"preserving" news and stories

If yesterday's post on canning piqued your interest in food preservation, then you might want to check out this post over at Farm to Philly. Nicole took some of the Daikon radish that came in her CSA box, mixed it with ginger, garlic, Korean ground chile paste, salt, sugar and Swiss Chard and turned it into Kimchi. She skips out on the step in which you bury the jars underground for the Winter and instead just tucks them into a cool, dark place until the fermentation process is complete.

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Despite the fact that I grew up in a house in which my mom regularly canned jam, I find that most methods of canning and food storage to be mysterious and slightly intimidating. I have a fear that anything I can will end up infused with botulism and will kill my loved ones and myself. So I don't can (fears don't have to be reasonable). However, I am intrigued by the process and am in awe of people who tackle the task (especially when it includes the scary water bath portion).

It seems like these days it is becoming increasingly popular to can your own food, as it's a good way to keep some of the summer bounty available for winter, especially if you are trying to eat a local diet. The Daily Green has put up a terrific and helpful (and fear calming) post, written by Alisa Smith of the 100 Mile Diet, chock full of tips and information about canning technique. It's enough to make me put aside my fears, buy a case of jars, obtain a flat of tomatoes and start canning.

While fresh and in-season is always the best, sometimes you want to make a strawberry muffin in the dead of winter, right? It's a little late now for strawberries and some other fruits that reach their peak in early summer, but you can still freeze time for some of the season's later fruits and vegetables. It doesn't take a genius to do it, just a freezer and some good storage containers. CD Kitchen has a good summary of what types of fruits freeze well, and what do not (like pears and bananas), though HGTV would disagree with that. BBC's Food site also has some tips for vegetables, as well.