Food Preservation

Whether you're preserving your own harvest or you've purchased locally grown fruits or vegetables, canning, freezing and drying can be effective ways to serve foods that taste harvest-fresh at a later date. To ensure that the products you serve are safe, it is important to follow tested guidelines for safely preserving foods by these methods. Cooperative Extension offers both information and hands-on, small group training in a variety of home food preservation topics.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has some excellent resources available to all home food preservation enthusiasts! 

Have a specific Food Preservation question? Email our Master Food Preservation Volunteer Educator, Michele Conners, at monroemfp@cornell.edu or Nutrition Educator, Alyssa VanValkenburg.

From Michele's Kitchen...

It's Tomato Canning Time!

Please add bottled Lemon Juice to each jar:

Quart jars - 2 tablespoons

Pint jars - 1 tablespoon

For a great article on canning tomatoes, check out this resource: Canning Tomatoes: Do's and Don'ts (psu.edu)

Drying and Dehydrating

As summer winds down and Fall routines start I find myself still wanting to preserve our beautiful local produce, but with less 'active-work' time. An easy way to do that is with one of the oldest forms of food preservation - DRYING or DEHYDRATING. And let's talk about what to do with the last of the herbs before we get the Fall freeze.

Herbs, fruit leather, vegetables that can later be used in soups, snacking, jerky... There are many great uses for dehydrated and dried produce! Here are 5 recommended methods, with my favorite for Herbs that uses no special equipment at all.

Desired temperatures for safe dehydrating

Herbs 95 - 125 F

Fruits & Vegetables 135 - 140 F

Meats 145 - 160 F

Jerky 160 F

Electric Dehydrator - Maybe the most effective method because you have full control over the drying process. Commercial dehydrators come in different shapes and sizes with varied features. They should have a heat source regulated by a thermostat so that you can set the control for what you're drying. An electric dehydrator goes to temperatures lower than an oven could. Those with build-in fans are more efficient and effective in removing moisture and will have drying trays made of mesh or screen to allow for good air circulation and will be easy to clean.

Home Oven - Usually the lowest temperature is 170 F, which is too high for slowly removing moisture without drying out your items. You could set it at 170, reach temp then turn the oven off. Once temp drops, quickly place in the items and let sit in the oven while it completely cools down. Doing this though doesn't provide air circulation which is important for even and safe drying.

Convection Oven - Provides air circulation, but again, the temperature needs to be within the recommended temperature ranges.

Microwave - Only use for drying herbs before the food cooks. This does not have effective air circulation nor temperature control.

Air Drying - Used for Herb stalks only. This couldn't be easier!

Wash and dry the herbs.

Hold the cut ends of the stems together in a bundle no larger than a $0.25 quarter's diameter.

Suspend the herbs with the cut end up in a brown paper bag.

Close the bag tightly around the stems with a rubber band or string.

Cut a number of holes or slits in the sides of the bag to allow air to pass through.
Write the name of the Herb and the date on the bag.

Hang in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area.

Check for dryness every few days. Some of the leaves or seeds may drop to the bottom of the bag as they dry, and that's okay.

As soon as herbs are brittle, they are ready.

Store in an air-tight container set in a dark, cool, dry place.

If preserving and using herbs in these ways, please note these considerations -

Herb Infused Oils must be stored in a refrigerator.

Herb Pesto can be refrigerated or frozen but never canned.

Herb Vinegar should use a white vinegar 5% acidity that has been heated and strained before storing.

I have trusted home preservation recipes for herb oils, pesto and vinegar for you. Please give us a call or email...

Enjoy!

Michele

Certified Master Food Preserver

Volunteer Educator Cornell Cooperative Extension

Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation Website at http://nchfp.uga.edu/
Site includes science-based information on home food preservation, publications and links to other Extension sites. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

So Easy to Preserve, University of Georgia, Cooperative Extension, 6th Edition (July 2014).
This edition contains the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations for safe food preservation, along with step by step instructions and in-depth information for both the new and experienced food preserver. For more information and to order, visit: http://setp.uga.edu/

2020 Resource List from Cornell Cooperative Extension

Complete Guide to Home Canning, USDA, revised 2009.
Available online at: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publication...
To order a hard copy, see http://www.extension.purdue.edu/store

Canning Equipment: CCE of Saratoga County has compiled helpful fact sheets on Using a Steam Canner, Using Boiling Water Canners, and Using Pressure Canners.

Penn State University Food Preservation Data Base.
This site at http://extension.psu.edu/food/preservation links to approved recipes, food preservation questions and answers, kitchen unit conversions, and food safety.
See also: http://extension.psu.edu/food/safety which addresses food safety issues; includes links to commercial companies selling preservation supplies & equipment.

Cost of Preserving and Storing Food, Colorado State University, 2008 updated 2014, includes a downloadable 4-page PDF on this topic.

The Cornell Food Venture Center (CFVC) provides comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs to help enhance food safety, satisfy regulatory compliance and promote economic development. The CFVC provides access to educational materials, industry resources, workshops and direct assistance for product and process validation for safety and stability, as well as guidance in local, state and federal regulations for food manufacturers.

Last updated October 8, 2024