125 comments on Preserving Produce without Heat
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125 comments on Preserving Produce without Heat
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GAIA Host Collective
Thankyou for this uplifting (and beautiful) post.
Despite having a miniscule yard, I am completely fascinated with all things related to growing and preserving your own food. Our family of 5 ate our own delicious pears and apples every day this fall based on 3 trees growing in the strip of land between our sidewalk and the street.
By choosing trees that ripen at different times, storing one box of apples wrapped in newspaper and leaving the keeper apples on the tree until the first freeze we were able to keep our daily home-grown fruit habit going for three full months. Delicious!
-- Jon
It is all a lot of fun, I agree. Each year is so different too.
Last year I had a great year with pears and apples, but not this year, so I worked on other things. Three years ago the blackberries were fantastic, but nothing as good since. We still eat some of the old jams and look forward to the next big year for that food source.
Since Nate asked for some philosophy I'll toss some in. Nate likes to talk about dopamine and happiness and addiction, etc., and the fact that these systems are hijacked by modern stimuli and we get on this consumption treadmill. I like to say we need to find new habits, or addictions, that are sustainable.
One of these could be becoming a "foodie" so to speak. Not in some ultra gourmet-import-Russian sturgeon-eggs-and-french-goose-livers kind of way, but in making your own concoctions and sharing with friends and neighbors doing the same. There's a bit of a proud barter situation going on around here where we swap stuff. I have a jar of dry tomatoes and my friend has killer jam, etc. Just this evening I got about 5 gallons of awesome apple cider vinegar. I own a demi-jar and fermentation carboys and an apple press and my friends had a whole bunch of apple trees bursting with fruit. Last year they made the juice, fermented it, drank some of that (which they also shared but it is long gone) and then made vinegar too. Vinegar takes a long time so the gratification is delayed by over a year. And so the memories and anticipation and planning involved are great fun and we have meals to look forward to for years with a great batch like that.
There you have it! The novelty fix and social bonding fix all in one.
A friend of mine has 100 gallons of hard cider right up on Sherwood Rd---
I can't wait! We collected Champaign bottles from the Sausalito Art show, and have the necessary containers.
It is a social bonding and trading what you have--
It has been a persimmons and tomato year for me.
Jason, assuming nothing is heat treated when sealing your jars, any problems with fungi, bacteria, etc. in the air space, surface, lid, etc? Any dangers we should be aware of?
Ps
Aren't jars an energy intensive method of storage also? Couldn't earthenware jars be used? Probably easier to produce locally using wood fired kilns as a sustainable energy source.
Just thinking that its not much use building a lifeboat that's reliant on the sinking ship for buoyancy :)
"Last year I had a great year with pears and apples, but not this year, so I worked on other things. Three years ago the blackberries were fantastic, but nothing as good since. We still eat some of the old jams and look forward to the next big year for that food source."
Don't forget, you need to prune and trim your fruit trees and blackberry for maximum production. Contact your local land grant college for more information.
Charles
Jon...
While I am happy for your trees (and you) be aware that in most places, the space between the sidewalk and the road has a perpetual easement to the county/city/state so they can run utilities and other items through there. If you get lucky, your tress won't be bothered...be careful though.
TheDave