3 Tips to Keep Your Summer Vegetables All Year Long

Preserved, dehydrated or frozen. Discover our methods to enjoy good organic summer products, even in winter.

An inescapable precept of responsible consumption, eating organic and seasonal is not always easy. Yet, there are simple ways to get around to seasonality without resorting to imported or pesticide-based products. No more need to rush for canned foods offered by supermarkets that are often full of food additives. Economic and ecological, here are three methods that will allow you to enjoy your summer fruits and vegetables all year long.

1. Dehydration

Using an oven, a dehydrator provided for this purpose, water is removed from fruits and vegetables, but also from meat or fish. We can keep apples, grapes, tomatoes or dried zucchini for almost a year while maintaining much of their nutritional value.

In the oven, the plants are dried for a long time at a low temperature (from 30 ° C to 40 ° C). After having washed, blanched and cut, the food is placed on a plate that is stuffed. Although effective, this method, often very long, is energy-consuming, so not the most ecological.

If sunshine allows, it is also possible to dry its products in a more natural way. Simply place the pre-cut pieces on a plate, cover them with a very fine cloth and leave them in the sun, taking care to return them regularly. Everyone is free to keep the food as it is in sachets, or put it in oil, as is done for tomatoes or mushrooms.

2. Jars

Preserving food in jars is a natural method that applies equally to raw, cooked or cooked products. Observe the rules of hygiene. Also, it is imperative to properly clean your fruits and vegetables before proceeding to sterilization. To eliminate the bacteria, a little cider vinegar or baking soda is added to the washing water. Once the food is washed, it is essential to sterilize the glass jars by immersing them in boiling water and taking care to dry them well afterwards. When the preparation is ready (cut, mixed, mixed food, etc..), fill the jars making sure to leave as little room as possible for air bubbles, which could degrade the food. Then pour the brine (salty aqueous preparation) into the jars. After making sure that the edge of the jar is clean, close it. The can is ready.

The liquid chosen for the preservation of the products varies according to the type of food. You can opt for vinegar, vegetable oils, alcohol or syrup.

3. Freezing

As you probably know, freezing has many merits. Not only does it consume its products throughout the year, but it also has the advantage of preserving the nutrients of fruits and vegetables if they are frozen early enough.

Many vegetables must be blanched first. In other words, plunging them into boiling water for one to four minutes, depending on their size. The process is mandatory, especially for zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cabbages, beans, peas or spinach.

Plunged in boiling water, these vegetables will be rid of the enzymes responsible for their degradation, and keep their nutrients in the freezer. Immediately after blanching, the vegetables are immersed in ice water and then dried in a cloth. Only then is it possible to freeze them.

Be careful though. According to the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), this method of preservation is not suitable for all vegetables. Artichokes, endives, eggplants, lettuce, radishes and potatoes are therefore not frozen until pureed.