The many ways to preserve some of the harvest

When we arrive at the middle of July, the harvest of garden goodies is in full swing.

Tomatoes usually start producing about the first of July and increase until fungus begins to ruin the plant. The heat begins to have an effect on cole crops such as cabbage and broccoli and such. The okra, which loves the heat, is really beginning to produce. The cucumbers, if you can keep the bugs off them, are producing far more than you can use.

So what do we do with the bounty?

Cabbage is fairly easy. We pull our cabbage about this time of the year. The hot summer days take a toll on cabbage. Some of it we will fry in a little butter or olive oil or bacon grease. We baked some the other day. We also make sauerkraut in a big stone crock. One also can use quart or half-gallon jars. You need to add salt, and you can add sugar and other spices.

Tomatoes are pretty easy. We take whole tomatoes and put them in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute. This will loosen the skin so it slips right off. Normally we then heat the tomatoes. We fill quart jars with whole tomatoes and can them according to instructions from recognized experts. You can add salt, but it isn't required if the tomatoes are processed correctly.

We run some tomatoes through a press for the juice only. It separates the juice and pulp from the seeds. Taking off the skins isn't necessary, but we think it makes them easier to run through the press.

You also can take some tomatoes, add some peppers (hot or mild), garlic, onions and spices and make salsa -- as mild as you want or as hot as you can stand.

Tomatoes can be frozen. I would just clean up the tomato, cut out the stem end, make sure the tomato doesn't have any bad spots and put it in a freezer bag. These would be great for soups or even for making salsa later in the summer or even in the winter. When the tomatoes begin to thaw, the skins will slip off.

If you have a bunch of onions, you probably will have to freeze some of them. Depending on the kind of onion, their storage life usually is not over three or four months. If they are large onions, you probably should cut them up. If the onions are small, simply freeze them whole.

Cucumbers can be made into pickles, frozen or turned into relishes. There are thousands of recipes for canning cucumbers. A friend of mine freezes some of her cucumbers. You can find recipes online or drop me an email. We really like dill pickles, so we make a bunch of them. The smaller pickles work best for us. Marge used to make a pickle out of red hots, which go over well.

Okra is another versatile crop. I have eaten some really good pickled okra, and I've also eaten some really bad pickled okra. When it's done right, it is outstanding. Most probably freeze okra to use later in the winter. The frozen okra can be fried or used in soups and such.

Zucchini or other squash can be sliced and frozen to fry later. My wife grates the squash and then freezes it. She uses it for breads later on. She also mixes an egg and some crackers and such with grated squash and fries the patties. They are pretty good.

Corn is a staple in our household. We clean the shuck off the corn and then boil about five minutes. We cut the corn off the cob and freeze it. Boy, is it good later in the winter. Some freeze the corn on the cob to use later. We probably will freeze some of our corn to use in the CanCookers. Those CanCookers work well.

Most people use their potatoes while they are fresh. If you have a cellar, potatoes will last a good long time. I keep our potatoes in an insulated room in my shop, and they usually last until spring. We also can some of the smaller potatoes. A quart jar full of new potatoes is a pretty sight on the shelf. Canned potatoes make for an almost instant meal.

A friend of mine used to take potatoes, some carrots, meat and such and can it all together. Then when they were in the mood, they would dump the jar into a pan for instant stew. On a cold winter day, it goes over well.

No matter how you store produce to use later, make sure it is done right. Improperly canned or stored goodies can make you deathly sick and possibly even kill you.

An excellent resource is "Putting Food By." Another is "Preserving the Harvest."

Until next time.