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drying

Farm to freezer: the benefits of preserving food

September 7, 2021 By marketeditor

Green Jeans Market Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

By Julia Howard

Late summer’s bounty of fruits and vegetables is here. Vine-ripened tomatoes shift from green to red almost overnight, ripe cucumbers seem to hide under every leaf, and zucchinis of all shapes and sizes make impressive harvests. Whether you are a home gardener or an avid farmers’ market shopper, the abundance of summer produce can be overwhelming as they are only fresh for so long.

Freezing food, iStock

While enjoying fresh food is undoubtedly the best, preserving fresh fruits and vegetables has many benefits. Canning, drying, and freezing allow you to control your food ingredients and eat healthy year-round. Preserving food reduces food waste, waste in landfills, and our environmental footprint. It also contributes to the local economy and your wallet. With time and proper instruction, canning, drying, and freezing food is surprisingly easy.

There are specific methods to preserve certain foods; however, the fruits and vegetables that can be preserved are countless. Apples may be cooked down into applesauce for canning or freezing. Tomatoes may be stewed or dried or made into sauce or salsa. Cucumbers, beets, bell peppers, cauliflower, and green beans can be pickled. Mushrooms, berries, herbs, and even kale can be dried. You can freeze fruit, and many vegetables can be blanched and frozen.

Pickling, iStock

Before getting started, Diane Whitten, Food Preservation Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County, stresses the importance of food safety. “Always start with good quality fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Whitten. “Preserve them as soon as possible,” she adds.

In the day of online recipes and instructions, Whitten emphasizes the importance of using safe preservation methods to avoid spoilage, contamination, and even botulism (food poisoning caused by bacteria). Whitten offers several in-depth presentations and how-to videos from verified sources on Cornell Cooperative Extension’s website. Whitten also recommends The National Center for Home Food Preservation as an online source for current research-based recommendations for most home food preservation methods.

Don’t shy away when you find a good deal on a flat of tomatoes, a bushel of apples, or quarts of beets, cucumbers, or beans at the farmers’ market. There is a use for everything, and preserving food at home can be fun and very beneficial.

This week’s recipe: Refrigerator Pickled Beets

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: canning, CCE Saratoga, Cornell Cooperative Extension, drying, food preservation, freezing, pickling, preserving

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Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendo Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendors at today’s market!
Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Grano Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Granola Day. In honor of this, all sales with our friends from @toganola are 10% off this Saturday only! Their granola products are packaged in sustainable packaging and free of gluten, dairy & soy. 

Our winter market runs today from 9:3-1:30 in the Wilton Mall food court. Hope you can make it!

Photo of and provided by @toganola 

#saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #granola #toganola #thingstodoinupstateny #organic #shopsmall #shoplocal #nationalgranoladay
Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today! For every $5 you spend using your SNAP/EBT card at our market, receive $2 in coupons. FreshConnect bucks can be used to buy: vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, honey, baked items, jams, plants that bear food, and prepared foods that are packed to eat at home. Plus, there’s no cap on issuance! Stop by our information stand to learn more. We’ll be open 9:30-1:30 tomorrow. ❄️🌾

#freshconnect #snap #ebt #nutrition #health #agriculture #shoplocal #shopssmall #farmtotable #saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #thingstodoinupstateny @wilton_mall_leasing
Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ ma Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ markets are a great way to start networking and finding your customer base. For 45 years, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has provided a platform for local farmers, artisans, bakers and more build their businesses into what they are today. If you’d like to join our community, please submit your 2023 Summer Vendor application. The link can be found in our bio. Last day to apply is January 31st. DM us here or email me at sfma.manager@gmail.com with any questions!! 

#farmersmarket #startup #smallbusiness #shoplocal #entrepreneur #community #saratogasprings #thingstodoinupstateny #growyourbusiness
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