Feasible Alternatives to Canning
I think I officially hate canning now. What if I dehydrate produce and keep a four season garden? I’m reading the Elliott Coleman book now. Is that a realistic goal? Has anyone on here done that successfully?
Comments
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@Megan Venturella I dehydrate a lot of things. I also can a lot though too. I would think that it would be technically possible to do what you are proposing. For it to be realistic I think it would depend on your specific situation. Things like time, equipment, storage conditions, etc. You might have to adjust how you cook. I have a tendency to be optimistic so I would say give it a try. I have not read the Elliot Coleman book. I will have to look into that. Do you have experience with dehydrating? If not I can recommend a class that was helpful to me when I really got into it a few years back.
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@Megan Venturella If I might ask, why have you reached this stage of a hated relationship with canning?
I've been canning for years and for the most part enjoy it. Love seeing all my jars lined up on a shelf. I do dehydrate but its not possible to dehydrate ketchup, pickles, relish or many of the other canned goods my family enjoys.
4 season gardening is not an option for me. Even with a greenhouse, -40 will kill everything. Then there is the issue of reduced sunlight in the winter that would require supplemental lighting, adding to the cost. So it depends on your particular climate and hardiness zone as to whether or not you could succeed at this.
A root cellar would add to what you could store without canning.
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Freezing is definitely my preferred method. It is less work than canning, and allows a wider range of products to be preserved instead of just high-acid ones.
There is risk of an extended power outage, but so far that has not happened. In mid-winter even that wouldn't be much risk because I could put the frozen food in a cooler on the back deck, and it would stay frozen. This could also be mitigated with a backup generator or significant solar system.
One of the best methods is simple cool storage for potatoes, squash, carrots, onions, and other crops that don't need to be canned, refrigerated or dried. I store potatoes and onions in quantity this way.
I do a bit of dehydrating, but so far i have not found a good way to incorporate dried foods into my regular diet. "Sun"-dried tomatoes are a nice thing to have, but I haven't done much with most other dried foods.
I have enough canning lids for this season, but I am concerned about getting enough for next year. I'll refresh my supply this winter when fewer people are buying them. I also plan to get a couple dozen Tattler reusable lids and experiment with them, not as my primary method, but as a backup.
I have gradually increased the amount of canning I do, but it will always be a big time drain.
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@Megan Venturella I have Eliot Coleman's book _Four Season Harvest_ and Nikki Jarbour's _The Year Ground Vegetable Gardener_. Their methods definitely work, but they are dependent on your climate.
Jarbour is based in Nova Scotia and Coleman in Maine, so their methods are aimed at the general area of the US/Canadian border, especially in the East, or other parts of the world with similar daylight and temperatures.
Here in Vermont, winter lasts about 5 months, November to March, and during that time you really can't grow anything outside unless it is in a cold frame, greenhouse, or hoop house.
I have a couple of small cold frames that let me extend my fall greens through at least November, and get an early start on spring greens (planted the previous fall) in March and April. I don't have a greenhouse.
I supplement the outside garden by growing a wide range of sprouts indoors under lights all through the winter. These indoor crops include Evergreen Hardy White scallions, buckwheat, pea shoots, daikon radish, beans sprouts, and nasturtium. I have a steady stream of these constantly being started and harvested all through the months when nothing can be harvested from outside. It's about time to start these right now.
Bottom line: in a backyard situation, without the large hoop houses that Coleman uses, you can use these methods to significantly extend a New England/Canadian Maritimes harvest at both ends of the season, but it would be very difficult to have a true 12-month harvest.
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I have been air drying the Swiss chart, Spinach and the beet greens. I didn't know that the beet greens would grow back. They certainly did grow back. They have been picked at least three times and now there is another picking waiting. I put the peas into the house because of the colder temperatures. I do have a dehydrator and canning supplies. Fruits at Farmer's market where marked very high this year except for Strawberries and Blueberries. Last year my canning technique ended up fermented. I cannot eat fermented foods which are intended to ferment. Thanks for the ideas.
