Tuesday 22 October 2013

Day 295 - New ways to preserve.....xx

Tuesday 22nd October

I am passionate about preserving summer and autumn harvests to see us through the winter.  I have made my own pickles, jams and jellies for years but this year I have tried to look more widely at preserving.  Preserving speaks to frugal living but it also appeals to me as I have grown most of the produce so I know what we are eating.  I plan for gluts just so I can preserve as much as possible and I absolutely hate waste.  On one soul many hearts I wrote a piece about free food taken from the hedgerows and I am now turning my attention to fridge freezers.  We probably all have a fridge freezer but do we underuse it?  I most certainly do. 

I am not negating the fact that fridge freezers cost money to buy and run but if you purchase wisely you can get one with a good energy rating and a low carbon footprint.  It is important to maintain your fridge freezer well in order for it to run efficiently.  This article can point you in the right direction of how best to achieve that. 
 
 


My focus is on what we can put in them, especially our freezer.  I need to move beyond just using it for batch cooking and saving leftovers.  I have successfully preserved berries for years in my freezer by first freezing them on a tray before bagging them to use in deserts and baking throughout the winter.  I didn't know that you can use the same technique with cherry tomatoes and that is much better than having to find time to turn your tomatoes into a sauce before freezing. 

We grow a lot of herbs on the smallholding and dry many of them.  I do clip leggy parsley and freeze it ready to be crumbled into stews and soups in the winter.  I did not know that you can also freeze basil.   If you just cut it and freeze it it will turn to mush so you first need to blanch it in boiling water, let it cool and then freeze it in ice cube trays.  These can then be added to soups and saucers as required. 

Blanching is an excellent way to start the preserving process on lots of vegetables. The process stops enzyme action when the vegetables are frozen, effectively suspending them in time.  The pick your own organisation site will provide all the guidance you need on this process.  Essentially, blanching slows or stops enzymes action and therefore suspends the food ready for you to put in your freezer.  Importantly, this suspension helps to preserve the essential vitamins and minerals contained within the food.  
 
I love it when I find a new way to do things and this year I have discovered freezer jam.  You obviously need plastic jars rather than glass to go in your freezer but the process is really easy. You can read about the whole process here.   With Halloween approaching we will all be awash with pumpkin.  I am wondering how many of us just through away the inside pulp after the children have created their masterpiece?  I am guilty as charged but things are going to be different this year.  Two things are going to happen.  I am going to make pumpkin paste and put it in my fridge to use in the next day or so and I am also going to get to the pumpkin before the children and cut out the middle section before they start hacking.  I will then remove the seeds before chopping this section into cubes, putting them in a freezer bag and placing in my freezer.  The frugal side of me is also going to dry the seeds for use next year.  Suddenly we have a waste free pumpkin.   
 
So Scottish island mum has big plans for her fridge freezer moving forward and I will keep you posted on my progress.  As this daily blog moves into 2014 it will become a fully functional lifestyle blog where you can access all sorts of ideas and projects to make for a more fulfilling life.  In 2013 I have pushed quite hard on my frugal button but I am quite determined to really stamp on it next year.  The price of food is increasing at a shocking rate and we have it especially hard living on an island where additional costs of transporting the food on the ferry are added on to the price we pay.  I need to continually find new ways to grow more and preserve more and that strategy also allows me to know where the food has come from.
 
 
If I am honest I probably need to make some changes to some of my equipment as well.  For example the energy rating of a fridge freezer is not only important for the environment for our purses as well.  My mother has become quite obsessed about the cost of energy and is tackling this head on by changing some of her key equipment for newer version that use far less energy.  All good retailers selling fridge freezers will share the energy rating including the output figure per year.  These are the things to pay special attention to.  Living a more sustainable life needs to take full account of the modern world and what options are available to us. 
 
If Scottish island mum gets the bit between her teeth in preserving using her freezer she can reward her self with a new fridge freezer as part of her cost cutting strategy.  Sustainable living is not just about saving it is also about spending less.  If you have any preserving recipes using your fridge freezer I would love to receive them and share them as widely as possible.  I am off to hoover the back of my fridge freezer!
 
Until tomorrow.  xx

 

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