As a new gardener I found myself enamored with purchasing seeds and starting seeds and then keeping the sweet little seedlings alive. When the plants grew to full size and started to produce fruit it was such an exciting time. I had a myriad of fresh veggies for my table and recipes. It was wonderful.

And then the plants kept producing, much more than I had anticipated. It felt overwhelming. I didn’t want to waste the beautiful harvest I was receiving, but I hadn’t planned ahead, I didn’t realize I needed to come up with plans for all the wonderful food my garden was generating. My friends were gifted with some veggies but I didn’t want to give away everything that I’d worked so hard to cultivate. Or worse, let it spoil.

Read about My Garden Inventory and Production in 2021

I had never preserved food in my life and I have no special equipment to do so. I needed to come up with solutions that were practical for me and my circumstances. My garden certainly didn’t produce enough food to last an entire year, but maybe enough to stretch over a few months at least.

Another thing that struck me was that I periodically had veggies in my fridge, that I purchased at the grocery, that I had let go bad and ended up throwing away. This always bothered me, but I hadn’t put much effort into changing my methods. Letting food go bad seemed to always be something that was just allowed to happen. I hadn’t thought of doing a better job of not letting my food spoil.

Preservation Became the Answer

When I was faced with losing food that I had grown with my own hands, the weight of this hit a lot harder. I decided I was not going to let my beautiful, delicious, homegrown food go to waste and got to work.

Below are 4 simple ways I used to preserve my harvest in 2021. I did not use any equipment that wasn’t already in my kitchen. These simple and effective methods saved my vegetable harvest this year.  I will continue to use these processes in the future in addition to expanding my knowledge of food preservation.

Read about 7 Things I Learned From My Garden in 2021

4 Simple Ways to Preserve Your Harvest

1) Freezing

Freezing is by far the most effective method of preservation if you have no other means to preserve food. Main drawbacks I experienced with freezing are the requirement of space and not every veggie or fruit retains its texture after being frozen, but that’s not really that big of a deal. Fortunately, we have a chest freezer in addition to the freezer in our main fridge so, with some reorganizing, I did have enough space to freeze quite a bit of food.

I froze a few different types of vegetables from my garden and experimented with a few ways in which to prepare them before freezing. Most of the veggies I froze raw, but some freeze well cooked or prepared in a make ahead recipe like soup, sauce, or casserole.

The Details

In the following section I’ll explain how I prepped each vegetable and give a brief suggestion on how to use the frozen produce to cook with.

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For tomatoes, squash, peppers, and cucumbers

Wash the veggies by soaking them in an apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar) and water solution for a few minutes. I fill up my sink or a large bowl with cool water and add 1-2 TBL apple cider vinegar, add the veggies and swish them around a few times. After 3-5 minutes, remove the veggies and drain them on clean towels or in a colander until completely dry. A solution of salt and water works well too, especially if you see critters on your produce.

For all prepared Vegetables:

Once they’re cut the way you like, place them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze. When the veggies are completely frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and label with the name and date.

Tomatoes

2 preparation methods for freezing tomatoes worked very well. I used ripe tomatoes for a roasted sauce and froze whole both ripe and green tomatoes at the end of the season.

Kitchen Scale

Freezing whole:

Tomatoes freeze extremely well whole, with skins intact. Put the washed tomatoes onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Once the tomatoes are completely frozen put them into a freezer safe bag. That’s it! This is by far the easiest way to preserve tomatoes you are unable to use fresh.

When you’re ready to use the tomatoes, remove them from the freezer bag, run them under lukewarm water, the skin will then easily peel off. The tomatoes will thaw fairly quickly but can be added to recipes still frozen. Trim the stem end and chop or use whole in recipes.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce:

Oven roasted tomato sauce is so delicious! And as a bonus you can make tomato powder from the seeds and skins. More about that in the Oven Drying section.

