locavores; What are you preserving for the winter?

CharlottesWeb

I'm just getting started. So far I have frozen strawberries and strawberry puree, cherries, rhubarb and couple bags of green beans (definitely planning on lots more).

This weekend I'll start on freezing some corn.

I also want to freeze tomatoes, blueberries, peaches, pesto,....broccoli (does this freeze well?). And I want to can lots of tomato sauce.

What are doing? What do you have so far?

LargeMargeSentMe

Well, we picked TONS of strawberries, and I froze them for the "winter" but they are almost gone, lol, oops. 

I am hoping to go blueberry picking soon and freeze those.  

I am going to can tomatoes for the first time.  I figure we'll use those tons throughout the winter for soups.  

I'll probably freeze lots more random vegetables-- corn? peppers? onions?  I'm not sure!  

GRKaters

This is the first year we intend to save anything, really, and will start with u-pick organic blueberries and beans (if my plants yield anything). Maybe some organic peaches, too. I'd love to get more ambitious, but I know my own limitations, lol!

 

madladybride

well, I was going to can peaches (from the farmer's market), possibly can (or freeze) apples and maybe pears.

Just today we did 6 - 1 pint cans of pickles (my first canning experiment).

I wanted to do strawberries,but strawberry season is over in MD

NatashaMB

I have frozen strawberries and blueberris, and I made strawberry and blueberry freezer jam. I am also going to freeze green beans, corn, and pesto.

I would like to can peaches, pears, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and maybe salsa.   And applesauce in the fall.

I just got a food dehydrater, so I am hoping I can still get cherries, then I will freeze some and dry some.  I love dried cherries, so I am really hoping they turn out. 

spiritenergy

I have frozen:

rhubab

strawberries

currants

gooseberries

brocolli

cauliflower

peas

green beans

carrots

blueberries

raspberries

blackberries

corn

cherries

pesto

blueberry pie filling

I have canned:

mullberry jam

bar-le-duc 

maraschino cherries

blueberry syrup

blueberry and basil vinegar (in progress)

saurkraut (in progress)

I have dried:

blueberries

blueberry fruit leather

I plan to preserve:

tomatoes

peaches

apples 

pumpkin

Some items need to be boiled or dipped before freezing to keep them longer and to prevent discoloration.  I have been using Ball Blue Book: Guide to Home Canning and Freezing.

SuperGreen

That is awesome spirit!

To OP, yes you can freeze broccoli.  After you blanch it, spread it out on a baking sheet and freeze the sheet, this is called open-freezing.  If you freeze broccoli all together, you end up with an unappetizing green lump.

I have frozen:

broccoli
sugar snap peas
snow peas
asparagus
blueberries
tons of pesto
peas
lots of rolls and baugettes

I have canned:

20+ pints of strawberry jam (our whole year's supply)
cherries
peaches
pickles

I have dried:

strawberries
apricots
cherries
jalapenos
blueberries (these did not turn out too well, better to freeze them I think)

I will preserve:

more peaches
more pickles
more blueberries
carrots
onions
celery
corn
green beans
tomatoes
apples

I wrote out all the various preserving methods we use in another post here.