The large organic garden here means that there are a lot of vegetables to eat throughout the winter. Many are frozen in the freezer downstairs, but some are not. To make sure they last and do not rot, it is important to use a time honored method for storing food; making preserves.Hence, that is what today entailed. Through the process of canning the preserves, notably tomatoes, carrots, pickles and more, and then boiling them in a pot and canning tray to create a suction seal, you can have those great preserves days, weeks, months and even years down the road!
It is a great way to reduce your consumption at the grocery store because you won't have to buy those vegetables for quite awhile. With each harvest season that goes by, you add to your catalog of canned materials. It is a very green method because you are storing food so that it is not wasted and can be eaten later, you are not buying from a grocery store and instead living off the land for your vegetables, and beyond the process of creating the suction seal with boiling water, the process uses no energy to store, unlike when you freeze vegetables.
If you can, give canning a try. It is a very easy process and you can enjoy those carrots, tomatoes, corn and more even a year or two down the road.
Included here is a picture of the cans that we have downstairs in the cold room.
--If you have any photos of you doing canning, let us know and we will put it up. Just send us the photo to craigbaird@wildmail.com.