• Preheat the oven to 425˚.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Clean and dry the tomatoes, you can do the apple cider vinegar soak I mentioned before. Remove the stem core and cut the tomatoes into wedges or chunks. You want all the pieces to be about the same size so they will roast evenly.
• Place the tomato pieces onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the edges are browned and blackened in some spots. Cook for less time for smaller tomatoes, about 20-30 minutes.
• Transfer the tomatoes to a blender, you may need to do this in batches, or a large container that you can use an immersion blender in. Be careful using a regular blender, you may want to allow the tomatoes to cool for a few minutes. Hot liquid can blow the lid off your blender.
• Blend until the tomatoes are completely liquified and smooth.
• Pour the liquid into a large container through a metal mesh strainer, pushing it through with a rubber spatula or spoon.
• Reserve the bits left in the strainer, we will use those later.

Let the sauce cool completely. Pour it into freezer safe bags, sandwich bags are a great size for this. It’s the perfect amount for adding to recipes like soup or chili. Label your bag and freeze flat for easy storage.

Additional Goodies

You can gussy up the sauce by adding peeled garlic cloves, chopped onions, and/or sliced peppers to the pans before roasting. These veggies will soften and brown and add extra flavor to your sauce.

To use the sauce, remove the baggie from the freezer and set in bowl, allow it to thaw at room temperature. Or run lukewarm water over the bag until the sauce thaws slightly. Add the sauce directly into your recipe.

Carrots

Carrots are great candidates for freezing. They hold their shape and can be added to recipes or roasted on their own and retain a good texture.

Sometimes I peel them, sometimes I scrub them with a vegetable brush. It depends on how much time I have. Wash the carrots, trim off the stem end. Once I’ve cleaned the carrots, they can be processed into 3 different cuts.

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Cut 1: Grated

• Using a food processor with a grating/shredding blade, grate the carrots.
• This can also be done with a box or flat grater.
• Portion the grated carrots into muffin tins and freeze them.
• Once frozen I pop the carrot pucks out of the tins and put them in a freezer bag.

Grated carrots can be added frozen to soups and sauces. Once thawed they are great for casseroles, and baked goods like muffins and cakes.

Cut 2: Sliced

• Using the food processor with the slicing blade attachment, process the carrots into thin slices.
• Spread the slices out into an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze.
• Once frozen transfer the carrots to a freezer bag.

These slices are great in soups and skillet dishes.

Cut 3: Spears

For this cut it’s preferable to peel the carrots.

• Cut them into spears like you would see on a veggie tray.
• Start by cutting the carrots into 2–4-inch lengths. Then cut lengthwise into spears. Very thin root end pieces can be left whole. Very thick stem end pieces might be quartered.
• Spread the cut spears onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze.
• Once frozen transfer the carrots to a freezer bag.

This cut is perfect to add to crock pot meals with roast or chicken. It also roasts really well becoming soft on the inside and crisping on the edges.

Squash and Zucchini

Zucchini and yellow squash, any summer squash really, can be processed just like carrots and used in similar ways. Clean them with the vinegar soak and trim the ends. Skins can be left on, no need to peel. Follow the directions for carrots to process the summer squash into the cut that you prefer.

Winter squash is a little different. Because not all winter squashes have and edible rind, you will want to peel them. I only grew butternut squash this year and so only processed this one variety. But I’m sure this method would work with most other hard squashes and pumpkins.

• Clean and dry the squash.
• Peel the skin off with a heavy-duty peeler or knife.
• Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
• Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes.
• Place cut squash on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze.
• Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag.

These cubes can be steamed and mashed, roasted or added to soups and crock pot meals.

Onions

Onions freeze really easily. The drawback with freezing onions is that are very watery when thawed and cooked. They will still lend flavor, but their texture will be lost. This is just something to be aware of. Frozen onions are great for cooking, not so much for eating raw.

Peel the onion and dice or slice. And you guessed it, freeze in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and transfer to a freezer bag. Use the onions as you would use fresh ones in cooking recipes.

