Preserving Your Harvest: Canning, Freezing, Drying, Pickling, and More
Your farm is actually producing food. Congrats. But here is the problem. It is producing a lot of food. More than you can eat. More than your neighbors want. More than your coworkers will accept before they start avoiding you in the break room.
So you have two choices. Preserve it or sell it. This post covers the first option. Chapter 7 of Backyard Farming: Homesteading by Kim Pezza goes deep on food preservation methods, and there are way more than you probably think.
First Things First: Clean Your Harvest
Before you preserve anything, you need to clean it. But not everything gets cleaned the same way.
Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes need a good scrub. They come out of the dirt, so treat them like they came out of the dirt.
Onions and garlic just need a light wipe. You want to keep that papery outer skin intact. It is part of what helps them last.
Tomatoes and berries get a gentle wash. Nothing aggressive. These are delicate.
Mushrooms are the exception. Never wash mushrooms. Seriously. They absorb water like a sponge. Just wipe them down with a dry towel. That is it.
Canning: Old School and Reliable
Here is a fun fact. Canning was developed in France back in the 1790s. It has been around for over 200 years because it works.
Canning is labor intensive. There is no getting around that. But it has one massive advantage. It does not need refrigeration. If you live off-grid, in a storm-prone area, or just want food that survives a power outage, canning is your friend.
What You Need
The equipment list is longer than most preservation methods:
- Canning jars (Mason jars are the standard)
- Lids and rings
- A canner (big pot with a rack)
- A basket for lowering jars
- A canning funnel
- A magnetic lid wand (for fishing lids out of hot water)
- Towels
- A knife or chopstick (for releasing air bubbles)
- Labels
- A jar lifter
The Basic Process
- Sterilize your jars in boiling water
- Fill jars with food, leaving about 1 inch of space from the top
- Release air bubbles by sliding a knife or chopstick along the inside
- Wipe the rim clean (any residue will prevent a good seal)
- Close the lid firmly, but not crazy tight
- Place jars in a hot water bath with water at least 1 inch above the jar tops
- Process for the required time
Then you wait. You will hear popping sounds as the jars seal. That is the best sound in canning.
How to check the seal: Press the middle of the lid. If it is solid and does not move, you are good. If it pops up and down, the seal failed. Eat that jar soon or try again.
There is also pressure canning, which is used for low-acid foods like meats and most vegetables. It works well but is trickier and needs more attention to safety. Pezza mentions it but does not go deep.
Freezing: The Easy One
Everyone knows how to freeze food. You put it in the freezer. Done.
Freezing is by far the easiest preservation method. But it has one big weakness. Power outages. If the electricity goes out for a couple days, you could lose everything.
Tips for Better Freezing
Use bags and containers designed for the freezer. Regular bags let in too much air and cause freezer burn.
Not everything freezes well. Lettuce turns into a mushy disaster. Fresh herbs get mushy too, but they are still fine for soups and stews where texture does not matter.
Broccoli and green beans should be blanched first. Quick dip in boiling water, then straight into ice water. This stops enzyme activity that causes them to get weird in the freezer.
Always remove pits and seeds before freezing fruit. Future you will be grateful.
Drying and Dehydrating: The Oldest Trick
Drying food is one of the oldest preservation methods humans have used. The idea is simple. Remove all the moisture, and bacteria cannot grow.
You can dry food using:
- A dehydrator (most consistent results)
- Your oven on the lowest setting
- A microwave (works for herbs)
- The sun (if you live somewhere dry and warm enough)
What to Dry
Pretty much anything. Herbs, meats (hello, jerky), vegetables, and fruits all work great.
Fruit leather is a personal favorite mention from Pezza. Blend up fruit, spread it thin on a sheet, and dehydrate it. Kids love this stuff. Adults love this stuff. Everyone loves this stuff.
Dried vegetables are awesome for soups, stews, and seasoning mixes. You can even grind them into powders using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. But here is the thing. Keep a separate grinder for this. You do not want your morning coffee tasting like garlic powder.
Pickling: Not Just for Cucumbers
When most people hear “pickling,” they think of pickles. But you can pickle almost anything. Fruit, eggs, cauliflower, okra, even meats.
The science is straightforward. Vinegar replaces the water in food, which slows down bacteria growth and extends shelf life.
Basic Pickling Supplies
- A crock or large bowl
- A strainer
- Cheesecloth
- A non-reactive pot (no aluminum with vinegar)
- Canning jars for storage
The Drawbacks
Pickling does increase the sodium content of food and can reduce some vitamins. So it is not a health food transformation. But it is a fantastic way to keep produce from going to waste.
And here is a fun twist. You can pickle with alcohol too. “Boozy fruit” is exactly what it sounds like. Fruit preserved in spirits. It makes a great gift.
Curing: Salt, Sugar, and Science
Curing uses salt, sugar, and sometimes nitrates to preserve food. The salt draws water out and slows oxidation, which keeps meat and fish from spoiling.
Pezza outlines four methods:
- Dry cure: Rub the meat with a salt and spice mixture and let it sit
- Wet cure (brine): Submerge the meat in a salt water solution
- Combination: Use both dry and wet methods
- Salt curing: Heavy salt application over a long period. This is how prosciutto is made
There is an ongoing debate about nitrates. Some research suggests they can become carcinogenic at high temperatures. It is worth reading up on if you plan to do a lot of curing.
Smoking: Low and Slow
Smoking is often paired with curing. The combination of salt and smoke has been preserving meat for centuries.
There are two main types:
Hot smoking uses temperatures of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This fully cooks the food while adding smoke flavor.
Cold smoking stays around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It adds flavor but does not cook the meat. Cold smoked food still needs to be cooked before eating.
Wood Matters
The type of hardwood chips you use changes the flavor. Common choices include oak, maple, cherry, pecan, mesquite, apple, and hickory. Each gives a different taste profile.
And you do not need a dedicated smoker to get started. A regular charcoal grill works fine for basic smoking.
Oil Infusing: Flavor Preservation
Oil infusing is a bit different from other methods. It preserves flavor, not the food itself. But it is a great way to capture the taste of fresh herbs and spices.
Olive oil works best for infusing.
Cold infusion: Drop your herbs or aromatics into oil and let it sit for about two weeks. Simple and hands-off.
Hot infusion: Heat the oil and aromatics together in a saucepan. Ready for immediate use.
Cold infusion is a fun project to do with kids since there is no heat involved. And homemade infused oils make solid gifts.
A Few More Methods Worth Mentioning
Pezza also covers some other preservation approaches:
Jams and jellies are fruit cooked down with sugar and pectin. Classic preservation that turns fresh fruit into something that lasts on the shelf for months.
Flavored vinegars are another option. Similar concept to oil infusing but with vinegar as the base.
Root cellars are the old-school underground storage rooms. They maintain low, stable temperatures and even humidity. Perfect for storing root vegetables, apples, and canned goods through the winter.
The Big Picture
Here is what I found most useful about this chapter. Pezza does not push one method over another. She lays them all out so you can pick what works for your setup.
No electricity? Canning and drying. Lots of freezer space? Freezing is the simplest. Want to get creative? Try smoking, pickling, or infusing.
The point is that none of your harvest has to go to waste. Every single method here turns temporary abundance into long-term food security. And that is kind of the whole point of homesteading.
Previous in the series: Raising Chickens, Cattle, Goats, and Bees
Next in the series: Selling Your Produce and Getting Into Agritourism
This post is part of a 12-part series reviewing “Backyard Farming: Homesteading” by Kim Pezza (Hatherleigh Press, 2015, ISBN: 978-1-57826-598-5).