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Are you looking for ways to extend your organic goodies’ shelf life? Since buying or growing organic produce tends to be a seasonal affair, you will want to be able to preserve your fruits and vegetables to use later in the year. There are several great food preservation methods that you can use to keep food for many months, all still retaining the organic standards you are looking for. The most common are canning, freezing and drying.

Canning

You can can things like pickles and tomatoes (high acidity foods) in just a boiling water bath, but for all other foods you will need to invest in a pressure canner. Food is packed into proper canning jars, made by Ball or Mason (not old jam jars) and heated under pressure long enough to kill any bacteria. When they are removed from the canner and cooled, a vacuum is created which seals down the lids.

Freezing

Freezing is the simplest method here but does require the ongoing use of your freezer to keep everything nicely frozen. Some vegetables can just be cleaned up and frozen just as-is but you will get better preservation if you blanch most first. That’s a quick bath is boiling hot water to stop the natural enzyme actions that would degrade your food, even in the freezer. When thawed, your food will be the closest to fresh of most preservation methods.

Drying

Drying is not ideal for all your fruits and veggies but it can be a great option to use as part of your overall preservation plan. Like canning, you can stored your finished foods without any special conditions (unlike freezing). All you need is a dehydrator. Food that is dried for preservation needs to be completely dry or it can become moldy while in storage. The food will shrink quite a bit once dehydrated, making for better storage. The downside is that the consistency of the food once it’s rehydrated isn’t as good as the other methods

None of these methods involving using artificial or chemical preservatives, making them perfect for the organic shopper or gardener.

Do you have your own tips for keeping produce fresh? We want to hear them! Share your tips on our Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, or on the Golden Gate Organics contact page. Your tips might be in next week’s newsletter!

Let your friends know about Golden Gate Organics, and if they sign up we’ll give you a $10 credit towards your next order. Just our way of saying thanks, and a good way for you to get some free produce.

Please remember to leave your box from your last delivery out on your delivery day so we can pick them up and reuse or recycle them. Same goes for the eco-bags we use (although we just recycle those).

If you have any questions, just send us a note on our contact page.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!!

Corey, Owner/Founder

care@goldengateorganics.com
www.goldengateorganics.com