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Such interesting comments, thank you so much! I’m in South Carolina, where there is a very long growing season, so the four season gardening may be very possible here. Last year there were a couple of nights when the temperatures dipped down to 19 Fahrenheit, and there was a frost on the ground more often than not in the morning. I guess that’s pretty mild weather, but I’m coming from a climate that only gets a frost maybe once in a decade, so I was under the impression that was a pretty cold winter. But I guess I was wrong!
@torey -40!!! Wow. Wow. Wow. I really just forgot that was a possibility LOL. I used to can a bit here and there, and I did some this summer, but not much at all. I think part of my frustration is that what I had from the garden came in little bits and pieces and what I had plenty of I don’t know how to can. (Bottle gourd enough to feed a small country.) The local stores also completely sold out of canning supplies. COMPLETELY. So putting up food one jar at a time started to feel like an expensive waste of time. I really wanted home canned tomatoes and had no success with those varieties, only volunteer cherry tomatoes and now I have lots of slicing tomatoes that are about to ripen and I’m not sure how to preserve them. So maybe I shouldn’t blame canning for all of that.
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This October I planted lots of cool season crops and I guess I’ll have to see how they all do since this is my first winter garden in this climate. According to the local feed store, I can start sowing cool season crops again in mid January. So maybe I just need to stop whining and see how this winter goes!
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@Megan Venturella you can put the tomatoes in the freezer and can them later when you have time, supplies, and a decent quantity. You can also slice and dehydrate tomatoes and save them as slices or as a powder. Salsa is a great idea for preserving tomatoes if you enjoy it. I had a similar frustration when I started canning of not having good quantities at once. There are ways to work around it if you really wanted to make canning work.
It sounds to me like you should be able to grow all year. There are plenty of good techniques out there for extending your season even with frost. Here in Michigan, if I'm careful some years I can grow some things through December and start some things as early as March. I usually don't have the time, but I like to know that I could if I needed to. If I lived in a warmer climate I would probably grow longer and rely less on canning. I would still can things though. I really enjoy the sense of accomplishment it gives me. Let us know how it goes for you this year. I think you will do amazing!
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I completely agree that putting up one bottle of canned goods is a waste of time and energy. If that's all you have, eat it fresh, refrigerate it, or freeze it.
However, some canned goods need to be canned in small batches anyway. Jams will often not jell properly if you double the recipe. Typically I find that I can make about 3 - 5 half-pint jars of jam in one batch. If I have a lot of ingredients available, I still have to run two separate batches the same day, but at least I don' t have to heat the water bath again.
Buying a freezer the year before covid hit has been a great addition to our home economics. It holds a mix of meat from the store and vegetables and fruits from the garden. Even our small chest freezer is considerably larger than the small freezer unit that is part of our kitchen refrigerator.
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I actually found that freezing my tomatoes until I had enough to make a batch for canning was not only timesaving but actually made the job easier. After freezing the tomatoes, put them in a large container to thaw. A strainer over a large pot is a good choice. Make sure to break the skins on each tomato and much of the liquid will drain off. You can save it for soups, drink it or whatever you choose. Then peel and cook down the remaining tomato pulp for tomato sauce. I have saved the skins and dried them, the run through my Vita Mix to turn into a powder to add to soups, stews, chili, etc.
I Love my canners, too. It might be helpful to get a small pressure canner. The smallest approved pressure canner does as small a batch as is approved. That would be 4 quarts at one time. It is ready for timing much faster than my large canner so saves me time.
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Would freeze drying be a viable option for you?
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@vickeym , I agree with the freezing tomatoes until you have a bigger batch. This year that made a huge difference. Because our summers are really hot, I found out that my chickens love frozen tomatoes too.
I love canning, but if I didn't, freeze drying would be my next go to. I really don't care for dehydrating. It changes the food too much for me.
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Brindy I would LOVE to have a freeze dryer, but not only is it not in my budget yet, but we live off grid so no electricity to run it. We are thinking we might get power put in this spring if we can afford it. Getting to old for all this manual stuff.
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Brindy I would LOVE to have a freeze dryer, but not only is it not in my budget yet, but we live off grid so no electricity to run it. We are thinking we might get power put in this spring if we can afford it. Getting to old for all this manual stuff.
