Читать книгу Canning Essentials - Jackie Callahan Parente - Страница 16

Where can you find fresh produce for preserving? Obvious canning candidates are surplus vegetables from the garden. I always grow more tomatoes than I can possibly eat—and we eat lots of tomatoes when they are in season. Those wonderful tomatoes that don’t get consumed in the summer months can be found in Mason jars in my basement as plain tomatoes or pasta sauce. Many are dried and stored with a bit of olive oil. If I don’t have time to can them, I’ve been known to simply wash them and store them whole in the freezer.

Create memories that you can cherish by picking fruit at a local orchard with your family and then preserving it together—in jellies and butters, for pies, and so on.

Of course, don’t forget about your local orchards and fruit farms during the season. My part of the country has incredible orchards and berry farms. I don’t grow my own apples (yet), but my family and I love to go picking and return with a bushel of the apple du jour. You have myriad options for that bushel of apples (including many of the methods of food preservation that we’ll cover in later chapters): canned applesauce; canned apple rings and apple pie filling; apple chutney; apple butter; and baked apple pies tucked away in the freezer for unexpected company. You can even turn those apples into a simple, wholesome baby food (see “Ava’s Applesauce” on page 74).

Choose foods that your family enjoys most and then select a preservation method that suits your needs and the food’s qualities. I adore my apples, but maybe you prefer peaches? The great thing about preserving food is that you have your own personal favorites on hand whenever you want them.