Preserving Your Harvest
So you’ve put in the time and effort, spent the long hot hours slaving away in the sun, and you’re finally ready to sit down and reap the rewards of your effort but… what exactly are you supposed to do with this bountiful harvest? Continue reading
One of the most popular ways to preserve fruit is as jellies or jams. Those fruit spreads can then be used throughout the year on toast or bagels. Of course jellies and jams also make a great addition to your oatmeal or muffin and you can even cook and bake with them.
The Difference Between Jelly and Jam
The basic process for making jellies and jams involves combining the ripe fruit and sugar to turn it into a fruit spread or preserve that won’t spoil. The sugar and heat work together to preserve things. There is a difference between jelly and jam.
A jelly is a spread made from just the juice of the fruit, while both flesh and juice are used to make jam. The process is very much the same. To make jelly, you simply add one step that involves straining out the juice before proceeding to through the rest of the process. Continue reading
Dehydrated fruits can provide the sweet taste and satisfaction you may be missing in your diet if you’re watching your sugar content because of weight issues or if you have a health condition like heart disease or diabetes. When you dehydrate fruits and eat them as a snack or in meals you can stop worrying about adding refined sugar for an added boost of sweetness. Continue reading
Dehydrating or drying out food is one of the oldest food preservation types out there and something that’s making a bit of a comeback in recent years. The idea is to preserve the food by removing as much of the moisture or water content as possible.
Not only will this keep fruits, vegetables, and even meats from spoiling, it also removes a lot of the weight and size of each piece of food. This allows you to store your harvest more easily.
Many dehydrated foods can be eaten as is, but you can also soak them in water or another liquid to rehydrate them.
The reason dehydrating works so well to preserve a large variety of food is because yeast and bacteria need water to grow. By removing all the water from the food, there’s no way for these microorganisms to thrive, thus leaving your food well preserved. Continue reading
