When you have too much of something, there’s nothing better than preserving it for later! Pickles, jams, jellies, and more…food preservation is a timeless, innate survival skill that can add so much more color and flavor to our lives.
I typically focus on a few different specific food preservation techniques:
- Infusing
- Dehydrating
- Canning
- Freezing
At times, I also share recipes for fermenting or culturing, like making spicy garlic sauerkraut or water kefir. It’s really all about what you have on hand, your priorities (health, price, convenience), and which projects you enjoy making.
Personally, I love infusing two basic ingredients to create something new, like making vanilla infused sugar or cinnamon infused maple syrup, but I’m also a big fan of canning and share safe, vetted recipes anyone can make!
favorite food preservation recipes
Canning
I taught myself to can back in 2013 with an ordinary soup pot and some little mason jars. Since then, I’ve been expanding my skillset, water bath canning a wide range of recipes and dabbling with pressure canning.
On this blog, I currently only share water bath canning recipes to help make canning as easy and accessible as possible.
My favorite canning projects are slow cooker apple butter or homemade cranberry sauce to serve at Thanksgiving!
Infusing
Infusing is simply combining a short list of ingredients until the flavors begin to merge together.
These can include things like homemade extracts or flavored simple syrups, or you can infuse roasted garlic in butter or make your own cranberry liqueur.
There are countless options out there and I encourage you to be playful and come up with some of your own unique creations!
Dehydrating
Dehydrating is the most timeless food preservation method out there, using the warmth of the sun or a fire to evaporate excess moisture.
These days, we typically use an oven or a dehydrator and even if you don’t have any fancy equipment, you can dehydrate plenty!
I love air drying fresh lemon balm to make tea later in the year or dehydrating cherries to add to scones, muffins, and oatmeal.
It feels good to fill your jars with home-preserved foods and the flavors are so much better!
Freezing
Your freezer is your friend, especially if you’re short on time or energy! Most fresh ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, and herbs, can be frozen for later. The options are endless!
I especially enjoy freezing blackberries for winter baking and love freezing basil to add to countless recipes during the cooler months of the year.
More Resources for Preserving the Harvest
Essential Canning Equipment
Printable Canning Inventory List
Printable Canning Journal