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I love the idea of freezing the tomatoes as they come in. I’m doing that next year!
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My freezer is always full, and I'm actually moving in the other direction, doing more canning to preserve foods that I used to just throw in the freezer.
I've decided to get an Instant Pot Max as my Christmas present. :-) It will let me cook meals faster and using less energy with pressure cooking techniques, and will also let me start pressure cooking. (I can't easily use a traditional pressure cooker because my glass top stove can't safely handle the heat, though the stove works fine for water bath canning. The cost of getting a traditional pressure canner and separate burner is much higher than the Max, and the Max gives me other capabilities too.
Tests of the Max as a pressure canner appears to work well even at 5,000 feet. If you haven't added Rose Red Homestead to your video channel list, take the time to do it now! She is a scientist with published papers who has taken the time to test various canners with a temperature data probe.
Examples:
Testing pressure canning in Instant Pot Max, with data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62NdXOKROg
Testing pressure canning of baked beans in Instant Pot Max, with data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USYRQ5SOGhM
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i do not enjoy canning at all. I have discovered fermenting this year and decided I am going to ferment so much more next year and maybe not can ever. It’s so much easier and it actually is healthier because it creates good bacteria and heat canning kills nutrients. There is so much you can make by fermenting. Pickles, sauerkraut, relish, salsa, ketchup and even fruits! The freezer is my next favorite method and will be prepared with a generator should the power go out. And agree with others that in winter it’s not the end of the world anyway since it’s cold outside where I live.
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@thestickymommy Canning and fermentation complement each other nicely. They aren't really direct substitutes for each other. Why do you dislike canning?
While fermentation produces healthy probiotic cultures, and Korean culture has long used fermentation to preserve their vegetable kimchi outside through a cold winter, properly canned food can be preserved much longer. Canned foods should preserve their food value at least 18-24 months and can safely be eaten after much longer periods.
Does anyone here routinely keep fermented foods for longer than 12 months? If so, I'd like to learn more about it.
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Fermenting is awesome for root veggies, cukes and some other fruits and veg. Dehydrating (both regular and freeze drying) is equally as awesome for many fruits and veg as well as some meats. Freezing is optimal for preserving meat to keep it in as close to raw form as possible. Same for many other food products including baked goods. I much prefer frozen berries to canned ones.
But there are some things that just can't be done any other way than canning. Relishes and chutneys come to mind. I know there are some that can be fermented but not my corn relish! Ketchup and HP Sauce (similar to A1) are two others that I can regularly.
If you are off grid, canning is certainly one of the choices that needs to be included for food storage.
I don't mind the canning process at all. Cook the food (or not), put it in a jar and into a canner for the specified time. Not a big deal for me, but I have been canning for more years than I care to count. I also have all of the necessary equipment and gadgets to make it easy, lots of space to spread out and a cold room for all the jar storage. It is intimidating when first starting and expensive to purchase all the equipment (I can't believe the price of pressure canners!). But after a few years it becomes a routine process.
So I do all of the above. I ferment (a bit), dehydrate (I have a regular one and access to a friend's freeze dryer), freeze and can (water bath & pressure). I nearly forgot, we have a smoker, too. Each method has its pros and cons. And some foods are just more suited to one method or another.
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@VermontCathy Before last year, the only thing I fermented was cabbage, making sauerkraut in a crock. It certainly never lasted longer than a year. Just a few months and it was all gone!
Last year I bought some of those newer Ball fermenting lids and did a couple of jars of carrots. After fermenting, I have stored them in the fridge. Just brought out the last bit of a jar this morning and they are still very good. So they have been about 14 months in the jar. Very garlicky, though. :)
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@torey That's impressive. I haven't heard of these Ball canning lids.
I can't recall ever getting food poisoning from canned food, but I have from fermented kimchi.
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@VermontCathy This is a link to ones at Walmart. There are two lids and two stainless steel springs to keep the food submerged.
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Thanks, @torey I love fermenting, but keeping it below the brine has been a challenge. I tend to overfill it. That lid would help.
I prefer storage methods that don't require electricity. In the case of an emergency, that's usually what goes first.