Leeks

Leeks can be very dirty and need to be cleaned thoroughly. A favorite method is to cut off the tough green leaves, these leaves can be dried and made into powder. Cut off the root end. Slice the leek in half lengthwise. Cut into 1/4-inch-wide half moon pieces.

Soak the cut pieces in cold water in a large bowl lined with a strainer. A great tool for this is a salad spinner, the basket acts as the strainer. Swish the leeks around a few times, lift the strainer out and discard the dirty water. This can be repeated several times if needed. Using this strainer/basket method allows the dirt particles to collect in the bottom of the bowl and you then simple lift the clean leeks out.

Proceed with single layer freeze and baggie transfer. Use the frozen leeks just as you would use onions.

Peppers

I love freezing peppers. They are so easy to use when frozen. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great harvest from my own pepper plants, but I have preserved peppers from the store.

• Clean and dry the peppers using the vinegar soak.
• Trim out the stem and seed pod.
• Slice into thin strips.
• Freeze in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and then transfer to a freezer bag.

These slices are great for fajitas and stir-fries. But could be added any dish for a peppery zip.

A couple other methods for peppers would be to dice them, again freezing the same way as the other veggies. You could also halve them and freeze the halves to use for stuffed peppers. Add your filling directly to the frozen half and bake as normal.

2) Quick Pickle

Quick pickling is so easy, it takes hardly any time or effort. The drawback to this method is that it doesn’t work for every vegetable, so it’s a lot less versatile than freezing. But the results are tasty. Another note is the pickles must be stored in the fridge.

Typically, I use this method for cucumbers, onions and radishes. You could do this with other veggies, I just haven’t tried it yet. My family and I are still warming up to unusual pickles, namely anything that’s not a pickled cucumber, so we’ll try some other veggies over time. You could also add other seasonings to the brine like peppercorns, dill, and/or mustard seeds.

All you need for this method is thinly sliced vegetables and seasoned rice vinegar.

That’s it, I’m not kidding.

The Magic Ingredient

The important part if this recipe is the Seasoned Rice Vinegar. ‘Seasoned’ indicates that there are salt and sugar in the vinegar already, so you don’t have to add any seasonings or make a brine.

This method is really intended for small batches and things you’ll eat fairly quickly. Because you’re not sealing the jar, the preservation is coming from the vinegar only. From my research the vinegar itself will not expire but I found recommendations that the quick pickled veggies should be consumed within 2-4 weeks. I’m not a food scientist and recommend you do your own research to satisfy your comfort level with expiration times.

• Pack the thinly sliced veggies into a glass jar and pour the vinegar in until the veggies are completely submerged.
• Put a lid on and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Quick pickles are amazing on tacos, sandwiches, avocado toast, hummus, anything that is good with a vinegary hit.

3) Oven Drying

Oven drying food is a fairly efficient method for preserving herbs and some fruit and vegetables. It takes a bit more time and attention than some of the other methods but tends to be best for things like herbs.

I don’t know that it necessarily qualifies as dehydrating, even though you are removing moisture from the food. Regardless, you are cooking the food at a very low temperature in order to remove the moisture and give the food shelf stability.

My oven’s lowest temperature is 170˚. This is higher than is ideal for some of the more delicate things like parsley. You may have to play with your oven temperature to see what works best for what you’re drying. Things like apple chips can tolerate a little more heat to make drying faster, potentially up to 200˚. Again, you may have to experiment to see what works best.

Herbs

To prepare the herbs, remove the leaves from the stems. There are some tools you can get to help with this process, but I prefer to do most things by hand as I feel I can remove more of the tough stems.

 

 

For non-leafy herbs, like chives, chop them into the desired size.

• Place herbs on a parchment lined baking sheet in a thin layer.
• Bake for 1-4 hours depending on your oven temperature.
• Check and stir the herbs every 30 minutes.

