Storage question...

[cbowden]

Good morning all!

If I wanted to take advantage of all the fresh veggies/fruits available now how would I store them for later use?

I was lucky enough to find a Good4U dehydrator on craigslist for $90 so I know I can dry some fruits and veggies.

What about greens and spinach? Green beans? If I invest in a Food Saver could I just vaccum seal some bags of collards or kale and then store in the freezer? It's mostly the greens I'm concerned about.

We're moving up to the mountains (9000 ft) and I want to have as much fresh food as possible to have on hand all winter.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[streetsurfer]

Greens freeze better if lightly blanched first. Otherwise the cells will rupture during freezing. You will wind up a mushy mess when thawed, if frozen raw from the garden. Now, this might be avoided with the new freezers that are capable of a sort of flash freezing....I am not sure.

Kale makes a wonderful chip when dehydrated. Kale chips are my favorite dehydrated food. For kale chips, wash and tear into smaller pieces, marinate them in a blend of oil, vinegar, salt and season as desired. Lot's of good recipes for them can be found right here at raw food talk dot com.

I add lots of other nutritious bits to the marinade like hemp seeds, cfinely hopped other greens like spinach or mizuna mustard, hemp powder, spirulina, flax or chia seeds ground in a spice mill (to thicken the marinade by it's mucilagenous quality), tiny chopped bits of brocolli, ground sunflower seeds, etc. These all stick to the kale leaf along with the marinade and give them texture and strength. Otherwise they are quite thin and delicate but still delicorice. You can make them in a simpler way with oil, acv, and salt if you like.

Ball jars can be used to vacuum seal. There is a jar attachement from foodsaver I think, that I found works with the zip vac system. Here are some yellow boy tomatoes from two years ago that are still good.

I've dried cucumbers with lime juice and seasonings added, a slaw of sorts with cuc's and sweet potatoes shoe stringed, then marinated in apple cider vinegar, citrus juice, and seasonings before drying.
Dried brussel sprouts are the bomb. A little hot being a brassica, but I think they are better tasting than cooked or raw. Dehydrating sweetens while it intensifies flavors, so don't write something off if you don't necessarily like it raw or cooked.
Fruits and berries are always good to keep a supply of. Mix with nuts, shredded coconut, seeds, etc. for a trail mix.

Happy dehydrating. I am without a dryer (or good juicer) right now. I need to search freecycle and craigslist so I can have me some kale chips. I miss them.

[Steven]

If Ive ended up with an excess of greens that will go bad soon or some are on sale, generally I will blend them up with a bit of water and then freeze in ice cube trays. That way I can just throw a few in a smoothie.

[cbowden]

Streetsurfer, you are a wealth of information! And, it sounds like you eat pretty well too! Thanks for all the info. I may have to blanch my greens before freezing then....I actually looking to have greens on hand for my home made dog food. I can always do sprouts but I've got 4 dogs and that would be alot of sprouts!

I can't wait to make some kale chips with this dehydrator. I tried it before with my old Ronco and they just didn't turn out well at all.

Steven, blending and freezing is a great idea.

I could always dehydrate, crush 'em up and then have my own green powder....

Thanks!

[MysticTree]

I could always dehydrate, crush 'em up and then have my own green powder....



I think that may be the best idea yet!