CANNING, FREEZING, STORING GARDEN PRODUCE TEXT

gardening? Will they continue a second year? Do they preserve any of their crop? These were among the questions posed by Stuhlmiller, How and Stone of Cornell University in 1975 to a group of gardeners in five upstate New York counties. When asked whether they gardened to save money, to have better quality food or just for a hobby or recreation, three-fourths of the 2,800 who replied hoped to save money, 54 percent considered gardening a hobby, while only 46 percent gardened for fresher food. Most said they preserved at least some of the food they grew. If this study is indicative of the country as a whole, it is important to realistically assess whether home food production and preservation can save substantial amounts of money and whether the satisfaction gained warrants the cost of time and energy expended. The actual costs of home food preservation, for example, should be considered. The cost of home grown food should be compared to the cost of similar food purchased for preservation in quantities at local farms or markets. The quality of the home preserved items should be realistically analyzed against readily available commercially preserved food. There is no such thing as free food. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for it in time, energy, know-how, and at least some outlay of dollars. Home production in amounts needed for food preservation requires a longtime commitment of family resources. Beginners should realize that realistic goals and reasonable skills in the field and kitchen are essential to make home preservation pay off. There are no general statistics citing the average dollar-cost needed to grow a given amount of fresh produce in a home garden. Conditions between individual gardens, weather, soil type, skill of operator, and geographic areas vary too much for valid comparisons. Extension specialists at Michigan State University, however, have computed the actual cost of raising tomatoes under home gardening conditions in East Lansing, Mich. They found it costs 12¢ to grow the amount of tomatoes (2½ to 3 pounds) needed for one quart, canned. A similar cost analysis for green beans showed that beans cost 30¢ for the amount needed for a quart. Only the expendable cost--seed, fertilizer, pesticides and water--was considered. Adding the expense for needed tools, hoses and other capital items raised the cost another 33¢ a quart if the cost were absorbed in one season or 2¢ if amortized over a 20-year period. Unfortunately, the first-year gardener will find that the outlay for tools must be spent the first year so that return for the investment requires a commitment to gardening over many years. Additional expenses are necessary if the bounty is to be preserved at home. Equipment for preserving tomatoes is minimal but equipment for canning vegetables and for freezing may be costly. Homemakers needing to invest in canners, a pressure canner, and home freezer will find that the dollar cost per package of food preserved during the first years of preservation may be higher than the cost of comparable food at the corner supermarket. The costs of canning peaches, tomatoes and green beans in upstate New York were calculated by the author in 1975 and updated for price changes in 1976 using a number of different cost variables. She found that those who canned tomatoes could realize substantial savings, while the cost of purchasing peaches and preserving them at home approximated the cost of the commercially canned peach. Determinations of the true cost of frozen food must consider the initial cost of the freezer plus the cost of operation and repair. Containers, plastic bags and boxes, or foil are additional costs. Evelyn Johnson in her Outlook Talk of 1975 quoted staff at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University as reporting a cost of 20¢ to 24¢ per pound of food frozen just for the convenience of freezing and storing food at home. Add to this the price of the food being frozen for the correct cost of home-preserved frozen food. Freezing is probably the most satisfactory method of home food preservation, the most versatile and the easiest to do. But for all except the very best managers who use the freezer intensively, the home freezer is more a convenience than a money saver. [Illustration: Needed equipment for home canning. Left, water bath canner, and right, pressure canner.] Time, Energy Costs Raising a garden takes time over a significant number of months. As a hobby for table use, gardening can be a real pleasure. Skillful persons with the right tools and know-how can handle a garden of the size needed for home food preservation with a few hours of work a week, once the plants are well established. Novices can expect to spend a significantly greater amount of time per week during the four or five month growing season in northern areas and even more in areas with longer growing seasons. The author, an experienced gardener, kept records of the hours spent cultivating and harvesting a 20 by 40-foot garden, planted primarily for fresh consumption. Only three foods--tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers--were raised in amounts sufficient for a limited amount of home preservation. Over 40 person-hours were required. The actual grocery store value of the garden food consumed by the family of three was $45. Food given as gifts and preserved raised the dollar value to $75. Gardening often helps stretch cash income, but the dollar return is low for hours of effort. And poor weather may cause crop failures and small yields, regardless of effort. Food preservation also is time-consuming. _Satisfactions._ Why garden or preserve food at home? Most gardeners will cite a number of reasons: --The best of good fresh food with no unknown additives or ingredients --Healthy exercise --Family pleasure working together toward a goal --The joy of giving --The challenge of growing a seed into edible food --Prestige Cost of Home Food Preservation Energy Method Time Fuel Human Dollar Quality effort cost from satisfaction kitchen to table Freezing Minimal High Low Very high Very high low Canning Moderate Moderate High Moderate Moderate to high Drying High Moderate Moderate Moderate High to high to high (specialty