Preserve Your Garden Bounty By Freezing and Dehydrating Your Harvest
As the summer harvest season ends, it's time to dive into the wonderful world of food preservation. With a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables gracing our gardens, it's important to make the most of this abundance.
It's no secret that I love canning as a preservation method! But there are a few reasons I (and you) may not always choose to can the harvest:
Life happens, and there is just no time
Most vegetables cannot be water-bath canned
You are unfamiliar with canning or not yet confident enough to try it
So when any of these apply, you can turn to two other fantastic methods for extending the life of your harvest: freezing and dehydrating.
Not only do these techniques help reduce food waste, but they also offer a convenient way to enjoy your homegrown produce long after the growing season ends.
Let's explore the variety of foods you can preserve using these methods and how to go about it.
Why Freeze or Dehydrate Your Harvest?
Imagine opening your freezer or pantry during the cold winter months and being able to reach for preserved goodies from your garden.
Freezing and dehydrating allow you to capture the vibrant flavors and nutrients of your fruits and veggies at their peak ripeness. By removing moisture, you prevent spoilage and inhibit the growth of microorganisms, ensuring the preservation of both taste and nutrition.
And my favorite part - when you put in the effort to preserve your harvest, you're essentially gifting yourself the taste of summer all year round!
freezing fruits and vegetables
Below is a list of some of the produce we love to freeze:
Basil
We harvested so much basil this summer, and I did not want them to go to waste. Freeze a taste of summer by blending 3-4 cups of fresh basil with a tablespoon of olive oil.
You can freeze them in ice tray cubes or in one plastic bag and break off a piece whenever you need it.
This basil paste can be scooped and used in recipes like pesto or added to dishes for an instant burst of flavor.
Blueberries
Blueberries are so easy to freeze! Simply ensure they're dry and toss them into freezer bags. No need for extra steps—these little berries are ready for your smoothies, salads, or baking adventures.
Thawed or frozen blueberries will work great for these yummy blueberry and lavender waffles!
Carrots
You can freeze carrots up to a year by blanching and freezing them.
Wash them well, peel them, trim the ends, cut into cubes, slices, or strips. You can leave small carrots whole. Blanch whole carrots for 5 minutes and pieces and strips for 2 minutes. Plunge into cool water for 5 minutes. Blanching helps slow the enzymes that cause lost nutrients, flavor, color, and texture and kills off any bacteria on the carrots' surface.
After blanching, let them dry, flash freeze them in a single layer (not longer than 2 hours), place them into freezer bags, and remove all the air.
No time for blanching? No problem! Simply freeze them raw, but use them within 3 months for optimal nutrition and color.
Use your thawed carrots in this vegetable skillet pot pie!
Peppers
Peppers can be frozen whole or cut into pieces or strips (which I prefer). Wash, seed, and dice peppers before spreading them in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper for flash freezing for 2 to 4 hours. Try to not let the pieces overlap too much.
After this, place them in freezer bags, remove most of the air, and seal them for long-term freezing.
Note that frozen peppers won't be as crispy once thawed, so they are ideal for use in cooked dishes.
Raspberries
Raspberries are so versatile and can be used for many delicious desserts, sauces, and jams. So freezing them is great for use later.
Simply wash them well, let them dry, place them on a tray lined with parchment paper, flash freeze for a few hours so they don't stick to each other, and then place them into your freezer containers.
Try this delicious raspberry chocolate jam!
Tomatoes
These versatile gems can be frozen whole, halved, or seeded. Simply choose how you want to freeze them or what you have space for, and pop them in an airtight container of freezer-safe bag.
After thawing, the skins slide off effortlessly, making them perfect for sauces, soups, and stews.
Freezing Tips
Almost all veggies and fruits can be frozen, but freezing isn't suitable for celery, watercress, lettuce, cucumber, radishes, and others with a high water content that may become mushy when thawed.
Citrus fruits and watermelon are also not ideal frozen as they become soft and mushy after being frozen and have an unpleasant texture.
Always freeze the freshest produce at the peak of its ripeness, not damaged or already starting to brown and get mushy.
Label your freezer bags with the contents and date to track what's inside.
