Pickling, Freezing, and Storing Tips for Your Harvest
What do you do with the bounty from your garden? Freeze it, pickle it, dry it, store it! If you’re new to preserving food, here are 10 quick and easy ideas—from freezing mint in ice cubes to a small-batch pesto recipe using just a handful of basil leaves!
1. Freezing Mint
Preserve your mint harvest by freezing the herb in ice cubes. Spoon 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs into each compartment of an ice cube tray. Add about 1 inch of water to each compartment and put the tray into the freezer. Remove it when herb cubes are frozen. Lift the cubes from the compartments and put into a plastic freezer bag. Label the bag and put it back into the freezer!
See how to freeze and dry all your herbs. You can also preserve your vegetables by freezing. See how to freeze spinach and greens, freeze peppers, and freeze Brussels sprouts.
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Photo Credit: Anna Shepulova/Shutterstock.
2. Got Basil? Make Pesto!
If you have a couple healthy basil plants, harvest all the leaves and make pesto! See how to make pesto.
Photo credit: Dmytro Mykhailov/shutterstock
3. Make Fridge Pickles
Got an abundance of cucumbers? Just make fridge pickles. No canning needed. Enjoy delicious pickles in no time! See how to make refrigerator pickles.
We have many more pickling tips and recipes! For best results when pickling, use white distilled or cider vinegars with 5 percent acidity. Use white vinegar when light color is desirable, as with fruit and cauliflower. Use pickling salt, not iodized salt.
Photo Credit: vkuslandia/Shutterstock. See our Crunchy Dill Pickles recipe.
“On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally’s cellar.”
–Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. president (1743–1826)
4. Freeze Your Berries
Spread unwashed berries in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put the sheet into the freezer. When the berries are frozen, transfer them to a plastic container or freezer bag. See our post on how to freeze blueberries.
5. Bake Zucchini Bread!
Zucchini isn’t always great when frozen. We love to bake mini loaves of zucchini bread and freeze! Remove a loaf whenever you need it. It’s great for last-minute gift ideas! See our recipe for zucchini bread and more zucchini recipes.
To just freeze zucchini, wash and grate the squash. Quickly dip grated zucchini in boiling water, then drain and cool. Pack premeasured amounts into freezer bags or plastic containers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal, label, and freeze. Use for zucchini bread, soups, and stews in winter.
6. Oven-Dry Tomatoes
Dry your tomatoes and other produce to keep them longer! Dried tomatoes add color and flavor to salads, pizza, soups, pesto, and sauces.
Photo credit: Celeste Longacre
7. Make Quick Jam
With just two ingredients—fruit and sugar—you can make a fridge jam in no time! This recipe does not require canning. See our easy berry jam recipe.
8. Freeze Your Corn
Wouldn’t it be divine if we could have truly sweet, summertime corn at our fingertips the year round? Now you can! See how to freeze corn.
9. Make Herbal Vinegar
Herbal vinegar is inexpensive and easy to make. Make with any herb including basil, oregano, rosemary, dill, garlic, thyme, and sage to add pizzazz to salad dressings, soups, and sauces. They also make great gifts to friends! See how to make herbal vinegar.
10. Store “Keeper” Crops
Little or no special equipment is required to put these goods away until you want them:
Apples: Apples keep well for about 6 months at temperatures above freezing but below 45°F. If you don’t have a root cellar, a double cardboard box in a cool basement can approximate the conditions.
Carrots: After harvesting, remove the green tops and brush off any excess dirt. Put the carrots into a cardboard box and pack dry sand around them. Store the box in a cool basement.
Onions and Garlic: Hang mature, dry-skin onion bulbs in a mesh bag in a cool, dry, airy location. Braided onions and garlic also can be hung.
Photo Credit: JIL Photo/Shutterstock. A garlic braid isn’t a new hairstyle, but rather a great way to store your harvest.
Root Vegetables: If covered with a thick layer of mulch (hay, dried leaves, straw), carrots, garlic, horseradish, leeks, parsley, parsnips, radishes, and turnips can be left in the ground well into the winter and harvested into the spring.
See our full list for storing fruits, vegetables, and herbs!
Catherine Boeckmann
Introduction to Preserving
Freezing
Making Quick Pickles
Making Quick Jams: Refrigerator or Freezer Jam
Water-Bath Canning
How to Can Tomatoes
How to Can Pickles
How to Can Jam and Jelly
Pressure Canning
Drying
Salting and Brining
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I tried celery in my garden for the first time this year. I was surprised when my entire crop of celery came out great! Currently it is still in the garden, wrapped in brown paper to "blanch" for another 2 weeks, then I have to do something with it. I know I can keep some in the fridge wrapped in foil but I have about 10 bunches. (I did not expect this to grow as it has) I am planning to dry the celery leaves in my dehydrator for spices for the winter. But I am still talking a lot of celery. I was thinking about drying the celery for the winter but not sure if that is a viable solution. I have not found any information on dried celery. Nor have I found anything about freezing celery. I can give it away to friends, but I would love to preserve some of it for my pantry for winter use. You have any ideas about freezing/drying/canning celery?
How to Prepare Celery for Dehydrating
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While it is heating, wash the celery. Cut off the whitish bottom ends and the leafy top ends. Save the ends and leaves for soup stock by freezing them. If you keep adding them to a container in the freezer, you will never have to buy celery just to make stock.
Cut the celery stalks into thirds. Dump them into the boiling water, and leave for 1 minute. Drain them, and immediately run them under cold water or immerse in ice water to stop the residual heat from continuing to cook the celery.
Slice the blanched celery into 1/2-inch-thick crescents. At this point, you can stop and store the blanched, sliced celery in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before proceeding with the dehydration.
Dehydrator Method
Arrange the celery pieces on the trays of a dehydrator, leaving 1/4-inch space on all sides between the pieces. If you are using an oven rather than a dehydrator, arrange the pieces on a screen placed over a baking rack.
Dry at 135 F until the celery is crispy-dry. This usually takes 6 to 8 hours.
Oven Method
If you are using an oven that doesn't have a temperature setting below 150 F (many don't), set it to the lowest heat, and prop the oven door open with a dish towel or wooden spoon. Note that this wastes a lot of energy. If you are planning to dry a lot of food, a dehydrator is a worthwhile investment both financially and environmentally.
When the celery is crispy-dry (usually takes 6 to 8 hours), remove the trays or baking sheet(s), and let them cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Storage
Transfer the dried celery to glass jars, and screw on the lids.
Label the jars with the contents and the date that you dehydrated the celery.
Store away from direct light or heat.
Celery can be frozen without blanching it. Just dice the stalks, chop the leaves and put separately into freezer containers. Taste great in chili during the winter months.
how do you preserve baby fennel and fennel leaves and what do you use it for?
Hi, Bryana-Christine. For the fennel leaves, you can use the ice cube method on this page. And for the bulbs, you can blanch and freeze them. For ideas on using fennel, just type the word “fennel” into the search box at the top of the page and you will find many recipes to try. Enjoy!
Is there a way to freeze heads of cabbage?
Wash it. Remove outer leaves. Quarter it. Vacuum seal each quarter separately and freeze. Works very well for soup and boiled cabbage.
We recently put in a new well, a few feet from the old one.
Would it be okay to store my pears,apples,and other crops in the old well pit?