items) Low, if only method available Pickling High Low Moderate []Depends High upon type chosen Storage Low to Low Moderate Low Moderate to (Unprocessed) moderate (Checking/ high culling) [A]Some (such as quick dill pickles) are quick to make, take little effort, and use inexpensive ingredients. Others require prolonged brining over several days' time plus expensive sugar and other ingredients. There is no one right answer to the question, "Does it pay to raise and preserve my own food?" It depends upon your personal goals. You may not save a significant number of dollars. You will work hard. And you probably will experience one of the most exciting activities possible--raising at least some of the food your family uses. "We grew it" are heady words which bring people back to home food production and preservation year after year. Beginner's Guide to Home Canning _by Frances Reasonover_[4] Canning is probably the most economical and practical method of preserving food at home. Among other things it is a way to save food that otherwise might be wasted. Cost of home canning depends on the kinds and sources of food canned as well as the processing methods, containers, and equipment used. Other cost factors--labor, energy, water and added ingredients--make exact cost figures impossible to apply generally, but studies are reporting averages that show canning to be economical. The wise homemaker will can only the amount to be used within a year. Food held longer will be safe to eat if it has a good seal and no signs of spoilage, but there may be nutrient or quality loss, especially if stored at temperatures above 70° F. As a beginner canner you need to know something about micro-organisms, including yeasts, molds and bacteria, on the food, in water, air and soil, as causes of spoilage in foods. Knowing about these minute forms of life, which are so abundant everywhere, will help make the work safer as well as more interesting. In addition to the action of these minute organisms, the spoiling of fruits and vegetables is hastened by natural changes in color, flavor and texture of the food. These changes result from the action of enzymes or micro-organisms found in nature which break down and decompose foodstuffs. Bacteria are the most serious foes to combat in canning because they are more difficult to kill by heat than either molds or yeasts. Acid in canned food is expressed as pH value. Foods having a pH of 4.5 or lower are called high-acid foods and those with a value of 4.6 or higher are termed low-acid foods. Since few bacteria thrive in acids, their destruction is less difficult in fruits than in vegetables (with the exception of tomatoes). Botulism is a deadly poison caused by a toxin from the growth of spores (seeds) of the bacteria, _Clostridium botulinum_. These spores will produce a deadly toxin in low-acid foods in the absence of air (oxygen) inside a sealed jar. Therefore, the spores must be destroyed by processing under pressure at 240° F. The length of time has been determined by scientists for each individual food. _Clostridium botulinum_ will not grow in foods with a pH of 4.5 or lower, so high-acid foods may be processed safely in boiling water at 212° F. Low and High Acid Foods Low-acid vegetables Asparagus Beans--snap or shelled Beets Carrots Corn Potatoes Pumpkin Squash Sweet potatoes High-acid fruits and vegetables Apples Apricots Berries Cherries Grapefruit Peaches Pineapple Rhubarb Tomatoes Yeasts, mold and non-spore forming bacteria are readily controlled by processing at 212° F. Most canning equipment and supplies may be purchased at hardware stores, housewares departments, and from mail order companies. Jars and lids are available in many retail stores. Canning Jars Select standard canning jars made of tempered glass that can withstand high temperatures. The manufacturer's name or symbol in glass will identify the product. With careful handling, jars last an average of about 10 years. Avoid using antique jars because there can be hair-line cracks not visible to the eye, causing jars to break. Use canning jars in sizes suitable for the product canned and your family's needs. Canning jars generally are sold in half-pint, pint and quart sizes with wide and narrow mouths. Large-mouth jars are convenient for packing such foods as whole tomatoes and peach halves. Quart jars are convenient for vegetables and fruits where your family has four or more members. Examine the sealing edge of jars for nicks, cracks, or sharp edges that would prevent a seal. Discard any with these imperfections. One-trip jars from purchased canned foods should not be used because they generally are not tempered to withstand the high heat required for home canning, and may break when subjected to the heat. Tops of these jars may not fit standard canning lids, thus preventing a good seal. [Illustration: Home canning equipment.] _Closures_--jar lids and rings come with new canning jars. The sealing compound of lids recommended for one use only will not hold a seal effectively after the first use. Select lids appropriate for the jars being used. You may find the two-piece units (flat lid with sealing composition and ring), one-piece lids, or flats with separate gaskets made of metal or plastic. Always follow the instructions for pretreatment as indicated on the box or container by the manufacturer. If no name is indicated on the lid, use a black wax marking pencil or crayon and mark the identity on each lid. If there are problems, contact the manufacturer whose name and address is on the box or container. Screw ring bands may be reused if kept clean and dry in a protective container with a tight-fitting lid. Never use bands with rust, or pried up or bent edges. If you have extra lids, store them protected in a dry, cool place. One-piece zinc caps lined with white porcelain, with rubber rings, may be used. The caps may be reused if they have not cracked, spread or bent at the edges and are clean, like new. The rubber rings are effective only once because they tend to dry and deteriorate with age, often become porous, and sometimes crack. If you have jars with bail wire clamps, sometimes called "lightning"-type jars, be sure they are not in the "antique" class. Lids for these jars are all glass, and rubber rings are used between