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Put A Summer Garden In Your Winter PantryCanning Fresh Vegetables and GreensThere’s nothing like a ripe summer tomato, tender, rich and summer sweet. Sliced fresh over the sink, sandwiched between bacon, lettuce, and bread, or simmered down into marinara sauce, it’s as if you’ve condensed the summer sun into a ripe, red, ball of joy. But, come January, the fresh taste of tomatoes feels as far off as those warm summer days. That is, unless you were smart enough to remove and save some of those fr …

How to Can Food Home canning is a time-tested way to preserve all kinds of different foods. So whether the garden harvest has just come in, you picked up an extra bushel of vegetables at the farmer’s market, or you’d like to give holiday jams and jellies as presents this winter, we’re here to help. We’ll lay out the information you need to get started canning food the right way, saving you time and money while putting up food for the rest of the year.We’re going to …

For the aspiring homesteader, making your own homemade cranberry sauce has to be one of the easiest recipes to follow. Unlike many fruits, cranberries contain a lot of natural pectin and gel up perfectly without having to add any store-bought pectin. Basic recipes include just three ingredients: cranberries, sugar, and water, and cook up in only 15 minutes. What could be simpler? Customize your flavors to lean towards sweet or savory, and enjoy this healthy cranberry sauce year after year!Additi …

Last summer, I sat in my basement faced with a dilemma. We were moving and I needed to pack up 500 glass canning jars. At the time, most were empty but a few dozen still had food in them. Packing the empty glass jars was a chore but not impossible. I wrapped each individual jar in paper and set them carefully in a box.The nerve wracking part came with the jars that were filled with food. They were heavier and I couldn’t pack them in a regular box for fear of the bottom falling out from the weigh …

What’s The Difference? Fermentation vs Pickling Fermentation and pickling can be easy to mix up; there are some areas of overlap that can easily spark some confusion.After all, you can make fermented cucumber pickles, or pickled cucumber pickles. But, do fermented cucumber pickles qualify as fermented, or pickled? For the answers to this question and more, read on as we explore the overlap between these two methods of food preservation and preparation.In short, here’s what you need t …

Learning to make things from scratch is one of the main goals of anyone who desires to live a homesteading lifestyle. Even if you don’t have a homestead of your own yet, learning to make things from home with whole, real ingredients can be a skill you practice! Long before you buy the farm! Begin with something simple! Like applesauce!!!What you will need: Food MillRipe ApplesStockpotUsing a stockpot, some ripe apples, and Roots & Harvest food mill and you are on your way to fresh, homemade …

My newborn was nestled into her make-shift bed on the kitchen floor. My two-year-old had just been toddled up to her bed for an afternoon nap. Now it was my turn to address the boxes of WA state deliciousness – freshly picked, perfectly ripened, peaches.I’d been given step by step instructions from a dear, older friend, who’d been canning for years. The canning skill was not part of my heritage, and this was my first attempt. I may have been a little overzealous about this endeavor, clearly …

Have some spare jars and a few too many pumpkins? A few years ago, our house was full of… pumpkins. Hundreds of pounds of pumpkins. We made pumpkin everything… bread… muffins… pies… soup. Still, more pumpkin.So, what did we do? Canned some. It isn’t that hard!The big thing to note when using your own canned pumpkin is that it contains far more water than store bought canned pumpkin. So, when you break into a jar you will need to remove excess water before making use of the pumpkin chunks inside …

Canning tomatoes is a perfect way to preserve the bounty of your garden, making sure the fresh flavors of summer are tucked snuggly in your pantry all year long. Whether you’re making spaghetti or pizza sauce, tomato soup or a hearty stew, home-canned tomatoes offer a depth of flavor that store-bought versions simply can’t match.If you’re new to home food preservation, canning tomatoes is an easy place to start. It’s straightforward, requires minimal equipment, and offers a safe, reliable way to …