There are reports that gardens are putting out bumper crops. After eating and sharing all you can, what’s left to do with all of that extra produce? Preserve it!

The easiest thing to do is to freeze. Produce such as squash, tomatoes, red potatoes, and green beans freeze well. You want to blanch some products before you put them in the freezer. Blanching inactivates the enzymes that continue to break down produce even when in the freezer. The key to blanching is to cool down the food for the equal amount of time you blanched it. For example, if you blanch for two minutes you immediately cool down in ice water for two minutes, then drain, package and freeze. If you would like a brochure that has the time-tables and directions for freezing fruits and vegetables call the J.C. Cooperative Extension office at 989-5380 or email Debra_Stroud@ncsu.edu and we will send you one.
  

You may prefer another preservation method because you either don’t have the space to hold a lot of frozen produce or you have produce that does not freeze well, such as cucumbers. This is where canning comes in. Canning is an easy and excellent method to preserve produce. There are two canning methods; Hot water bath canning, for all of your high acid foods (fruit, pickles, acidified tomatoes and acidified figs) and Pressure canning for all of your low acid products (all vegetables-unless they have been acidified, meats, poultry and fish).  If you are interested in canning information or lessons again contact J.C. Cooperative Extension.

Don’t let your garden produce go to waste, now is a good time to start stocking up for the winter. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can take advantage of excellent prices at Farmer’s Markets and produce stands. You have control over exactly what is going into your food when you preserve it yourself. By learning and following good food preservation methods you can safely “put up” high quality food and get it for a lower price.