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5 ways to save produce this winter
Learning how to properly save and store your produce can be a great way to save money and make your fruits and vegetables last longer. Since every season has different produce available if you want to make it last longer, using techniques like freezing, pickling and making sauces can be a great way to extend their shelf life. As we head into the winter months, now is the time to start thinking about what produce you’ll want to have during those long cold winter days. Maybe for you it's jersey tomatoes, corn or squash. All of those veggies can be stored easily using a variety of methods. You can even apply these techniques to produce you buy at the grocery store, especially when it comes to seasonal fruits and vegetables. If you’ve been to the store in the winter and seen how much watermelon or strawberries costs in the middle of January, you know how much out-of-season produce will set you back.
So when you stop by your local market in the next few weeks and look at your produce options, think about what recipes you would want to make during the winter. Maybe it’s those last tomatoes available at your favorite farm vendor, or maybe you want to stock up on cilantro and parsley to add to delicious hearty soups.
If you want to learn how you can save the fruits and vegetables you buy for the winter, scroll down for some tips.
Freezing
When freezing produce you want to remember a few things. First, most produce can be frozen but before you do you need to consider if the fruit or vegetable will freeze well or not. Some produce like tomatoes have a high water content, so when they are thawed they lose their structure. You can still use them by tossing them in a soup, sauce or chilli, but they won’t be great in a salad.
Food freezes best when it is broken down into smaller pieces. You can easily do this at home with most vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, corn and carrots. This is a great alternative to buying bags of frozen vegetables from the supermarket.
Leafy greens like spinach, chard, and kale should be blanched before frozen. Blanching is a process where you soak vegetables like leafy greens in boiling water for a minute or two to slightly soften, while the heat from the water brings out the color. This helps the produce keep its color and allows it to freeze better. You can also use this process to save herbs like cilantro, parsley and oregano.
For more information about what produce can be frozen check out this link
How long can these frozen items be in your freezer for?
These items will last in your freezer for 6-9 months
Herb Salts
You can use leftover herbs to make herb salts. All you need to do is combine salt, your favorite herb and some lemon zest in a food processor and you have herb salt. This can be a great way to add more flavor to any dish or to season fish, vegetables, chicken or beef.
Drying
Drying can be a great way to preserve your herbs during the winter months. You can dry herbs like cilantro, parsley, and oregano in the oven, air fryer or a dehydrator if you have one. These herbs can be crumbled up and placed in a plastic bag, small jar or tupperware container.
How to Harvest, Dry, & Store Herbs From the Garden* (check this)
Pickling
Pickling vegetables can be a great way to save your vegetables and make something new at the same time. While seemingly daunting, picking can actually be really simple and you probably have everything you need in your kitchen. You’ll need a jar or plastic tupperware container, your vegetable of choice, spices like chilli flakes, peppercorns and bay leaves, vinegar of your choice (rice vinegar is my favorite), sugar and salt. Check out these recipes for delicious refrigerator pickled goodies.
Sauces and Soups
Making sauces and soups is also a great way to use the vegetables you buy at the farmers market. Sauces and soups keep very well in the fridge or can be frozen and eaten at a later date. You can jar sauces in a mason jar or a tupperware container and put it in the fridge
Reminder: While many farmers markets close either at the end of October or November there are plenty of winter farmers markets around the state that are selling winter produce and other goodies. Stay tuned for a list of those markets soon!
If you are interested in shopping seasonally make sure to check out the Jersey Fresh Availability Chart. This guide put together by Jersey Fresh and Rutgers Cooperative Extension outlines what produce is available each month as well as provides weekly updates on how certain crops are doing and how weather conditions may affect them. It’s a great resource for those who want to start shopping and eating seasonally.
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