Preserving the Harvest

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Comment by Michelle W. Flannery on May 19, 2009 at 8:37am

Last year was my second year canning. All the work felt like there should have been more, but I put up a lot of apples, pears, and squash. This year more of the same, plus other veggies, plus fig preserves.

Comment by Kay Robbins on May 19, 2009 at 7:31am

Sharon, I am glad you posted that link. I just signed up and look forward to getting my login info.

Comment by Sharon on May 19, 2009 at 6:57am

Glenn I would suggest taking the free course at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ and spend some time reading UG's excellent materials on canning. Generally most vegetables need to be canned with a pressure cooker at a specified pressure for a specific period of time. That information would come from the recipe you use for putting up the vegetable(s). If canned properly, and it isn't as hard as people think it is, foods will keep for several years. We don't can meats, just fruits and vegetables. Meats we dry or freeze.

Comment by Glenn Fletcher on May 19, 2009 at 6:39am

We make jams & jellies with no problem, but have always shyed away from bottling things. This is because i have read that you can get poisonous toxins forming if the process is not carried out exactly correctly.
What do you need to do to ensure that your produce remains 100% safe, and how long will it last in a bottle?

Comment by Sharon on May 19, 2009 at 6:04am

Forgot that we will also be putting up some jams and jellies. Figs, pears and blueberries that we grow and peaches that are grown in the area. Our peaches aren't big enough to produce yet.

Comment by Sharon on May 19, 2009 at 6:02am

Angie, great timing. I was just thinking yesterday that food preservation was one of the subjects missing from these groups.

We've already put up 8 pints of green beans (the snow peas didn't make it past the table this year) and from the looks of the tomatoes we will be able to replace our stores of tomatos, etc. this year. We will also likely put up squash, zuchinni, peppers, herbs, pinto beans, limas, garlic and onions.

I am blessed to have my 81 year old Mom living with me. She grew up having to preserve to eat through the winter. We are learning to make a good team in the kitchen. We can, freeze and dry.

Comment by Kay Robbins on May 19, 2009 at 5:50am

It has been several decades since I last did any canning or jam making. This group will be a great help to get me started again.

Comment by Joy Williams on May 19, 2009 at 5:31am

Thanks for starting this group! I was planning on doing the same thing, and naming it the same thing! I'll post my first pics of my first preserves soon. Though it's not my harvest, it's the harvest of another farm, but wow it's good. :)

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