koch is a former biologist, a faculty member at Hamline University School of Law, and a Master Food Preserver. She teaches food preservation in order to prevent these skills from becoming lost arts in our high-tech, fast-food society. Karen teaches at local food co-ops and cooking schools and can be reached by email for private and group classes at Karen@mirandacorp.com.

Copyright (C)2003 Karen Koch. All rights reserved.