I love the idea of putting food by. To “put by” is an old, country way of saying “save something now for when you’ll need it later.” When you put food by, you are preserving food now to eat some other day in the future.

People have been putting food by for ages. There is evidence that Middle Eastern and Asian cultures have been preserving food by drying as far back as 12,000 BC. Freezing foods was the choice preservation technique in cold climates long before the modern freezer was invented. Fermentation is an amazing preservation technique. This method has given us many delightful things, like beer, wine and sauerkraut! Pickling, preserving foods in vinegar, is another marvelous invention which has given us relishes, chutneys and, of course, pickles. Jams and jellies are made by heating fruit and sugar together. Canning is the most recent food preservation method. This method of heating jars of food at high temperatures destroys present microorganisms, and the cooling of the jars seals the lid so new microorganisms can’t get in.

Freezing and canning are the most common ways people preserve food today. I have used both of these methods and freezing is, by far, the easier of the two. All you have to do is blanch the vegetables and then put them in the freezer. Fruits don’t even have to be blanched. Just throw them in a ziplock bag and toss them in the freezer! There are only two major disadvantages to freezing. You need to own a deep freezer if you want to freeze a substantial amount of food, and since this option requires a year-round power source, it makes your food vulnerable to power outages. Canning food is a little more complicated and labor intensive, but one benefit is you don’t have to rely on electricity. You’ll need to purchase glass jars, lids and a large pot, which is much less of an investment than a deep freezer. If you are going to can something other than tomatoes or fruit jams and jellies, you will also need to purchase a pressure cooker.

I’m not an experienced canner, but I’m working on that. Next year I would like to get a pressure cooker. Since it is only safe to can acidic fruits by the water-bath method, I am limited to what I am able to can. This year I tried my hand at making jelly. It was actually quite fun once I got the hang of it! It took me three tries, but I finally got my crab apple jelly to “set.” Apparently, to make a successful batch of jelly, you need to start small. That was my first mistake. I had so many crab apples that I decided to make a double batch. It is also important that you follow a recipe if you are new to making jams and jellies. The ratio of fruit, sugar and pectin are crucial to getting your batch to turn out and gel correctly. I tried to use significantly less sugar than was called for in the recipe and my first two batches did not gel well at all. Once you are an experienced preserver, though, your intuition will guide you if you want to experiment. I highly recommend “The Complete Guide to Home Canning”, which is free to download online at nchfp.uga.edu.

I tried another food preservation technique this year too. My family loves sauerkraut, and I was feeling adventurous, so I pursued the art of fermentation. I have to say the results were very delicious! The taste of homemade sauerkraut is worlds apart from the supermarket variety. If you really love sauerkraut, you must make your own! It is super simple. All you need is a ceramic crock, a lot of cabbage and a lot of salt. Slice the cabbage as thin as you can and mix with an abundance of sea salt. Pack it into your crock and then weigh it down. (I used a styrofoam plate with a heavy rock on top.) That is all you need to do. The waiting is the hardest part. It takes 6-8 weeks for your cabbage to turn into tangy, homemade sauerkraut. You can then can it in jars or just keep it in the refrigerator and eat within 4-6 weeks.

Maybe you want to make something special that you can’t buy at the supermarket (like crab apple jelly?) or you prefer the taste of home-made better (who doesn’t?). Perhaps you are interested in preserving your own food to lower your food costs or for the security that having a stockpile of food gives you. Whatever the reasons or methods you choose, preserving food is for everyone. It is a great skill to have, and they make wonderful Christmas gifts too!