5 Ways To Preserve Food Like A Farmer

As a vegetable farmer, all season long I’m confronted with too much abundance — it’s absolutely overwhelming. In winter, though, it can feel like the opposite if I don’t prepare and preserve food. So the question for me is, how can I manage the abundance of summer so that I can enjoy it into the winter?

There are several methods of food preservation, but the most common include:

1. Freezing
2. Canning
3. Fermenting 
4. Dehydrating
5. Dry Storage/Root Cellaring

All have their pros and cons so let’s dive into them!

5 Ways To Preserve Food Like a Farmer

1. Freezing

Learning to preserve food through freezing is one of the easiest ways to save money! Freezing slows down the enzyme activity in your food which helps to prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms. You can freeze just about anything- meats, vegetables, fruits, etc. Some foods need to be blanched before freezing. The best way to avoid freezer burn is to vacuum seal the food before placing it in the freezer.

Don’t have a vacuum sealer? No worries! The heavy-duty containers from Lehman’s are made of durable plastic to lock in flavor and freshness and prevent damaging freezer burn at very low temperatures.

Some of my favorite things to freeze include:

Whenever I come up with extra peas, beans, and broccoli, I do my best to blanch and freeze them. I don’t grow my own sweet corn, so I often don’t spend the time dealing with someone else’s abundance. I try not to freeze too much, though. Freezer space is precious, and I’d rather have half a hog available to me than as much broccoli.

The one vegetable I devote significant amounts of freezer space to is sweet peppers… I love making winter stir-fries with that sweetness, and no tomato-based dish is complete in my mind without plenty of peppers. I just halve the peppers, remove the seeds and stem, and toss them in a freezer container — no blanching necessary.

If I made zucchini bread a little more often, it might be worth it to shred zucchini in 2-cup quantities and freeze it, but honestly, I don’t think much about zucchini bread except when confronted with big ones during the season, and the frozen stuff usually gets forgotten. (The tip here is: only freeze what you know you’ll like to use!)

Herbs also freeze well. Just fill up ice cube trays with herbs and water or oil, pop them in the freezer, then use them to make pasta sauces and other dishes.

Pros of Freezing:

• Quick & Easy
• Retains Flavor & Nutrients
• Low Risk for Bacterial Growth

Cons of Freezing:

• Amount of Food is Limited to the Amount of Freezer Space
• Relies on Electricity
• Freezer Burn can Ruin the Quality of Food

2. Canning

Canning is one of the most popular food preservation methods. Canning is the process of placing jars of food in a pot of water and heating them to a temperature that will destroy microorganisms that can be harmful to humans. Low-acid foods can be pressure canned and high-acid foods can be water bath canned. Steam canning is another option. 

Water bath canning is a great way to get started in canning! Our enamelware canner is just like the ones our moms used, and its included canning rack holds 7 Ball quart or pint jars. At Lehmans.com and our store in Kidron, Ohio.

This method of food preservation causes the loss of some nutrients, but it doesn’t take up freezer space, and it’s so satisfying to have a larder full of bright cans.

Some of my favorite things to can include:

I only water-bath can, which means I can only preserve acidic things without risk of botulism. In terms of vegetables, this pretty much means I can tomato products and vinegar pickles. I love making tomato and tomatillo salsa to can, and I make enough of it to eat until next tomato season, usually with corn chips as my lunch, or with eggs as my breakfast.

I also stew tomatoes and can those. All I do is choose tomatoes that aren’t too watery, cut them in half and squeeze the seeds out (I learned that technique when working at seed savers exchange), and then throw them in a big pot and cook down, skins and all. After a number of hours, I end up with something very like tomato paste. If I wanted to, I could run it through a food mill to make it smooth without the skins, but I’ve found that whatever I want to do with my stewed tomatoes—pizza sauce, pasta sauce, chili—doesn’t really mind having the skins in. I can it by packing it hot into jars, putting a tablespoon of lemon juice in to ensure its acidity, and processing the jars for about 20 minutes.

• Bone Broth
• Jam
• Green Tomatoes
• Whole Tomatoes
• Blueberries
• Peaches
• Tomato Juice

Pros of Canning:

• Long Self Life
• Shelf Stable
• Preserves Nutrients

Cons of Canning:

• Requires Equipment
• Time-Consuming
• Risk of Botulism if Done Incorrectly

I’ve learned to love making pickles, not only from cucumbers, but also from summer squash, beans, and okra. That sharp vinegar flavor coupled with dill or garlic or cayenne or all of the above is a really nice addition to any meal in the winter. But I don’t can too many batches of vinegar pickles because my next method of preserving these things is even better.

3. Fermenting

Fermentation is a great food preservation method that produces probiotic-rich foods. Through fermentation, microorganisms convert sugars in food to acids or alcohol. This creates a tart/sour taste, enhances the nutritional value, and increases the shelf life of the food.

Some of our favorite things to ferment include:

• Fermented Garlic
• Sauerkraut
• Fermented Tomatoes
• Kombucha

Pros of Fermenting:

• Adds Probiotics
• Preserve Nutrients
• Enhances Flavor

Cons of Fermenting:

• Storage conditions must be right to avoid cross-contamination
• Requires some monitoring

4. Dehydrating

Dehydration is a form of food preservation that removes moisture from foods which prevents bacterial growth. Properly dehydrated food is shelf-stable and can last for up to a year (years in some cases), but dehydration does cause the loss of some nutrients within the food. 

You can dehydrate herbs, fruits, vegetables, meat, and even liquids like milk. If you have an electric dehydrator, this is the fastest way to get through the dehydration process. You can also sun dry, air dry, or oven dry your foods. 

Some of our favorite things to dehydrate include:

• Herbs
• Sourdough Starter
• Tomato Peels
• Apples
• Fruit Leathers

Pros of Dehydrating:

• Prolonged Shelf-Life
• Easy Storage

Cons of Dehydrating:

• Loss of some nutrients
• Requires all moisture to be removed or mold can grow

5. Dry Food Storage & Root Cellaring

Some foods can be preserved by storing them in optimal conditions without further processing. 

Dry goods like flour, rice, beans, sugar, corn meal, etc can be stored in 5-gallon buckets with air-tight lids. I like to use large mylar bags inside the bucket with an oxygen absorber to keep the food preserved for a longer amount of time. 

Onions, garlic, beets, turnips, carrots, pumpkins, apples, and other fresh produce can be stored in a root cellar or a cold room. A root cellar can be any space that is cool & humid enough (32-40° F/85-95%) to slow microbial growth and keep the produce from drying out. 

Pros of Dry Storage & Root Cellaring:

• Does not require electricity
• Long self-life
• Flavor, texture, and nutrients are preserved

Cons of Dry Storage & Root Cellaring:

• Requires space
• Requires consistent temperature & humidity monitoring (root cellar)

**Written by Hannah Breckbill of Lehman’s Hardware in 2018, updated by Homesteaders of America in 2024.

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