Storing the bounty: Making them last - how to keep vegetables and fruits in fall and winter
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this challenging economy, more and more of our readers are looking for ways to eat well, while saving money. With that in mind, once a month throughout the growing and harvesting season, Foster’s Daily Democrat will publish information on storing and preserving food courtesy of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service of Rockingham County. The information will be published on Foster’s regular food page and on our website, www.fosters.com
By Claudia Boozer-Blasco, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Resources
UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County
Possibly you remember stories of grandma’s root cellar, which stored and provided crisp fruits and vegetables all winter long. Even
though our modern houses and central heating have largely done away with yesterday’s deep, dark cellars, you can still store many fruits and vegetables for long periods at home without refrigeration. The types of produce that will keep for many months under the right conditions are:Fruits: apples, grapes and pears.
Vegetables: cabbage, cauliflower, late celery, chinese cabbage, endive, kale, leeks, root crops (rutabagas, turnips, winter radishes, beets, carrots, celeriac horseradish, parsnips, salsify), onions, garlic, hot peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, acorn squash, tomatoes, red peppers.
In-garden Storage. Some root crops, such as carrots, turnips and parsnips, can be stored for part or all of winter right in the garden where they grew. After the garden begins to freeze in late fall, cover the root crops with a foot or more of mulch-straw, hay, or dry leaves. Do not place mulch on warm soil because to do so will cause vegetables to decay rapidly. Wait until the ground is cold. Produce can be difficult to dig out of the frozen ground, but it won’t be adversely affected until the temperature around the roots drops to 25° F or less. Other methods of outdoor storage include mounds, pits, and buried containers.
Indoor Storage: There are many areas in dwellings that naturally provide, or can be adapted to provide a variety of temperature and moisture conditions for storage. These include unheated rooms, the basement, or cellar. Any spot that is sufficiently and evenly cool between 32° F and 60° F can be adapted to some kind of storage. The relative humidity of these locations will also affect what type of produce can be stored. In addition, the warm attic can be a good environment for drying herbs, beans, walnuts or hickory nuts. Here are the preparation and storage requirements for a few familiar fruits and vegetables available in the fall in New Hampshire.
Pears: Harvest when mature but still hard and very green. Wrap individually in tissue paper and store in cardboard boxes lined with perforated plastic. Store at 31°F and maintain a very moist relative humidity at 90%-95%. Barlett pears should last for 1-2 months, and Winter Pears (d’Ajou, Bosc, and Comice) for 2-3 months. If held too long or ripened at too high a temperature, they will break down and become rotten on the inside.
Root Crops: Store rutabagas, turnips, and winter radishes only in outdoor storage areas because they give off odors. Other root vegetables such as beets, carrots, celeriac, horseradish, parsnips, and salsify can be stored in a basement storage room. Dig when soil is dry. Cut plant tops ½ inch above crown. Store in layers of moist sand, peat, or sphagnum moss or in polyethylene bags with about four ¼ inch holes. Store between 32°F and 40°F and maintain a very moist relative humidity at 90%-95%. If stored under these conditions that can last 3-4 months.
Onions and Garlic: Onions must be mature and dry to keep well. Ones with thick necks and those grown from sets are hard to keep. Before storing, spread on newspapers out of sunlight in a well-ventilated place to cure for 2-3 weeks or until skins are papery and roots completely shriveled and dry. Store in cool, dry, well-ventilated place, such as an attic, or an unheated room in well-ventilated containers like mesh bags. If stored at around 32°F in dry room (relative humidity 60%-75%), they should keep for 5-8 months.
Potatoes: Late varieties can be held longer than early ones with storage life being from 4-9 months. Harvest after the vines have died down and when ground is dry. Cure in darkness at 45°F-60°F for 10-14 days after harvest. Then store at 35°- 40°F in very moist relative humidity of 90%-95% in basement storage area. Lower temperatures tend to result in overly sweet flavor. Remove sprouts as they appear. Spouting indicates too high storage temperature or may be caused by gas from apples. Do not store potatoes and apples together, since apples will become musty.
