Home Food Preservation: Enjoying Your Bounteous Harvest All Year Round!
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Enjoying Your Bounteous Harvest All-Year Round!
Home food preservation takes advantage of one of the first technological advances discovered by man. When you have an abundant crop, a home food preservation project is an excellent way to enjoy your harvest all year round and engage in unifying family projects. Home Food Preservation by Dehydration Dehydration is one of the best methods for home food preservation as most bacteria in food die during the process. If the finished product is then stored in airtight containers, it can stay fresh and last for a longer period than if they were done through other home food preservation methods. Foods that are prime candidates for home dehydration are potatoes, fruits, and meats. Remember also that beef jerky! Try This Fruit Leather! After juicing your fruit harvest, try pureeing the pulp from your juicer and add your desired amounts of lemon juice and honey. Store in the refrigerator if you cannot attend to it right away. Spread the prepared mixture thinly on a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap. Put it in a preheated 150-degree oven. Use a thick hot pad to prevent the oven door from closing completely. If your mixture is sufficiently thinly spread, you will have delicious fruit leather treats for your family in about 8 - 10 hours. If it is too thin, it will dry faster. If too thick, it will just bubble on you on the way to its demise. But do not give up, you will get the hang of it! Keep practicing, and it will come out perfect for you soon enough! Peel the fruit learher from the plastic liner, and you have a delicious snack ready to eat! Note on Making Fruit Leather This method of home food preservation is wonderful. The only drawback is that fruit leather is so nutritiously delicious your family will not let you store them for long. They will eat them fast!! Home Food Preservation by Pickling Pickling is a method of home food preservation through anaerobic fermentation. Its other name is brining as the home preservation is done in brine. It is different from the canning process in that there is no need to completely sterilize the food prior to sealing. You should, however, make sure that your utensils are thoroughly washed in hot, soapy water. It is quite important that you follow precisely the measurements called for in the pickling recipe. You cannot just mix your solution to taste if you want the safe consumption of your pickles. The Need for Home Food Storage First of all, a ready supply of food in case of an emergency is a very important reason to start your own home food preservation. If you conserve whatever excess you already have, your family will have food to eat if a disaster hits and you cannot go to a store. Secondly, you can use the process of home food preservation as "family time." Bring your kids into the kitchen and teach them all about it. Maybe make your own jam and pass on the feeling of accomplishment as you all sample your own homemade treats. Thirdly, it is a great way to cut back on waste. Do not let your extra food rot because you can not give it away or eat all of it. Home food preservation is just the thing to do to help make our future more secure! More on Food Preservation
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