Preserving Your Fruits & Veggies

Who else loves throwing some home-made chutney or sauerkraut into your meal to give it a bit of extra zing? Not to mention the relief of not having to cook every part of every meal from scratch... 

There are so many ways to preserve vegetables and fruits, including methods like freezing, pickling, fermenting, and making jams, chutneys and sauces. These are all great ways to make prevent food waste and can enable you to get a dose of your summer veggies even in the dead of winter! Think blueberry compote on your pancakes, pasta sauce for spaghetti night made from your summer backyard tomatoes, pear chutney, or pickled beets whenever you fancy them. 

But preserving food can also have health benefits. In the case of fermentation, the process can make foods "more absorbable by the body," according to Dr. Josh Axe in his book Eat Dirt. He goes on to say that in sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) "the amount of vitamin C becomes twenty times higher than in the same helping of fresh cabbage" (p. 118). As you probably know, fermented foods provide our bodies with helpful bacteria to promote the health of the gut, which is also directly connected to our nervous system!

Here's a blog post to check out if you want to learn the basics of fermenting and freezing root vegetables. The secret to freezing root vegetables is to wash, peel and blanch them before freezing.

You can also find books about different methods of preserving fresh produce at your local library. Here's an example.

I'm also going to include a tried & tested sauerkraut recipe that I used several times already this winter. This one is hot pink because it's made with both red and green cabbage. So fun! https://thecolorfulkitchen.com/2017/08/08/how-to-make-sauerkraut/

Make sure you sterilize your jars and lids first, and can using a hot water bath if you're preserving low-acid foods or anything that doesn't use any additional ingredients for preservation (eg sugar, salt, oil, etc.). Be safe! You can read more home canning safety tips here. 

Now that you're sufficiently hungry, head over to our online store and get started with a box full of fresh produce!