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@Megan Venturella Here is one for you. A new course on winter gardening through Stacy at Grow Your Own Vegetables.
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A year ago My wife and I wanted a root cellar. I bought a book and started looking into what it would take to build one.
About that Time I saw a YouTube video of a homesteader that had a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. I stopped my root cellar investigation and started looking into freeze dryers.
We decided it was cheaper to buy a large freeze dryer than it would be in our location to build a root cellar.
How did it work out you say? I will let you know as soon as I finish the "food preservation" room in our shop!
Yes, because we needed a place for the freeze dryer we decided to build a 10x20 foot room in our shop building with a gas stove and countertops so we can Can, Dehydrate, freeze dry and store food in one place close to the garden. If I don't drop over dead, I will have it finished this winter. This "RETIRED living is about to WORK me to death!
Kevin Loving
West side of Arkansas
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@Tave I've had the same "above the brine" problem with kimchi. It's made harder by the recipe I use, which doesn't hand-make a brine, but depends on the juice coming out of the Napa cabbage during the fermenting process.
Once the brine forms and I eat the top part, it's easier to keep the rest wet. I've occasionally had mold form on the rim, above the actual fermented food.
On the other hand, I once threw out a jar of just-opened kimchi because it appeared to have small spots of mold, but I realized later that it wasn't mold at all. Oops. :-) One of the challenges of working with less-familiar foods.
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@KevinLoving I read about early New England settlers putting in root cellars, run my shovel into the hard clay of my back yard, shake my head and say, "What?"
Many of them were probably settled on better land than I have, but there is a lot of clay around here, and large rocks under the soil. It would be back-breaking to hand-dig a root cellar, and expensive to dig one with power equipment.
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Another anti-canner unless absolutely necessary - why? the hot water and time consuming. LOL now that I am retired time is scarce or so it seems. I freeze as much as possible, including pickles. The root cellar works well for onions, potatoes, squash when they are properly air dried first. I have a separate room area for apples as I read that they hasten spoilage of vegetables. A suggestion - outside in ground storage for carrots beets parsnips. We live in Canada so no real growing a winter garden outside; however, the last several years my summer garden kale, eveerlasting onions and swiss chard did not grow but could be harvested all winter and then started growing again in spring. In a large east facing window I was able to grow green onions from the bulbs that I harvested in the fall from the tops of the everlasting onions. They grew very quickly in regular flower pots. This success has inspired me to try growing other vegetables in this large window area. i purchased some shelving and a grow light to supplement the sunlight during our short winter days. Currently I have 4 bush bean plants with tiny beans and flowers and a hot pepper plant growing without any extra lights.
I also have a site saved for later on how to set up an indoor garden in a closet! But I think that i will use an area in the basement for this experiment.. i am enjoying reading comments and experiences of others.
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Yes, dehydration is perfectly feasible. I have years-old home dehydrated tomatoes and other veggies that taste great. Generally, dehydration preserves more nutrients than canning, so I decided to do no canning. Other people may prefer to do both.
Fermenting is a shorter-term food preservation technique that may add to the nutritional value of food. My personal favorite home-fermented veggies are mixed tomatoes and onions.
Freeze drying preserves far more nutrients. Marjorie and others have discovered Harvest Right's Pro-quality Home Freeze dryers. At $2000-$3500, they are affordable for many, many people who have above-average incomes, or small farms. But not for below-average folks. If you look up freeze drying with a search engine such as Duck Duck Go, you find that this method consists of first freezing the food, which can be done with an ordinary refrigerator freezer, and then sublimating (ice to vapor) it with a powerful vacuum (not your dirty home dust remover). Some of these systems can be made for less than $350, which is affordable even for poor people. I have not been able to find specific enough information to set up such a system, and really, this should be a research top priority for homesteading or prepping sites.
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@EstherCook I am really impressed with some of the items coming out of my friend's freeze dryer. But as to building one for myself, that is way above my skill level or that of my husband.
I found this website that has instructions on building your own but as I am not familiar with this type of mechanical construction, it might as well be in another language. Maybe someone else with more skills could see if this is feasible.
And another site with more ideas. Again, above my skill levels.
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