Because of the temperature of my oven, I notice a teeny bit of browning and the green dulls quite a bit. In contrast, if they are dried in a dehydrator the green stays more vibrant and they don’t tend to brown too much.

You want the herbs to be completely dry and crisp. Allow them to cool and store in airtight jars for 6-12 months.

Herb Salt

Possibly my favorite method to preserve herbs is making herb salt. I use this all the time and am super bummed when I run out. It also makes a great gift!

• Prepare the herbs as mentioned before, washing and removing leaves.
• Chop them up a bit. I like the herb pieces to remain a little chunky.
• I use sea salt, but you can use what you prefer. I use a ratio of 1-2 TBL chopped herbs to 1 cup salt. Combine the salt and herbs and spread evenly onto a baking sheet tray in a layer not thicker than ¼ inch.
• Bake at 170˚ for 2 – 5 hours. Be sure the herbs are completely dry.
• Allow the mixture to cool, then transfer to an airtight glass jar.

Fruit and Veggies

Fruit can be dried into chips or pieces. And do you remember the tomato sauce where we reserved the bits that were strained out? I dry that too to create a tomato powder.

I have not done a lot of fruit drying, mainly because I haven’t grown a lot of fruit, so I’ve only preserved some that I bought or was given. Our favorite is apple chips. You could do this with some stone fruits and berries too.

Apple Chips:

• Wash and dry the apples. The apples can be cored if you prefer.
• Thinly slice the apples, about 1/8 inch thick.
• Toss with a sprinkle of cinnamon and pinch of salt.
• Spread the slices in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 170˚ – 200˚ for 1-3 hours. The time will depend on the temperature. If the apples are not completely dried, they will have a shorter shelf life but will still be fine for a couple weeks.

These are great as snacks and broken up on oatmeal or deserts.

Tomato Powder:

• Spread the strained tomato bits onto a parchment lined baking sheet in as thin a layer as possible.
• Bake at 170˚ until completely dried and crispy.
• Break up the mixture and blend it into a powder using a standing blender or a coffee grinder.
• Store the powder in an airtight container.

Use in soups, eggs, casseroles, sauces, salsas, and other savory dishes for a rich tomato flavor. This powder can also be rehydrated to make tomato paste or sauce. Use 1-3 tsp per cup of water, depending on use.

4) Compound Butter & Herb Oil

One final method I use, and love, is compound butter and herb oil. Freezing these in ice cube trays makes them easy to pop into dishes when I want an herby kick. I go pretty heavy on the herbs in my ratios, maybe 1:1 ratio by volume. Experiment with the ratio to see what you prefer.

Herb combinations that I love are:

• Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, and Chive.
• Dill, Chive, and lemon zest.
• Basil, Mint, Parsley, and Sage.

Other great additions are minced garlic, lemon, lime or orange zest, and capers.

Compound Butter:

• Allow the butter to soften to room temperature.
• Prepare the herbs by removing the leaves from stems and chopping to desired size.
• Combine herbs and butter by smashing the herbs in with a spoon. You can also use a food processor, but it’s more cleanup.
• When thoroughly combined press the butter mixture into ice cube trays.
• Freeze until solid, at least 6 hours.
• Remove from trays and store the butter cubes in a freezer bag.

Herb Oil:

• Prepare the herbs by removing the leaves from stems and chopping to desired size.
• Fill the cells of the ice cube trays with the chopped herbs.
• Pour olive oil over the herbs.
• Gently nudge and poke the mixture with a fork or knife to distribute the herbs and release any air bubbles.
• Freeze until solid, at least 6 hours.
• Remove from trays and store the cubes in a freezer bag.

Both the compound butter and herb oil can be added to soups, sauces, and skillet dishes. They are also great to thaw and spread on bread or as a bread dipping oil. Thaw the butter and use it to cook eggs and fish.

I hope you’ll try some of these methods. Food preservation certainly can involve large crop harvests and a lot of equipment. But it doesn’t need to be limited to that. Anyone can preserve any amount of food for themselves using these simple methods.

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