• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Slow Living Kitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Food Preservation
  • Explore + Forage
  • Seasonal Recipes
  • About
    • Contact
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start Here
    • Food Preservation
    • Explore + Forage
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • About
      • Contact
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Published: May 2, 2024 by Stephanie Gravalese · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Preserving the Harvest: Ways You Can Preserve Your Fruits and Veggies

    It’s that time of year again. You have a bumper crop of certain fruits and vegetables in your garden, someone has shared their bumper crop, or you’ve made a trip to the local farmer’s market or fruit stand.

    person adding peppers to a mason jar

    Now that you have all this bounty, you might think, “What do I do with all of it?” Here are some ideas for storing the harvest and preserving your fruits and veggies for use later in the year.

    Dehydrating

    person placing pepper on dehydrator tray

    This is one of the first methods to store food for future use. For example, consider the Indigenous communities who used fruits, nuts, and meat to create pemmican, a dried bar that provided much-needed nutrients in the winter when hunting was scarce. You’ve probably also seen beef jerky. In addition, you can dehydrate fruits and vegetables from your garden that can be added to soup in the colder months.

    Dehydrating can be done outdoors in the sun, in a solar oven, conventional oven, or dehydrator. Each method has benefits, so you should consider the best for you and your situation.

    • How to Dry Peaches in a Dehydrator
    • How to Make Dehydrated Strawberries
    • How to Make Dried Jalapeño Peppers
    • How to Dry Habanero Peppers
    • Dried Cranberry Sauce with Pineapple
    • End of Summer Granola with Coconut Oil
    • How to Dehydrate Cherries
    • How to Dehydrate Cranberries
    • Dehydrated Tomato Powder Recipe
    • How to Make Dehydrated Zucchini Chips
    • How to Dry Mint
    • How to make Fruit Leather in a Food Dehydrator
    • Easy Oven-Dried Orange Slices
    • How to Dehydrate Leeks
    • Three Ways to Make Dried Wild Rose Hip Tea
    • How to Dehydrate Plums
    • Easy Oven-Dried Orange Slices
    • Easy Dehydrated Onions + Onion Powder

    Canning

    stylized image of preserved foods in pantry

    Canning is almost as old as dehydrating. Nearly everything can be canned if done correctly. The canning of most vegetables will require the use of a pressure cooker. If you haven’t ever canned vegetables, you may want to get help from someone who has the experience to make sure you have canning success.

    Canning fruit is much easier. They require a water bath, but it doesn’t have to be done in a pressure cooker. Technically, tomatoes are a fruit, so water bath canning is the best method to can whole tomatoes for soups or chili, crushed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, or salsa. You might be surprised how you can save using home-canned sauces.

    • Wild Black Raspberry Jam

    Pickling

    person pouring vinegar brine over red onions

    Consider making homemade pickles if you have more cucumbers than you can eat. There is nothing quite like them. You will also need onions, sea salt, and vinegar. Most people think of cucumbers when they hear “pickle,” but you can similarly pickle many different fruits and vegetables. Peppers, apples, pears, and relishes are also prepared similarly.

    • Easy Pickled Red Onions
    • How to Pickle Jalapeños
    • Easy Pickled Radishes with Serrano Peppers
    • Quick Rose Pickled Rhubarb Recipe
    • Balsamic Pickled Onions
    • Quick pickled pineapple with jalapeño

    Freezing

    There is much to be said about filling your freezer with produce from your garden. It is great to open the doors to the freezer and see corn on the cob, carrots, broccoli, and other foods. However, it isn’t advisable to freeze fresh lettuce or potatoes; you probably wouldn’t want to eat them. Freezing is one of the easiest ways to store the harvest but remember that you may lose the food in your freezer if the power goes out.

    Root cellar

    It used to be typical for families to have a root cellar to store their fruits and vegetables. This isn’t quite as usual, but the concept still has merit. Check with your local extension agency or land surveyor to see if creating a root cellar on your property would be possible.

    Infused Syrups

    person holding jar of rhubarb syrup

    Infusing involves steeping ingredients such as fruits, herbs, or spices in water over time to extract their flavors and aromas. The resulting liquid is then strained and often combined with sweeteners like sugar or honey to create flavorful syrups that can be used in various culinary applications, such as cocktails, desserts, or drizzling over pancakes and waffles. Infused syrups offer a delightful way to preserve the essence of seasonal ingredients and add flavor to your favorite recipes.

    • Crab Apple Brown Sugar Syrup
    • Lavender Simple Syrup Recipe
    • How to make infused vinegar
    • How to Make Drinking Vinegar
    • Sour Grass Syrup (Wood Sorrel)
    • Rhubarb Shrub Recipe
    • Classic Rhubarb Syrup without Heat
    • Jalapeño Simple Syrup
    • How to make simple syrup for cocktails
    • Blackberry Simple Syrup with Coconut Sugar
    • Purple Wild Violet Syrup Recipe

    Alcohol Infused

    Unleash your creativity in the world of mixology by infusing spirits with fruits, herbs, or spices, and craft unique libations tailored to your preferences. Raise a glass to your own handcrafted infused alcohol and liqueurs, where the flavors of carefully chosen ingredients mingle harmoniously.

    • Blackberry Vodka
    • Basil Vodka
    • Foraged Black Walnut Liqueur (Nocino)
    • Rhubarb Liqueur

    Salt Infused

    person removing top on an orange ceramic salt keep of herb salt b

    Elevate your dishes to new heights by incorporating customized blends of herb salts, preserving herbs and tantalizing your taste buds.

    • How to Make Herbed Salt
    • Jalapeño Salt
    • Rosemary Sea Salt

    Infused In Oil

    person adding olive oil to top of food processor

    Master the art of infusing oils with fragrant herbs and spices, adding a unique touch to your favorite recipes and expanding your flavor repertoire. Sauces, finishing oils, and more can be easily stored in your freezer, adding an arsenal of flavor do your dishes year-round.

    • Easy Wild Garlic Mustard Pesto
    • Basil Almond Pesto

    More Preservation

    • Person adding pepper to glass jar full of radishes
      Beginner's Guide to Pickling
    • Homemade rhubarb compote in jar
      Beginner's Guide to Canning
    • person adding dehydrator unit to tray of serrano peppers
      Beginner's Guide To Dehydrating Food
    • person holding tray of rhubarb and blackberries
      Slow Living Guide to Freezing Food

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey there, I'm Stephanie! I'm a food + culture writer, photographer and recipe developer.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Bourbon-Brined Tofu on Brioche

    • Wicklow Gold Cheddar Recall: Listeria Warning for 2 Cheeses

    • Costco Egg Recall: Serious Salmonella Risk Prompts Class I Alert

    • Walmart Broccoli Recall–Marketside Broccoli Florets Pose Listeria Risk

    Cozy Winter Recipes

    • pink paloma mezcal topped with lime and grapefruit slices with lime wheels in corner
      Mezcal Paloma

    • bowl of gnocchi with carbonara and pancetta topped with cheese
      Gnocchi Carbonara

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates.
    • Web Stories

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Let's Work Together

    As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.