All You Need to Know About Preserving Food!

Food preservation is a practice that has lasted for generations! People of ancient times had to harness nature to preserve food and survive. These skills allowed people to start making roots in one place and develop communities and homes.

As of today, we have modern technologies that make food preservation so much easier! Such as freezers, dehydrators, pressure canners, etc. But we don’t all still realize the importance of these practices.

Why is it important to preserve food?

There are many reasons why the preservation of food is important in general, and why it could be important to you and your household. Here are just some of the reasons :

• To increase the shelf life of food
• Decrease food waste
• Improve nutrition either through the way food is processed or by eating different foods during their off-season
• Getting to eat seasonal foods at different times in the year
• Saving money on food
• Being prepared in case of food shortages and or food price increases
• Knowing exactly what’s going into your food

As you can see, there’s a very extensive list of reasons why this is a skill you should want to learn! Whether you grow your own garden, shop at the farmers market, or even just go to the grocery store, now is as good of a time as any to start working on learning how to preserve different foods! As we are winding down from the growing season and into the harvesting season, this is the time we traditionally start to prepare food for the winter. Let’s now get into the different ways you can preserve food and the pros and cons of each!

Freezing:

Freezing, to me, is one of the first ways you should start to preserve your food. We almost all have freezers, even if small, and it’s extremely simple! You just portion and prepare what you’d like to preserve, for example, broccoli I would cut up, and then store in either container of bags and keep in your freezer until use!

Benefits:

• Retains nutritional value, even over fresh
• Fast to do
• (for most) No need to purchase anything extra

Cons:

• Can take up freezer space quickly.
• Doesn’t thaw to be the same texture with some things ( like eggs, or berries)

Fermenting :

Fermentation is a form of preservation that was less invented and more discovered! It’s a process that can occur naturally, but we can harness it to our advantage! Fermentation is, in basic terms, the process of microorganisms beginning to break down food matter, and turn it into something different.

Benefits:

• Boosts beneficial bacteria and probiotics in the gut. ( Better gut health!)
• Promote regular digestion
• Boost nutritional value
• Reduce inflammation
• Unique flavor

Cons:

• Takes multiple days to weeks to complete
• You have to manage and make sure the food is fermenting properly
• Not good to eat if you have histamine intolerance
• A unique flavor that may take getting used to!

Dehydrating :

Dehydrating is the process of removing all liquid from your food, therefore leaving it in a state that doesn’t grow bacteria!

Benefits:

• Makes food smaller for storage
• Retains nutrients
• Easily portable ( One of the best options for food to take on hikes/ camping )
• Makes well-known snacks, such as jerky, and fruit leathers, without the bad stuff!

Cons:

• Reduces the amount of some vitamins
• Has more calories for less food
• Takes time
• A different texture that may not be as good with some things

Canning:

Canning is the process of sealing food in jars so that nothing can get in to cause the food to spoil. It keeps your food safe to eat for many many years to come!

Benefits:

• One of the most effective preserving methods for the longest period of time

Cons:

• Can be an investment in the supplies needed
• Takes longer to learn the skill
• Takes dedicated time for just canning
• Must follow the recipes to a T
• Loses nutritional value

Freeze Drying:

Freeze drying is one of the newest ways to preserve food. Similar to dehydrating, is a process that removes all the liquid from a food item. However, it does have its differences. In this process, the food is quickly frozen. The ice then turns into water vapor and is sucked out with a type of vacuum.

Benefits:

• Super light and easy to store food ( Perfect for hiking/camping food)
• Retains most nutritional value
• Can be stored and then rehydrated to its original state when ready to use

Cons:

• Big investment
• The machine takes up a lot of space
• Takes about a day per batch

As you can see, there are many different methods to preserving food! So many that I didn’t even list every single one! Because of this, I hope you come to the conclusion that there is a method, ( If not many!) of preservation that would work for you! In a world that can be so unpredictable I feel its important to take things into your own hands. Not coming from a place of fear, but more a place of empowerment! Knowing that you have basic skills that can make life better for you and your family feels so good! No matter if you’re a young college student, retired, or anywhere in between, these kind of skills are worth learning. I hope my guides help make it easy for you! Stay tuned for future posts where I’ll go into more detail about how to do each one!