Summer is over, and sadly, your beautiful fruit and fresh vegetables will not last forever. But just because the summer is ending doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying your produce. My grandparents canned their produce, and while canning is a little much for the average person, I’m going to show you five easy methods to preserve your produce and keep your summer fruits and veggies good all winter long.
Freeze it
A classic, and certainly the easiest on this list, freezing is quick, and it really only requires one thing: your freezer.
For most fruits and veggies, you can simply cut them up, pop them into the freezer on a baking sheet for a couple hours (so they don’t stick together), and then put them into freezer bags. If you have broccoli or leafy greens like spinach, be sure to blanch them first. Fruits and veggies can last up to a year in the freezer!
Pickle it
As a self-proclaimed pickle fanatic, I’m partial to this option. To pickle your veggies, slice them as thinly as possible and pack them into clean jars. Boil 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water, a couple teaspoons of salt, and a tablespoon of sugar (if you like it sweet). This is just the basic recipe, feel free to add herbs and whole spices and switch out the vinegar for the acid of your choice. I personally like quick pickling my red onions with lime juice, serrano chilies, peppercorns, bay leaves, and allspice berries.
Pour the pickling liquid over your onions and let it cool for an hour or two before sealing tightly and popping into the fridge. Quick pickles can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, so make sure to throw them out if your pickling liquid starts to look murky.
They’re so good, they probably won’t last that long.
Make a jam out of it
Properly sealing traditional jam jars can be time-consuming, and it requires you to buy new jars, especially for making your jam if you want a tight seal. Freezer jam is a low-cost, low-work alternative that can go into any container.
Here’s my process: Wash and crush your fruit, then mix together three cups of the mashed fruit with about four cups of sugar. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour while you dissolve your pectin (you can find packets at the grocery store) in a pot of hot water. Once the pot is boiling, leave it for a minute before turning off the heat and stirring your pectin into the fruit-sugar mixture. Stir the mixture for a couple of minutes before transferring to sealable containers, leaving room for the jam to expand once frozen. Seal the containers and let them cool for a day. You can then store your jam in the freezer for up to a year.
Ferment it
You may have seen the home kombucha kits floating around, but I’m going to put you on to a much easier route to fermentation success: sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is possibly the easiest way ever to preserve your cabbage (because who eats a whole head of cabbage in time??).
Simply cut up your cabbage, add 2% salt by weight, stick the salted cabbage in an airtight container with the herbs of your choice. Let the container sit covered with cloth for about a week at a cool room temperature (below 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Once your kraut is complete, you can store it in the fridge for 3 to 6 months. If you feel like picking up a few more ingredients, try making kimchi next.
Dry it
Enjoy some bruschetta by making your own sun-dried tomatoes. If you live in an apartment with a kitchen, arrange your halved tomatoes cut side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the tomatoes dry in a 160 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 3 hours, checking to see if they have dried every 10 minutes or so after the 2.5-hour mark. Your dried tomatoes should be flexible but not squishy. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (not the crisper) for up to 3 months.
So, even if you don’t have a root cellar full of canned vegetables, there are plenty of fun ways to keep a taste of summer with you as things cool down. Eat well!