By Laura Tidrick

Interest in preserving food has increased this year. Canning supplies, specifically lids, are difficult (if not impossible) to come by. I personally can a variety of vegetables, jams, sauces and meat, and panicked when I couldn’t find lids in the stores. I have since found enough but for those who don’t have the supplies or would prefer not to can there are still a variety of ways to preserve all kinds of food.

Freezing is one of the easiest ways to save food for future use. When I don’t have the time to can tomatoes, I often freeze them in air tight containers or freezer bags and take them out in the winter when I have more time to make a large batch of sauce. A bonus of saving some canning for cold winter days is that you actually want the heat and humidity in your home vs a hot August day. A variety of foods can be frozen including herbs, greens, meats, vegetables and even eggs.

Short on freezer space? We often are as we raise pork and poultry and our freezers are generally full in the fall. Dehydrating is another great way to preserve food. We have a cheap dehydrator that makes all kinds of noise but we put it in the garage while it’s running and are able to dehydrate all kinds of things. One of our favorite things to dehydrate is mushrooms. We forage for morel mushrooms and also buy shiitake mushrooms from a local farmer.They dehydrate easily, and when allowed to set in a bowl of water they come to life again beautifully. They can also be added directly to a pot of stock as it’s boiling for extra flavor. Apples, other fruits, meat and many other things can be put in a dehydrator. Many herbs can be air dried easily too. I often tie up bunches of sage, oregano, parsley and other herbs and hang them in the basement or garage for later use.

Interested in learning more about preservation?  The Central Gardens of North Iowa holds a yearly “Preservation Celebration”. This years’ event will be held virtually on September 18th. Visit https://centralgardensnorthiowa.com/ for details