Only freshest, high quality for preserving?

[jhnpldng]

I see that in all the canning and dehydrating instructions they specify using the best stuff and make it sound like it's preferable that it came from the garden 10 minutes ago.
Does anyone else save things from having to become trash or compost by preserving them a few days before they would be bad? I realize that high quality input makes high quality output but are these instructions just over precautionary for safety's sake?

[BonnyLake]

When I make applesauce it is made with low quality apples; putting it mildly :rolleyes: same with jams and preserves because the grade-A stuff gets frozen for whole fruit recipes later on.

I also know that in the agri-community; very low grade produce goes into cans and jars when mixed with other ingredients, aka - soups, stews, salsa, etc. - when I was a broker there was a huge market for just the 'under grade' items. You would gag to see what goes into the processing of tomatoes for ketchup and the berries used in jams and it's evidently ok because they don't get shut down for their practices - but everything is cooked under high pressure and into sterilized containers, so thats what we can do at home too.

You are right - Instructions are for the best outcomes, but in reality; I've never had an issue with using bruised pears, apples, peaches, etc. in my jars - I just make sure that there is nothing with mold on it or damage that would cause any type of decay. I also pre-soak the fruits & veggies in a 'white vinegar & cold water' bath - that gets rid of lots of the micro-organisms that are even on the show-pieces. I also pressure can almost everything instead of waterbath method... not sure if that's why - it's just what grannie used to do ;)

[NCLee]

Agree with Bonny that if it's pressure canned @ 240 degrees for enough time to kill the spores that can kill us, then just about anything is safe to eat.

Other preserving methods may not be as safe and/or may fail if the produce is too far gone. Dehydrating doesn't remove all mold spores. Can just send them into hybernation. If there's too heavy an accumulation, the possibility exists that they'll go into "overdrive" when the food is rehydrated. Especially if it isn't thorougly cooked.

If memory serves, some pickle recipes depend on the freshness of the cucumbers to have an acceptable end product.

Then, the question arises, IMHO, of weighing the cost of preserving vs the dollar value of the food being preserved. This is in terms of your post. If you have some xyz left over that's getting close to being tossed from the kitchen, is it worth saving? Jars, lids, energy needed to wash jars and run the canner, etc. Especially considering that there's been some nutritional loss, as xyz aged. (Varies by item and storage conditions.)

In summary, it, IMHO, becomes a common sense judgement type call based on all the factors involved for any given item. If I'm pressure canning, I simply ask myself the question... would I eat (cook) this right now? If the answer is no, it doesn't go into the canner. Example: would I cut off the bad spot on this apple and eat the rest? Would I run the canner for 2 pints of corn that's a week old? (My answer to this one is no, BTW.)

For other preserving methods, I use a little more strict approach, but it still boils down to that same question. And, one more rule, over all. When in doubt, throw it out.

Just some thoughts that may be helpful. Hope so.

Lee

[jhnpldng]

Yeah I kind of what I figured. The thing that made me think of it was some taters I dried yesterday and today. Still fully edible but starting to lose firmness and had a few eyes and sprouts. Only thing they would not have been (as) good for would be french fries. I peeled, and got rid of any sprouts, washed, sliced, dipped in ascorbic acid solution and blanched them before drying so should be no problem for making scalloped or au gratin in a few months. I've got flakes for mashed taters.

I also canned some carrots and green beans that were fine but I know how long they last and the kids were gone for the week so I wanted to do something with them. Green beans were on there way out but any that were already wrinkled got tossed.

Most of this stuff will end up in soups, casseroles, one dish meals etc.

Besides, when I actually start growing stuff this year, I'll be saving the best stuff for next years seeds.

