Eat Fresh or Preserve?

[windwoman]

What do you do with your fruit and veggies--eat fresh or preserve? I just read DM's post about the "Last of the Garden". Hubby and I have been picking and pulling the last of our garden, and last night was our first hard freeze. My job has just begun! Now it's time to store in the root cellar, can, and freeze all that we cleaned out of the garden.

In the summertime, we're busy keeping up the garden and working jobs. We don't seem to eat much of it fresh. I try to can everything possible to put away for the rest of the year. If there's not enough of an item to fill a jar or bag, it becomes part of a meal. I know I really like to see all of those full jars and a full freezer!

[Smoky]

I do both. I garden for the fresh stuff. I only save what I can't eat fresh.

[Terri]

For me, flavor is all.

I do not try to can or freeze the string beans and such because I think the commercial ones tast fine. But, garden produce tastes 2000 miles fresher than the veggies that are shipped in.

Besides, growing a garden feeds the soul. ;D

I DO preserve what we cannot eat fresh.

[gypho]

Both. As much as possible. ;D

gypho

[humbug]

I try to eat fresh from the garden as much as I can. I store potatoes, onions, garlic and carrots. Sometimes cabbage if I have extra at the end of the season. I freeze summer squash, zucchini and most of my berries. I can corn, pickles,peas, green beans, peppers and tomatoes. I also make an assortment of jams every year. I prefer fresh, but this is not always possible.

[hillbilly_mom]

I preserve as much of it as I can. Usually when the garden is producing good it seems as if everything is coming off at the same time. So if I don't get it into the freezer or jars it would be wasted. Though tomatoes is a huge exception to that rule. I think we eat more fresh tomatoes than I "put up".

[leera]

I do both,but since our garden is not nearly large enough to support us all year,I shop produce stands too.

I can and freeze enough for the winter,and since it is only the two of us,I can only pints and half pints,so nothing gets wasted.

Everything I freeze,I put into meal sized portions and vacuumm seal,rather than use containers or the paper freezer wrap.

[MHinFox]

eat fresh, dehydrate, freeze and can. We grow most all of our own food for year plus lots for seminars we do and to share with friends and family. We like different foods preserved different ways for our own taste we like.

[bookwormom]

simple, eat fresh in season and canned during winter.