Remember to remove as much air as possible from the bags before sealing.
When freezing liquid items like soups or broths, leave some headspace for expansion.
dehydrating fruits and vegetables
Dehydrating removes the water content from foods, effectively slowing down the growth of spoilage-causing microorganisms. The result is lightweight, shelf-stable snacks and ingredients that retain their flavors.
Add dehydrated fruits to your morning oatmeal or yogurt, blend them into smoothies, or munch on them as snacks. Dehydrated vegetables are excellent for adding to soups and stews. They can also be ground to make vegetable powders for flavoring dishes.
Pretty much all fruits and vegetables can be dehydrated, except for avocados, which will quickly turn rancid after dehydration.
Below is a list of some of the produce we love to dehydrate:
Apples
Peel, core, and slice your apples. Place them spread out on a tray and dry at 135˚F. Drying can take 6-12 hours, depending on the moisture in the apples and air and your climate and temperature.
Figs
You can dry your figs in any form, quartered, halved, sliced, or whole. Dry at 135˚F. Drying can take 6-12 hours, depending on how much moisture is in the figs, your climate, and whether you're drying the figs quartered, halved, or whole.
Try this arugula & spinach salad with apples, salted caramel almonds, and dried figs
Garlic
Spread out the sliced garlic in a single layer on the dehydrator screens and dehydrate at 125˚F (52˚C) until the garlic is crispy and snaps when you break it, up to 12 hours.
Herbs
Dry herbs like basil, chives, and mint with a higher moisture content in a very cool oven, around 90-100˚F, for 1 to 3 hours or until the herbs are dry and crumble easily.
Peppers
Remove the stems, seeds, and membranes, and cut into even pieces. Spread the pieces out on the drying screens and dry between 125˚F and 135˚F for 6-12 hours, until dry and hard.
Tomatoes
You can dry tomatoes peeled or with the skin. Place tomatoes skin-side down to dry at 135-145˚F. Drying can take 6-18 hours, depending on your climate and moisture levels and whether you're drying the tomatoes quartered, halved, or whole.
If you remove the skin, you can dehydrate that as well, as the skin works great for making tomato powder!
Dehydrating Tips
Almost all fruits and vegetables can be dried.
Sliced pieces will dry more quickly than whole or half-cut fruits and vegetables.
Consistency is key. Cut your produce into uniform shapes to ensure even drying. When I first started dehydrating, I cut things unevenly, which did not go well for me. Some pieces were dehydrated, while others were still full of moisture.
You don't have to peel your produce. However, the skin tends to toughen on apples and pears. The skin also reduces surface area and could prevent moisture from escaping.
Some foods such as apples, pears, peaches, and apricots dry better when pretreated. This helps to reduce oxidation, retain the color, reduce vitamin loss, and lengthen shelf life. You can pretreat fruits in a solution of 3¾ teaspoons of powdered ascorbic acid or ½ teaspoon of powdered citric acid in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes before drying. Equal parts of bottled lemon juice and water can also work.
Slow and steady is best. If you turn the heat too high up, the outer surface will harden, preventing moisture from escaping—this is called case hardening.
To check if your food is adequately dehydrated, remove it while still warm and place it in a sealed jar for 30 minutes. Any moisture on the food or jar indicates further drying is needed.
After successful dehydration, condition your food by placing it in an airtight container and shaking it daily for about a week. You are done if no moisture is seen and no further step is required. If you see any moisture, you can place the food back in the dehydrator and dry it longer, then repeat the conditioning step.
Increase the shelf life of dehydrated foods by keeping them in the fridge or freezer.
Keep in mind that some items, like garlic, might release strong odors during the process, so consider dehydrating outdoors.
Friend, whether you're dealing with a bumper crop of tomatoes or a surplus of herbs, freezing, and dehydrating can help you extend the garden-to-table season!
These preservation techniques let you enjoy the fruits of your labor all year long while reducing food waste and embracing sustainable living.
I do, however, want to encourage you to try your hand at canning as well. You can make so many delicious recipes with canning.
Have a look at this VERY EASY VIDEO TUTORIAL on how to make basil tomato sauce with water-bath canning. I promise you, you will love it!
Love, Annette xx
