Mountain Musings on Food Preservation

Pantry

A guest column by Dottie Simmons who lives in eastern Humboldt County describes yesterday at her rural homestead:

Musing on Food Preservation – and it won't be the last time…

The pantry and cellar are starting to have some bare spots and I’m running out of room to store empty jars. This happens yearly… we empty the jars out of the boxes all summer and fall to fill and put in the pantry, empty them and put them back during winter and spring.

This is what we do. I started as a teen, before I met my husband, before I had children. It just was something I felt was important to do, not a tradition in my family while I was growing up.

I’d like to note (my Master Food Preserver vs. 50+ year canning anarchist selves warring here) that there are NO USDA regulations for home food preservation. Only recommendations. They know what a bunch of rebels they’re dealing with. But remember, people have been preserving food since before we had microscopes & discovered what bacteria were. When things molded, fermented (& not in a good way), or made you sick, no one knew why. Most current recommendations are to prevent the food from spoiling, but also to prevent illness. The science is good. The recommendations are worthy.

I used to do jams, etc., open kettle & sealed with paraffin. I know the tricks…. But whatta pain that was, and you would generally end up losing some to mold and other weirdness.

Canned soup

In vegetables and low-acid foods the concern is botulism, which can cause severe illness and death, then pressure canning is the preferred method, safety trumps everything. We have the proven methods to do it safely, they are easy, the equipment isn't that expensive… why mess with that? That said, they are still working up to verifying some stuff and they warn against it until they know for sure. For instance – steam canners. They now have the green light. They were fine before, but they wanted to verify the science to back it up. I’m OK with ‘better safe than sorry’.

My thinking is, if you are new to food preservation, don't wing it. Once you understand how it works and what you’re trying to achieve (and it's NOT just to get the jar to seal), you may (or may not) decide you have some leeway in your personal methods.

Before I head back out to the garden I want to note some of my current musings on food & food preservation…

Jars

‘Tis the season. We don't eat fresh tomatoes & corn & such out of season. Those first meals are intensely divine – not the same as having them all year round.

We put up something almost daily to feed us for the year ahead once it starts. To spread this abundance over time means late summer/fall are our busiest preserving seasons, though we do some all year.

Food preservation requires labor, time, safety, and success.

Especially as I get older, I am happy to find ways that are less work and less time consuming. Chief on this list are tools such as our stick blender, steam canner, steam juicer, and electric dehydrator. Less pots & pans to wash, better results, and waaaay less time!

And knowing what I am trying to achieve – to stock the pantry with foods that are nutritious, delicious, safe, and will keep over the long haul.

I have learned what not to do too much of, not to do too many weird things no one might eat (or at least only do small amounts), focus on the staples, and insure it all is processed and stored properly.

Applesauce

I’ve been doing this long enough my experience has taught me to appreciate the newer techniques and tools that prevent jars of jam and such from molding & having to be thrown out. While it's important not to poison anyone, it's also incredibly important not to waste all the time and hard work and materials you put into preserving. Producing our food is central to this lifestyle and where a lot, maybe most, of our time goes. And it makes me happy to learn over time, the science about why things go bad and how to prevent it. It makes the season even more fun!

We have a number of Master Food Preservers in Humboldt County, who are willing to answer questions and give demos. You can contact them via: Humboldt County Cooperative Extension Office: Phone: 707) 445-7351, or online at: http://cehumboldt.ucanr.edu