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Make Nature's Bounty Last Through the Winter Months

October 1, 2008

LOCAL PICKS
Make nature's bounty last through the winter months

By Denise Miller
For the Journal

When it comes to putting up food for the winter, I sometimes wonder if I was an army cook or a squirrel in a former life.

My husband chuckles at me. The boys barely notice. My daughter loves to help.

My urge to stockpile for winter starts in September when I see piles of beautiful produce at growers' markets. The urge continues through the first frost when many seasonal favorites take their hiatus.

Because my family's tiny garden barely produces enough for us to eat during the season, I rely on letting others do what they do best -- growing the food -- and I do what I am much better at -- collecting, storing and cooking it.

Depending on the region of New Mexico, October is the beginning of the end of the growing season. Nightly temperature swings into the freezing zone start in earnest, and the lifespan of summer produce is cut short.

While light frost brings out the sugars in crops such as beets, carrots and apples, it will kill tender fruits and vegetables like summer squash, basil and berries.

Once the hard frost occurs -- when the air and soil drop below freezing -- most everything else also will be done for the season.

Some cool weather crops like spinach, chard, carrots, beets and winter squash are hitting their stride, but to get the last of this season's tender produce into the freezer, head to the closest growers' market.

Foods can be preserved for the winter through canning, pickling, fermenting and freezing. For me, freezing is by far the easiest, and it maintains color, flavor and texture of foods.

All a person needs is extra freezer space and containers or freezer-quality plastic bags.

Investing in a stand-alone freezer is worth every penny of extra freezing capacity. We bought a used one more than a decade ago for $50, and it is still humming along.

If the freezer isn't a frostfree model, don't let frost accumulate on the walls and shelves. Unplugging and defrosting it before the frost buildup becomes ¼-inch thick will help it maintain a proper temperature and use less electricity.

Prepping food for the freezer is easy, though a little time consuming. My last purchase of 12 pounds of beans took about 45 minutes to trim and 30 minutes to blanch and bag. Not bad considering how long the beans will last.

Most fruit and vegetables will store well in the freezer for about four to six months. Of course, stews, sauces and soups can be frozen for future meals.

Some foods don't freeze well, like greens with a high water content or raw potatoes high in starch. But raw potatoes can be frozen if a cream or cheese sauce is added to help stabilize them.

Enjoying the season's harvest well into the chilly months of winter takes just a little planning, a bit of time and a few heaping piles of fresh New Mexico grown produce.

Don't forget to blanch

Most vegetables must be blanched before freezing. This inactivates enzymes in the veggies so they don't lose quality in the freezer.

To blanch, boil a large pot of water and immerse the vegetables. Drain and rinse under cold water or put in an ice bath to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry. Let veggies cool. Pack them in freezer bags or containers.

Keep flavor, color and nutrients by removing air from the packaging. Fill a rigid container nearly to the top. Label and date. Freeze up to six months.

Beans, green. Leave whole or cut into thirds. Blanch for 3 minutes.

Beets. Steam whole baby beets or sliced beets for 10 minutes, or until tender. Slip off peels and discard.

Berries. Separate berries on cookie tray to flash-freeze. After 1-3 hours, place in plastic bags and berries won't stick together.

Broccoli. Break into florets. Blanch for 3 minutes.

Carrots. Slice. Blanch for 2 minutes.

Corn. Blanch whole ears for 3 minutes, cool, then cut kernels off the cobs, and pack.

Peppers, sweet. Halve and roast. Remove seeds, place cut side down on a broiler pan, broil 4" from the heat until blistered. Transfer to a paper bag, close and set aside for 15 minutes. Peel off skin and discard.

Peppers, chile. Most markets will roast chiles. To roast small quantities at home, follow sweet pepper directions. People with sensitive skin should wear plastic gloves to avoid contact of oil on skin. Split open under water, remove seeds, drain and pack.

Tomatoes. Place in water for 30 seconds then remove with slotted spoon into a sink of cold water. Peel, then pack whole.

-- Denise Miller