Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
from the zipper bag and immediately seal it in a vacuum
bag—the frozen juices then won't interfere with sealing. With
wild game such as squirrel or deer, I recommend soaking for
an hour in a light brine, as that removes some of the
“gaminess” from the meat.
Fruit is best frozen in a sugar syrup like used when canning.
Once the sugar is dissolved in the water, you can add 1/4
teaspoon of vitamin C or 2 teaspoons of lemon juice per pint
of syrup to prevent darkening. Slice or dice the fruit and put it
in a can or freeze jar or suitable plastic container and then
cover the fruit with syrup, leaving one inch of headspace to
allow for expansion in the freezer.
Dehydrating
Drying food is one of the oldest methods of food
preservation. By removing most of the moisture from foods,
enzymatic action and microbial growth are retarded, and the
food will keep for a long time. Food loses more nutritional
value from drying than from freezing, and dehydrated foods
will seldom reconstitute with water to look like appetizing
fresh produce. But even at that, dehydrated products make a
conveniently stored, tasty, and healthy addition to soups,
stews, and sauces. When my daughter was little, I used to
powder mixed dehydrated vegetables in a blender and stir that
powder into her spaghetti sauce so she'd get a mix of
vegetables without knowing it. She also loves dehydrated
apple rings as a snack, and other dehydrated fruits make a
great addition to oatmeal in the morning.
Just like vacuum sealers, dehydrators run the gamut from
inexpensive units available at department stores costing less
