We all love a good “buy one get one free” deal at our favourite grocery store, but if we are not familiar with creative ways to preserve our food, we will find ourselves wasting both money and food when we are unable to get through the ready-to-eat-food
Preserving food can be done in a multitude of ways. So to save you money and time, here are three natural ways to preserve food with a few easy recipes to try for yourself.
1. Drying
This is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, it is also the cheapest and most environmentally-friendly method that you can try.
Sun-drying is great because it ensures that all those natural flavours are preserved. All you need is a typical summers day with the temperature high and sunshine in abundance for this to be a delightful success.
Why not try this:
1. Sun-dried Tomatoes
Roma or Pomodoro are the best type of tomato to sun-dry but any variety works. Slice the tomatoes at a consistent thickness to ensure that they dry at an even rate. Arrange them on a tray. Season your tomatoes with herbs and salt and leave to dry in direct sunlight with as much breeze as possible for several days.
2. Fruit
Because of the high sugar and acid content in fruit, they are less likely to spoil whilst drying. Apricots and peaches need to be cut in half and pitted. For fruits that are prone to brown, such as apples, pears and apricots, you should soak them in lemon juice for about five minutes first.
2. Pickling
Salt and vinegar are great pickling agents that both preserve food and kill bacteria.
Nearly any vegetable that you can fit into a jar can be pickled.
Below are two recipes to try and they only take 10 – 20 minutes to prepare!
Pickles
- 1 pound cucumbers sliced - 3 teaspoons salt - ½ cup cider vinegar - 1 teaspoon pickling spice / mustard seeds - 4 cloves garlic sliced
Place the cucumbers in the jar. Bring the remaining ingredients to the boil in a saucepan. Once cooled, pour over the cucumber slices. Add water if necessary to fill the jar, leaving room at the top to stir. Refrigerate.
Red Cabbage
- 3 cups sliced red cabbage - ¼ cup cider vinegar - 2 tablespoons salt - 1 teaspoon coriander seeds - 1 garlic clove sliced
Place the red cabbage in the jar. Bring the remaining ingredients to the boil in a saucepan. Once cooled, pour over the cabbage slices. Refrigerate.
3. Canning
Canning involves cooking food, sealing it in sterile cans or jars, and then boiling these containers to kill any remaining bacteria. Through the process of heating, air is removed from the container and when it cools, a vacuum seal is formed that prevents any air from re-entering the container.
There are two methods of canning:
Boiling water.
This method entails cooked food within a container covered with boiling water and cooked for some time. This method works best with foods such as jams, fruits, pickles and tomatoes.
Pressure canning.
This method entails placing food in containers inside a pressure cooker filled with water. This works best with meat, vegetables and seafood.
Try this recipe to get you started:
Zesty Canned Salsa
*Makes 3 litres
Ingredients
10 cups roughly chopped tomatoes
5 cups chopped and seeded bell peppers
5 cups chopped onions
2 1⁄2cups hot peppers, chopped, seeded
1 1⁄4cups cider vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons salt
1(6 ounce) can tomato paste
Directions
Combine all ingredients except tomato paste in large sauce pot.
Simmer until desired thickness.
Stir in tomato paste.
Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head-space.
Process 15 minutes in a hot water bath.
Note: Use more hot peppers for a very hot salsa or less for mild. It depends on how hot your peppers are and how hot you like your salsa.
These methods are the easiest and most natural ways to preserve your food, without adding a ton of chemicals. We highly recommend giving them a try.
For more information on natural preservation through using oxygen absorbing technology please contact leigh@kubepac.com or alternatively visit https://www.kubepac.com/
Comments