"freezing" news and stories

Need to keep some grated cheese for a little bit longer than you thought? Here's how.

• Leslie Cole admits to a multi-year ambition to can summer produce for winter. This year she's giving up the canning plan for more accessible freezing.
  
• Once of the nice things about canning is that it gives you the opportunity to make things that aren't readily accessible at the store. Try Seckel or Forelle Pears Poached With Madeira and Bay Leaves, Italian Cherry Mostarda and Spicy Green Tomato Jam.
• Chefs and home cooks are swooning over agave nectar. it also makes an excellent sweetener for jam. Here's the recipe for the Agave Berry Jam.
  
• When it comes to canning, make sure that you use the proper safety methods. If you don't, the results could be deadly.
• As you prep your berries for freezing, think about sweetening some so that they're ready to go for pies and sauces.
• Preserve those leafy greens and fresh herbs by turning them into pastes and pestos.

Here's a great way to preserve your fresh berries: freeze them!

Looking for an easy way to peel that bushel of peaches for jam or the freezer?

Last weekend, my friend Angie handed me two plastic bags that were bursting with fresh herbs from her garden. This Saturday, after lunch at my cousin Amy's, she led me outside with scissors and a bag and asked that I "please take all the basil you can carry!" I am currently awash in an embarrassment of fresh herbs.

Last night, as I was rearranging the fridge to make room for the remains of the chicken I had roasted for dinner, I came across these multiple bags of herbs, seemingly undiminished despite active use and thought to myself that I better find a way to preserve them soon or I was going to have to add them to the composter (I now have a indoor composter in my living room, more on that later).

As I was reading through my feed reader this afternoon, I came across this tip on The Kitchn and realized that it was the answer to my herbal abundance. Emma recommends chopping herbs and then freezing them into cubes in an ice tray. Each well gets half filled chopped herbs and then is topped off with stock, wine or water. When they're frozen, she pops them out of the tray and stores them in a plastic zippered bag for future use. Much like how people are always recommending freezing stock into ice cube trays, only with more of verdant kick. I'm looking forward to saving some of the thyme Angie gave me for the fall.

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