[Emerald]

I don't have a problem with using sub-par produce at all for canning & dehydrating. As long as it's not molded, I cut off any bad spots. I do save some items from the compost pail by dehydrating, for ex. celery leaves & tough stalks can be dehydrated & ground to powder to use as seasoning. Cucumbers to make pickles are they only thing I have found to be better if you can pick them & use ASAP. Anything for jelly/jams is fine. In a perfect world, all my fruits would be blemish free and my veggies would have no insects bothering them and I wouldn't drop a pear & bruise it & it would all look like a magazine cover, but I don't live in a perfect world so I make the best out of what I get. I hardly ever have time to can something immediately after I pick it. I wish I did!

[Dame]

Whenever possible I plant too much of everything in my garden. That way I do not need everything to do well, and it is very accomodating with not doing well some years. On good years I end up with way too much, and on poor years with less than I had hoped for. Canning/dehydrating/freezing the excess for latter in the same year or for future years is where the real cost savings accumulate.

The result is that when there is a good year for say tomatoes, I simply cannot get to them when the timeing is ideal. Some of them I cannot get to at all. For the ones I cannot get too at all, there is chicken treats. Chickens compost most fruits and vegetables well and much quicker than the compost pile as we have frozen compost for 4-6 months most years.

Taking notes on the quality of each batch processed is usefull. The really good stuff, preserved from fresh, prime condition produce carefully taking my time is the really long term storage food (years) The less ideal the food and the preserving conditions the sooner it needs to be used. I also like to use glass lids with rubber rings for really long term storage, particularly for canning high acid foods or meats.

[BigOBear]

Piggybacking on the original question and some of the answers - Assuming you can't get to canning right away, where/how/and what tips or tricks do yall have for storing your garden and orchard produce between picking and preserving to keep it as fresh as possible for when you do get time to preserve it?

[NCLee]

Number 1.....
Do everything possible to put canning at the very top of the to-do list. If it can wait (whatever it is) when stuff in the garden can't wait any longer, it's put on hold till the canning is done.

Others......
If time is an issue, leave the produce in the garden, as long as possible before picking it. Some things will hold longer than others, but most only have a few days once they near maturity.

Pick early in the morning before the heat of the day has been absorbed into the produce.

Prep to the extent possible in the available time, then store in the refrigerator to finish the next day.

Freeze it for canning later. This can be a big timer saver for things that'll hold until the main summer canning season is over.

Don't sweat the things that can wait a while. Leave the potatoes and carrots in the ground until you can get to them.

Consider other preserving methods, too. Dehydrating is one. Prep the food for dehydrating. Fill the dehydrator. Then do something else till times comes to empty the dehydrator. Freezing, instead of canning, is also an option. However, I'm trying to move away from as much reliance on this method, as I used to do. (Longer shelf life, reduced storage cost, and no fear of losing what's in the freezer due to power loss, mechanical failure, or someone leaving the door open.)

And, don't forget number 1. The laundry can wait. Family can eat peanut butter sandwiches for supper. Kids can skip one soccer practice session. If it's can it or lose it, canning comes first, if at all possible.

In closing, sometimes you've simply gotta do what you've gotta do. More than once I've turned off the canner well after midnight. Then went to work the next day.

Lee

[Emerald]

I agree with everything NCLee said. One of my biggest time savers is to freeze fruit until I have time to deal with it. Another reason this works well is that your fruit will not ripen all at once and you can do one "big" canning session instead of several small when you have enough time & fruit. At least for me that is how I prefer to do it. It takes just as much time & effort to can a quart of peach pie filling as it does to make 7 so I would just as soon do 7. I also puree my tomatoes and freeze juice/sauce until I have enough to can a big batch. Another thing to consider is when you plant. Some things you can space planting so that everything isn't ready at once and the same holds true for planting a lot at once. I try to do this with my cucumbers because I want a bunch ready at the same time to do pickles. I can never get this to work perfectly, of course, but overripe cukes & zucchini make excellent relishes. Over time you will just learn to work with what you have. Two years ago, my cukes did amazing and I had tons of pickles (which I am still using), but last year they didn't do so well and I only used them fresh & didn't can any. Every year something does better and you have a surplus so it usually all works out in the end.