4 Methods of Preserving Food
Food Preservation Methods
There are many types of food preservation out there for long term food storage. Canning, vacuum sealing, etc.
I am sharing 4 types today.
Canning
I started Water Bath (with a kit like this one) about 4 years ago and Pressure Canning 2 years ago.
There was the proverbial simple strawberry jam. Which, for me, never sets, so not simple.
Then I moved up to peaches and applesauce. Going to the orchard to hand pick our fruit was fun. The processing that much at one time was a tad tedious. Being able to go downstairs and grab a jar of applesauce in December made it worth it.
After fruit I moved onto Pressure Canning (with an All American canner) ground beef, chicken, bacon, and pinto beans.
A benefit of pressure canning meat is the peace of mind to not losing it if the grid goes down. It is also great if you forgot to thaw some for dinner. We don’t can all of our meat, but I don’t have a lot in the freezer either. I get great deals from Zaycon Foods on both ground beef and chicken. Their bacon is really good too!
Shelf life is at least 12 months up to 2 years.
Equipment needed for Canning:
- Canner (water bath or pressure)
- jars
- lids
- rings
- jar lifter
- jar funnel
- lid lifter
- bubble remover/head-space tool
Dehydrating
Back in the day they laid meat out in the sun to dry it.
There may come a time where we have to do it that way again. Until then I use my Excalibur. We have used the round tray method, and while it is cheaper to purchase, the Excalibur is more efficient. It is also a plug in and leave it, where as the round trays you have to manually rotate. I have dehydrated onions, beef jerky, frozen corn, apple, and mango. I have heard of people dehydrating watermelon.
Equipment needed for Dehydrating:
- Dehydrator
- Electricity
- or a hot day
Curing
Preserve your meat in salt. You do have salt in your preps right?
With the dry cure method salt is rubbed all over the meat. You can add spices to this process.
Wet Curing, also known as brining, is where you submerge the meat in salty solution.
Equipment needed for Curing:
- Low temperature
- High humidity
- Air flow
- Cabinet or the like to protect meat from Fido
You can read more both methods over at Modern Survival Blog
Smoking
Not cigars. Or cigarettes. Smoking meat.
This is one method we are going to do this summer. Just have to find the right smoker. Probably one that is both wood and propane.
Hot Smoking the goal is to cook the food while giving it a smoky flavor.
Cold Smoking is done at less than 100 degrees. Great for smoking meats, such as salami, before hanging to dry.
Smoking doesn’t allow you to store indefinitely.
- Smoker
- or Smoke house
- Charcoal or wood/wood chips
What is your favorite way to preserve your food?
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