Pumpkins and most winter squash: Harvest when mature before frost. The skin on mature fruit is hard and impervious to thumbnail scratching. Leave 1 inch of stem. Cure for 10 days at 80°F - 85° F (usually near a furnace) to harden rinds and heal the surface cuts. If stored at 55°F - 60° F in relative humidity of 60%-75%, the will last 2-3 months. Do not cure acorn squash like other squash, as they become orange and stingy at 80°F. Acorn squash stored at 45°F-50°F in relative humidity of 60%-70% will last 1-2 months.
Source: The information is excerpted from the booklet, Storing Vegetables and Fruits at Home, by Washington State University Extension and the US Department of Agriculture, reprinted in November 2008, http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1326/eb1326.pdf
Recipes for Preserving the Fall Harvest
Apples are ripe for picking now and heading over to pick-your-own farms can be a fun way to spend a crisp day in fall. Pickling cucumbers
and corn are also abundant in the local farmers’ markets. Here are some up-to-date recipes, from the Let’s Preserve series developed by Penn State Cooperative Extension, for preserving these foods for tasty eating into winter. More recipes can be found at the UNH Cooperative Extension web site at http://extension.unh.edu/FoodSafe/FoodPreservation.htm.
APPLE BUTTER
Yields approximately 8 – 9 pints
Recommended apple varieties: Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, McIntosh
8 pounds apples
2 cups apple cider
2 cups vinegar (5%)
2 ¼ cups white sugar
2 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
Procedure: Remove stems and wash, quarter, and core apples. Cook slowly in cider and vinegar until soft. Press apples through a colander, food mill or strainer. Cook fruit pulp with sugar and spices for about three hours, stirring frequently.
Testing for doneness: To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from the steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the apple butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity on the plate. When rim of the liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning.
Processing the apple butter: Fill hot apple butter into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust lids and process half-pint or pint jars in a water bath canner for 5 minutes (0-1,000 ft. altitude), 10 minutes (1,001-6,000 ft. altitude), 15 minutes (above 6,000 ft. altitude).
SLICED APPLES
Quantity: An average of 19 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 12 ¼ pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints.
Quality: Select apples that are juicy, crisp, and preferably both sweet and tart. Raw packs make poor-quality products, thus follow the directions below for hot-packing sliced apples in either water, or very light syrup, or light syrup.
Procedure: Wash, peel, core and slice apples. To prevent discoloration, keep slices in water with vitamin C (made by mixing 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or six 500-millegram vitamin C tablets in 1 gallon of water). Place drained slices in a large saucepan and add one pint of water, or very light syrup or light syrup for each five pounds of apples and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. To make very light syrup, add and dissolve ¼ cup of sugar in 2 cups of water. Or for light syrup, add and dissolve ½ cups of sugar in 2 cups of water. Fill jars with hot slices and hot syrup (or water), leaving ½-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pint or quart jars in a water bath canner for 20 minutes (0-1,000 ft. altitude), 25 minutes (1,001-3,000 ft. altitude), 30 minutes (3,001-6,000 ft. altitude), 35 minutes (above 6,000 ft. altitude).
QUICK FRESH-PACK DILL PICKLES
Wash cucumbers and cut 1/16 inch off the blossom end. Soaking the cucumbers in ice water prior to pickling is a safe method for making crisp pickles.
Yields 7 to 9 pints
8 pounds of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers
2 gallons water
1 ¼ cups of canning or pickling salt
1 ½ quart vinegar (5%)
¼ cup sugar
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spice
3 tablespoons whole mustard seed
14 heads fresh dill or 7 tablespoons dill seed
Procedure: Leave ¼ inch of cucumber stem ends attached. Dissolve ¾ cup of salt in 2 gallons of water. Pour brine water over cucumbers and let stand for 12 hours. Drain. Combine vinegar, ½ cup of salt, and 2 quarts of water. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean white cloth. Heat to boiling. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seed and 1 ½ heads of dill (or 1 tablespoon dill seed) per pint. Cover with boiling liquid, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe sealing edge of jars with a clean, damp paper towel and add lids and screw bands. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (0-1,000 foot altitude), 15 minutes (1,001-6,000 ft. altitude), 20 minutes (above 6,000 ft. altitude).
RAW-PACKED WHOLE-KERNEL CORN
Preserve corn within 2- 6 hours of harvest for best quality results. Select ears containing kernels of ideal maturity for eating fresh. Sweeter varieties may turn brown when processed at 15 pounds pressure in the pressure canner.