the jar and lid for sealing. A wire clamp holds the lid in place during processing; after processing, the short spring wire of the clamp is snapped down to complete the seal. A _boiling water bath canner_ is needed for processing high-acid foods, such as fruits, tomatoes, tomato and fruit juice, and pickles. Water bath canners in several sizes are available on the market. The container must be deep enough for a rack to hold the jars off the bottom of the canner. The depth allows water to be over the jars of food by at least 1 to 2 inches. Keep 1 to 2 inches of space above the water to allow for boiling; this prevents water from boiling over. The canner must have a tight-fitting lid. Or you can use a large kettle with a tight-fitting lid, and a wooden or wire rack to hold jars off the bottom. There should be free circulation of water to every part of the surface of the jar and lid. If you are going to buy a water bath canner, check the height, and the lid to be sure it is tight-fitting. The rack preferably should have dividers so jars will not touch each other or fall against the sides of the canner or each other during processing. A _steam pressure canner_ is absolutely essential in canning low-acid foods, such as vegetables, and insures the destruction of spoilage micro-organisms. Ten pounds pressure is used for processing food in standard canning jars at sea level. This pressure corresponds to 240° F. The steam pressure canner is made of heavy metal that withstands high pressure developed by steam. It consists of a kettle with a tight-fitting lid equipped with an accurate weight or dial gage to register the pounds of pressure in the canner. The lid must lock or seal to prevent escape of steam. The canner must have a safety valve, petcock or steam vent that can be opened or closed to permit exhausting (venting), and a pressure gage. It must have a rack to hold jars at least ½ inch from the bottom of the canner. A dial gage indicates pressure on a numbered instrument. A weighted gage has no dial, but automatically limits pressure with weights preset for 5, 10, and 15 pounds pressure. [Illustration: Scalding tomatoes in a blancher.] The pressure is adjusted for high altitude. For information on canning at altitudes above sea level, see the later chapter by Carole Davis. To insure the canner's proper working condition, check the dial gage for accuracy each year--or if a canner or lid has been roughly handled or dropped, the dial gage glass broken, or any parts are rusty. The manufacturer or your county Extension office can give information on testing availability. Study and follow the manufacturer's directions for using your pressure canner. Run through the process of operating the pressure canner on your range in a trial run before you get into the canning season, to be sure everything is working properly. Make a note of the dial setting of the range if you use an electric range for holding pressure steady. Trying to use a pressure canner obtained from garage, rummage, or auction sales or handed down to you from someone's attic may prove dangerous. You may not have any idea as to the care, handling, or storage of the canner. A manufacturer manual on care, use and replaceable parts usually is not available. Old-old canners did not have complete information--manufacturer's name, address or model number--on the appliance. General kitchen equipment is helpful in any needed washing, peeling, coring and slicing in the preparation of fruits and vegetables. Examples are, a vegetable brush for cleaning vegetables, a blancher or wire basket for scalding fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and peaches to loosen skins for peeling, and a colander for washing delicate fruits such as berries. A food mill is handy for making purees and straining fruits for making juices, and a strainer for straining juice. A long handled fork or plastic spatula aids in fitting and packing food and removing air bubbles. A wide-mouth funnel is very convenient for filling jars, and a jar lifter helps you avoid burns in handling hot jars. Use an automatic timer to time processing accurately. The number of pints of preserved food you will get from a given quantity of fresh food depends on the quality, variety, and maturity of the fruit or vegetable; on the size of the pieces, and on the packing method used. Selection of good sound fruits and vegetables is of paramount importance. The quality of canned fruits and vegetables will be no better than quality of the raw food used. For best flavor retention, preserve only those vegetables that are young, tender, and freshly gathered. Work Fast All steps, from beginning to end, of any lot of canning should be carried through as rapidly as possible. A good slogan is "two hours from harvest to container". Work fast with small amounts of food at a time, especially vegetables with high starch content such as corn and peas which lose quality rapidly. Any delay will result in loss of flavor and nutritive value. Sorting and grading should be done very carefully, according to size and degree of maturity and ripeness. Use only uniformly well-ripened products. Discard all defective products and use together those of the same size. Dirt in seeds, bits of food, or sirup contains bacteria that is hardest to kill, and encourages yeasts and molds to grow on the outer surfaces. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before canning. Scalding, peeling and coring--some fruits, such as peaches and tomatoes, are scalded in order to peel them smoothly. Follow up-to-date recommendations, available in U.S. Department of Agriculture or Extension publications, for detailed procedures in preparing fruits and vegetables for canning. Packing Methods You can pack food hot or raw in jars. Hot-packed food is heated thoroughly before it is packed into jars. Raw-packed food is placed raw in jars. Watery and soft foods such as tomatoes are pressed gently to make their own juice. Air, a poor conductor of heat, should be removed from the jar. Remove air bubbles by gently moving the blade of a plastic spatula or plastic knife around the jar--being careful that the food is not broken. Add more boiling liquid if necessary to get a proper fill. When filling jars, you will find the jar-filling funnel easy to manage.