One Step Back - Preserve it!

One Step Back:

Apples freeze beautifully for cooking (they get soft during the freezing process). You can use them in desserts, sauces, or add them to your pan when you roast a pork tenderloin (you know..."pork chawwwps and apple sawwwce").  I wash the apples, slice or cut into 1 inch chunks, discard the core, toss with the juice of a lemon (8-10 apples to one lemon).  Pack in to a gallon freezer bag or other freezer container and freeze. Apples dehydrate beautifully. I toss the slices with a bit of lemon juice to help prevent browning and then dehydrate according to your machine's directions. There are a few apple varieties that store well raw in a cool, dry environment.  This is how orchardists get apples to the general public year round. The orchards send their apples to a cold storage warehouse and the apples are stored in a low oxygen environment with a temperature just above freezing. This does not produce the greatest tasting product, but it brings us apples throughout the year.

Carrots: wash, chop into ½ inch pieces and blanch for 3 minutes.  Small carrots can be frozen whole. Just wash, peel and blanch for 5 minutes.  In both instances, cool in an ice bath, drain and packs into freezer containers. Seal, label & freeze.

Celery: wash, chop into 1/2 inch pieces, blanch for 2 minutes. Cool in an ice bath, drain and freeze in zip top bags. These will not be crisp when you thaw them out but they are great for cooking.  Celery can also be diced and dehydrated. 

Herbs:

When herbs are prolific or if you buy a big bunch at the market, wash, dry and trim what you need and then pull off the rest of the leaves (and sometimes their stems) and give them a quick whiz in your food processor with a couple tablespoons of water or chop them finely with a knife. Put a spoonful of chopped herbs in each cell of an ice cube tray (about 2/3 of the way up) and then top each off with water. Freeze until firm in your freezer and then pop them out and store them in a zip to freezer bag. This will provide fabulous flavor in tablespoon servings throughout the winter months and no wasting of all those herbs.

Onions: wash, chop into 1/2 inch pieces, blanch for 2 minutes. Cool in an ice bath, drain and freeze in zip top bags. These will not be crisp when you thaw them out but they are great for cooking.  Many onions will store quite well in a cool dry space or they can be sliced and dehydrated. 

Definitions:

Blanch: To dip vegetables or fruit in boiling water or steam to slow the action of enzymes.  You can also blanch to loosen the skin of fruits and vegetables for easier peeling (i.e. tomatoes, peaches)