Yields 7 quarts
31 ½ pounds corn (in husks)
7 teaspoons salt (if desired)
7 cups boiling water
Procedure: Husk ears, remove silk, trim out insect-damaged kernels and wash ears. Place ears in one gallon of boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes after the water returns to boiling. Cool ears and cut kernels from the cob at about three-fourths the depth of the kernel. If desired, place 1 teaspoon salt per quart in clean jars. Fill jars with cut, whole-kernel corn, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add approximately one cup boiling water, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a small, rubber spatula. Wipe sealing edge of jars with a clean, damp paper towel and add lids and screw bands. Process in a pressure canner for 85 minutes. If using a weighted gauge pressure canner, process at 10 pounds pressure (0-1,000 ft. altitude) or 15 pounds pressure (above 1,000 ft. altitude). If using a dial gauge pressure canner, process at 11 pounds pressure ((0-2,000 ft. altitude), 12 lbs (2,001-4,000 ft altitude), 13 lbs (4,001 – 6,000 ft. altitude), 14 lbs (6,001- 8,000 ft altitude).
Farmers' markets still open during fall season
The Farmers’ Markets in the region are open through September and into October. Drop by these markets to enjoy the friendly, open-air market atmosphere and shop for fresh vegetables and fruits, flowers, locally prepared products, and specialty items.
Mondays
2:15—5:30 Durham ~ Pettee Brook parking lot on the downtown loop (in front of Durham Bike)
Tuesdays
2:15—5:30 Kingston ~ Main Street / Route 111 "on the plains" in the center of town
3:00—6:00 Hampton ~ Route 1 (just north of Route 101) in the Sacred Heart Church School parking lot across from the Post Office
Tuesdays and Thursdays
3:00—6:00 Rochester ~ Foster’s Daily Democrat parking lot, 90 North Main Street
Wednesdays
2:15—6:00 Dover ~ new location at the Herbal Path, 835 Central Avenue
2:00—5:30 Rye ~ 855 Washington Road
3:00—6:00 Gilmanton ~ Academy at the 4 Corners
Thursdays
2:15—6:00 Exeter ~ Swasey Parkway, downtown off Water Street on the banks of the Squamscott River
3:00—6:00 Lee ~ old Fire Station, Route 155
3:00—6:30 Northwood ~ corner of Routes 4, 202A/9, and Route 43, at the Municipal building parking lot
Fridays
3:00—7:00 Deerfield ~ Deerfield Fairgrounds
Saturdays
8:00—12:00 Laconia ~ Beacon Street East
8:00—1:00 New Durham ~ off Depot Road, next to the Post Office on the lawn
8:00—1:00 Portsmouth ~ 1 Junkins Avenue in the City Hall parking lot
8:30—12:00 Farmington ~ intersection of Routes 9 and 25
9:00—12:00 Rochester ~ 4 Corners Antique Shop parking lot, junction of 202A, Estes Road, and Meaderboro Road
9:00—1:00 Barrington ~ intersection of Routes 9 and 25
9:00—1:00 Newmarket ~ Stone Church Meeting House parking lot, 5-7 Granite Street
Sundays
1:00—4:00 Nottingham ~ Blaisdell Memorial Library, 129 Stage Road
Source: 2009 NH Directory of Farmers’ Markets, http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications/documents/farmersmarket.pdf
Web links for the New Hampshire Harvest
Visit these web sites to get the most up-to-date information on home gardening, pick-your-own farms, farmers’ markets, and storing and preserving fruits and vegetables.
Home and Community Food Gardening http://extension.unh.edu/HCFG/Home_Com_Garden.htm has been created on the UNH Cooperative Extension web site to help New Hampshire residents start and care for productive food gardens, preserve some of the bounty, and keep up with the latest gardening research and ideas.
Seacoast Growers Association, http://www.seacoastgrowers.org/, provides the days, times and locations for the Farmers’ Markets that take place in Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, Kingston, and Portsmouth. The Farmers’ Markets are now open! The Dover Farmer’s Market is at a new location at the Herbal Path on 835 Central Ave in Dover, NH.
Source: 2009 NH Directory of Farmers’ Markets, http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications/documents/farmersmarket.pdf
