Putting Food Away For Winter

Six months ago I drew this picture in my diary - somehow for me, when I draw my dreams, it seems to really increase the chances of them coming true. I think the drawing reminds me of what I need to do to follow the path towards my goals. Despite having never preserved food before, my project for this summer has been to learn to "put away food for winter", like my great grandmother did. Why would I do this, when there's abundant food available in the shops all year round? Because this way I can spend my money ethically, to support local farmers, rather than giving it to big corporations and increasing their power. Also because this way my food is all local, and far less resource intensive than a can of tomatoes from Italy, or out of season vegies from Queensland that came here on a truck. The single biggest thing you can do for the environment is change the way you eat, to eat food that is produced locally and sustainably.

Anyway, you can see in the photo the results of my project. I think I've finished for the season. I do have another box of jars that could be used but it seems I've missed the peaches, there'll be apples at the farmer's market all winter, and there's nothing else to preserve. Next year ... I'll do more.

The top two shelves are all fruit. Nectarines and plums from our trees, apricots, cherries and peaches from the farmer's market.

The next shelf has food I dried myself. Dried nectarines (we just tried some and I think we've discovered why you can't buy dried nectarines.. they're nothing special. Oh well - next year I'll bottle them), dried apricots, sultanas, dried tomatoes in macadamia oil, dried apples, and dried zucchini from when we had a glut. There's also kombucha to drink in the bottles at the back, and honey from my aunt and uncle's bees.

The next shelf has condiments. Mulberry sauce from the tree around the corner (we'll use this to make icecream, and to put on pancakes, and to add to stewed apples or apple pie to change the flavour), strawberry jam, a humungous jar of pickled gherkins from my garden, several batches of bread and butter cucumbers from the garden, nectarine chutney, tomato chutney and zucchini relish.

The bottom shelf is tomatoes. I bought 60kg of them from a local farmer and frantically bottled them before they all went off.

I don't know if this will be enough to get us through winter. Jesse and I plan, as a homeschool activity, to sit down with a count of each item, and a calender that shows each week from May to December, and then we'll allocate "rations". Once a week I'll bring in the allocated rations, and give them to Paula for cooking. I imagine a week's rations might be something like this: a jar of fruit, a jar of tomatoes, a small handful of dried fruit, and a condiment. It's not much, but supplemented with local in-season vegies from my garden and the farmer's market, it might be enough. I hope so!

Was it really hard to do this? Would I do it again? It wasn't hard - it's more that it was a bit inconvenient. For example, the day the fruit trees decided to be ready was never an open free day in our calender that was perfect for bottling. It always had to be done around the gamut of life. I tried to keep Saturdays after the farmer's market free, ready to process all the food we buy, but on the same day that I had ordered boxes of peach seconds and grapes for sultanas, it turned out to be my niece's birthday party. It's very hard to make time and keep it free for preserving, especially when you're as inexperienced as I am and so not as good at anticipating when/how much time will be needed. On the other hand, it's pretty peaceful work, and easy and calm to sit down in an evening to a box of peaches that need pitting or grapes that need to be picked from their stems. I found it much easier to do batches of small jars of apricots and cherries, and sterilise them on the stove, than the big batches of plums and nectarines that I did in the vacola. But the big batches will form the staple of our eating. If only, somehow, next year, I can time things to allow the time to be free when I need it, then I can relax and enjoy the process. I'll definitely do this again next year. It was very satisfying and I feel really good about the ethics behind it all too. I suppose I'll know more after a winter of eating, whether it was worthwhile or not.

Comments

[Aussie Elv]

Wow, this is so impressive and inspiring! I am at the same time envious and anxious to try something like this myself. I can imagine it would have been quite a time sink though - how much time do you think it took you?

Also, how did you dry your fruits? Sun-dried, in the oven, a dehydrator... or some other method?

Congratulations - it all looks great!

Fixie: It definitely took time, but I don't know that "time sink" is quite the right word for it. I'd call "time sink" something like the time spent on Facebook, watching TV or surfing the net without being especially efficient. Afterall, at the end you have something very tangible to show for your efforts. On average I spent 2-4 hours a week on this project from November through to April. I see it as work that I do to help the world be a better place for our children, akin to the time spent washing clothes/nappies and doing the jobs that go with having children. I also found it quite pleasant work - definitely more fun than doing admin on the computer.

As for how I dried my fruit, I used an electric dehydrator. One project I hope to complete in time for next summer is to make a solar attachment for it. I'll post on my blog when I do so you can see how it's done.

Envious and anxious to try it yourself? Why don't you start collecting jars with metal lids now, and watch in an op shop for a big pot or two. Ask around and my might even find someone with a vacola and spare jars, though you definitely don't need them to preserve food. Then make a promise to yourself that come November you'll preserve something each week - even if it's just one tomato that you dry on the window sill, a batch of small jars of cherries that fits into your biggest pot and so on. You'll be surprised how it accumulates, and as you get more confident maybe you can tackle bigger preserving jobs...?

Let me know how you go!

[Aussie Elv]

Thanks Fixie. Perhaps 'time sink' was not the best phrase. When I wrote that, I was thinking of how to fit in another activity when I already have so many things on the go. I'm sure you have heaps on too though, and you managed! 2 to 4 hrs per week doesn't sound like too much, either.

I've never done any canning before - can I just use any old jar (like a pasta sauce or curry sauce jar, or a jam or pickle jar) or do they have to be canning jars? What about reusing lids? Google brings up a lot of differing (and often strong) opinions.

I look forward to hearing more about your dehydrator when you post about it!

Fixie: Yes, you can use any old pasta sauce or curry sauce jar. Just make sure it has a metal lid, not a plastic one. Find your biggest pot, put in it several jars of roughly the same height, so you know how many jars fit in your pot, then fill those jars with some kind of fruit or tomatoes. Top it up with liquid (water will do) and add some honey if you want to sweeten it. Do up the lids, put them in the pot, and add water to about an inch below the jar lids. Bring it to the boil and let it boil for about 45 mins to an hour. Leave it to cool, and you're done. Most of the lids should suck in and be held tightly once cool. One or two of them might not, in which case the lid might be dodgy - eat them up in the next week or so, or else re-do the contents in another jar, or the same jar with a better fitting lid.

I reuse my lids from fowler jars. My understanding is that as long as they seal, they are ok. The thing to watch out for with canning is botulism, because this survives the heat treatment. As my uncle likes to point out, the first symptom of botulism is death. But before you freak out - you risk botulism every time you eat something that came in a can. Commercial produce is as much at risk of botulism as home produce. Botulism can't survive in an acidic environment, which is why canning fruits is generally safe, as they are high in acid. If you are unsure, add in a spoonful of lemon juice. Don't do vegetables with this method of canning - you need a pressure canner to preserve them safely. Chutney recipes are generally safe, even though they include vegetables, because the vinegar content provides enough acid to kill the botulism.

Why don't you give it a try this week? Apples and pears are in season. Stew up some apples or pears, put them in jars, boil them up, and put them on the shelf. Then you've got some fast food next time you need it, and you will have gained a bit of confidence to tackle the next thing. Doing it the first time is the hardest - after that it really doesn't take a lot of focus. Let me know how you go!

Re time: you are right, 2-4 hours per week is not that hard to find. I think it came out of my socialising time, but interestingly, I've managed to have some fairly social occasions with friends who decided to help or to do their own at the same time.