How To Preserve Excess Produce

With an over-abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, home gardeners are often confronted with a common question: "How to preserve excess produce?"

An array of preservation methods exist, each having advantages and disadvantages.

Canning

Most home gardeners are familiar with canning. This method is popular for jams, jellies, preserves, sauces, pickles, and some vegetables. Canning is inexpensive to implement but requires considerable skill. Improperly canned foods can be hazardous.

Pickling

Pickling is a good short-term solution for many items. Popular foods include saurkraut (cabbage) Kim Chi (spiced mixed vegetables), and others.

Freezing

Freezing is the easiest and most common way of storing fresh fruits and vegetables. Most foods freeze well initially but have a limited freezer life. Frozen foods consume energy while stored.

Drying

Drying is another popular technique for storing food. Drying can be accomplished by simple sun drying, dehydrating, low temp baking, freeze drying, or other methods. Dried fruits and vegetables are sometimes stored in refrigerators or freezers. 

Smoking

One of the world's oldest methods for preserving food, smoking can be an option with some foods. Smoking is most commonly done with meats but works well with other low moisture foods.

Related Information

How to Pickle Beets

Things To Do with Excess Fruits and Vegetables

Edible Institute 2022

Edible Institute 2022 will be held October 1-2 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado.

Thought-leaders, journalists, food industry experts, and innovators in the sustainable food movement will join the public to share information.

Edible Communities, in collaboration with Food Tank, celebrates 20 years of telling the story of local food as stakeholders gather to explore the ideas, challenges, and changes that will shape food communities in the next decade and beyond. 

The keynote speaker for Edible Institute 2020 will be Dr. Temple Grandin, a scientist whose ground-breaking work in animal behavior has helped shape standards of excellence for the humane treatment of animals around the world.

Edible Institute 2022 Discussion topics include:

Grassfed Foods—Why It Matters

Blue Foods—Changing Menus, Saving the Planet

Sizes Matter—How to Scale and Still Change the Food System

Transparency and Traceability

Food Packaging

Food Labeling

All attendees are encouraged to try a Taste of Denver produced by Edible Denver, featuring sample bites and drinks from local food and drink artisans and producers.

For more information and tickets for Edible Institute 2022, visit www.ediblecommunities.com.

2022 Summer Food Trends

Cooked Lobster

Each year, a number of factors affect food trends. For the summer of 2022, consumer trends are influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, the war in Ukraine, and other events. 

Search engine data can provide valuable clues about food-related consumer trends.

According to Google's The Thought-Starter: June 6, 2022, search queries using the modifier “cheap” were rising in May as people appear to be looking for help managing their budgets.

Examples of 2022 food-related searches include:

"cheap food near me"

"best cheap food near me"

"healthy cheap food near me"

"cheap food near me open now"

Source: Think with Google - The Thought-Starter: June 6, 2022

Consumers that are looking for inexpensive meals or other foods face an array of challenges. Although purchase price can be a major factor, other expenses can affect the final cost of foods.

Travel costs, tips, packaging, cleaning, waste disposal, and other expenses can drive up meal costs considerably.

Cheap Food Options

Fresh Beets

Backyard gardens can provide valuable food at moderate cost. Favorite small garden crops can include salad greens, onions, beets, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, melons, cilantro, chives, oregano, dill, mint, and others.

For those that are unable to garden, getting to know local gardeners can be useful. Even small garden owners often have excess vegetables and are willing to share.

Anglers can be another source of free food. Anglers and other recreational food harvesters often have access to fresh fish and other seafood. 

Local farmers markets can be a good option for meal ingredients and well as ready-to-eat meals.

In a few areas, foraging can provide free ingredients to supplement meals prepared at home. Foods such as fruits, nuts, and wild greens can be gathered and eaten fresh or preserved for later use.

Food trucks can also be a source of cheap food. Many vendors offer specials via social media or other means.

Even traditional restaurants can offer a variety of cheap meal options. Some restaurants offer off-peak specials or other inexpensive options.

Eating take-out meals can be expensive but it does have its place in food culture. One advantage of take-out food is that it can be combined with home cooked foods and drinks. 

Related Information

Where to Buy Locally Sourced Foods

Things To Do With Excess Fruits and Vegetables

Food Insecurity in the United States