In this presentation we explore how to plan menus from your garden or community supported agriculture share (CSA), and different preservation methods including canning, freezing, dehydrating, and fermenting to make sure that nothing goes to waste.

1. Making the most of
your CSA or Garden
Bounty
Small-scale harvest
preservation

2. Presented by: Sandi Smith
● Home Cook
● Fermenter
● Beekeeper
● Local Food Enthusiast
● Founder Paleo Greenville
● Wife of a Gardener
● Mother of 3

3. Making the Most of Your Bounty
Cooking and Eating from your CSA or Garden

4. Making the Most of Your CSA
● Identify what is in your box
● Prioritize what needs to be used first
● Research recipes for unfamiliar ingredients
● Plan your meals so nothing goes to waste
● Share with friends if you can’t get to all of it
The CSA shares shown here are from our friends at
Crescent Farm in Clinton, SC.
The top picture is from May and the bottom from July.
Note how much the contents change with the season.

5. Garden Produce
● Much of your garden produce is
determined in the planning stage.
● How many cabbages will your family eat
in a 2 week period drives your
succession planting plan.
● Some weeks you will only have a portion
or 2 of green beans, some weeks you
will have a 36 gallon tote full and more
zucchini than you can give away.
● Plan your garden with your meals and
preserving in mind
○ Eat as much as you can fresh
○ Don’t plant food you don’t like!

6. Selecting a Recipe
● What is the main ingredient you’re
working with?
● What are your pantry items?
● Select recipe
○ Vegan recipes great for vegetables
○ Recipes should be specific
○ Offer visual or sensory cues; not just time
○ Read the comments
● Keep your own notes of what worked,
what didn’t and if your family liked the
dish.
Tips for finding a good recipe are available on The Kitchin http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-writers-tell-us-
how-to-spot-reliable-recipes-on-the-internet-218629

7. Putting it all together
● You have your garden fresh or CSA
produce
● You’ve selected your recipes and pantry
items
● You’ve planned your meals and done
any necessary grocery shopping
● Now it’s time to cook and eat your local,
delicious, food.

8. Preserving the Harvest

9. Freezing
● Good for a variety of fruits, vegetables,
and herbs
● Doesn’t require any special equipment
● Blanching required for most vegetables
● Blanching stops enzyme actions which
can cause loss of flavor, color and
texture.
● http://nchfp.uga.
edu/how/freeze/blanching.html
Methods
● Water Blanch (look for specific times)
● Steam Blanch (Broccoli, mushrooms, squash)
● Microwave Blanch (not recommended)
● Cool ice bath or running water below 60०
● Drain thoroughly
Examples of Blanching Times
● Asparagus (Med Stalk) 3 minutes
● Okra 3 minutes
● Peas 1.5 minutes
● Greens 2 minutes
● Collards 3 minutes

10. Blanching Wax Beans
Washed and stemmed
Blanching and ice bath
Cooling and draining

11. 10lbs of wax beans yielded 9 qt freezer bags

12. Freezing Herbs
Herbs can be frozen in water or oil.
Freeze in consistent volumes, e.g. 1
tsp or 1 tbl so you can easily use later

13. Freezing Fruit
Fruit does not need to be blanched
Gather lots of fruit in season to have
delicious, local fruit year round
Arrange on trays and freeze individual pieces
then transfer to storage bags or containers.

14. Canning
There are two types of canning
Water bath canning
The presence of acid prevents the growth of toxic bacteria.
○ High Acid Foods, e.g. tomatoes, citrus
○ Jams and Jellies
○ Pie filling
○ Salsa
○ Pickles
Pressure canning
Temperature must reach 240० to kill toxic bacteria
○ REQUIRED for low acid foods
○ Most vegetables
○ Soups, Broth, Stews
○ Sauces
○ Meat, Fish, Poultry
Illustration from The United States Dept. of Agriculture

15. Water Bath Canning Bread & Butter Pickles
Slice cucumber and onion
Brine in pickling salt

16. Water Bath Canning Bread & Butter Pickles
● Pack pickles into hot jars
● Ladle the boiling vinegar sugar mix
● Check head space
● Wipe jars before securing 2 piece lid

17. Water Bath Canning Bread & Butter Pickles
Process jars for the
recommended amount
of time from a trusted
source (USDA, University
Extension, Most Recent Ball
Blue Book)
Allow jars to cool
undisturbed. You will
hear a “pop” as the lid
seals.

18. Water Bath Canning Tomatoes
Blanch tomatoes to slip the skins
Seed and Chop to desired texture
Add lemon juice to ensure acidity
Salt is optional

19. Water Bath Canning Grape Jelly

20. Small Batch Canning
There are many benefits to small batch canning
● More variety
● Less to store
● Make use of smaller quantities of produce
Small Batch Resources
Urban Preserving: Real Life Canning for Small
Servings, by Marissa McClellan
The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving, by
Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard
www.foodinjars.com

21. Water Bath Products

22. Pressure Canning
● Each pressure canner is a little different
read the manufacturer's instructions for
your canner
● Pressure canners surround jars with
superheated steam at 240 degrees
● When canner gets up to designated
pressure start timing. When time is up
wait for pressure to come down
completely or water may be sucked out
of jars.
● Leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours.
The length of time and pressure
specified for canning is based on how
long it takes for heat to fully penetrate
a food in a particular size jar. If a
mixture is being canned (e.g., stew)
then the time is based on the
ingredient with the longest time.

23. Pressure Canning Green Beans

24. Pressure Canning

25. Pressure Canning Products

26. Drying
Drying or dehydrating removes 80-90% of the
water in foods which helps prohibit
microorganisms that cause spoilage
Several different methods
● Smoking
● Oven drying
● Air-drying
● Dehydrator
Good for portable snacks
● Lightweight
● No refrigeration required

27. Dehydrating: Beef Jerky

28. Dehydrating Sweet Potato Chips
http://detoxinista.com/2012/03/sweet-potato-chips-two-ways/

29. Fermenting
● Microscopic organisms transform food
and extend its usefulness.
● Fermentation is found throughout
human cultures.
● Fermentation makes foods more
nutritious, as well as delicious.
● Hundreds of medical and scientific
studies confirm what folklore has always
known: Fermented foods help people
stay healthy.
Many of your favorite foods and drinks are
probably fermented. For instance:
● Bread
● Cheese,
● Wine, Beer, Mead, Cider
● Pickles
● Sauerkraut
● Kimchi
● Salami
● Miso
● Tempeh
● Soy Sauce
● Vinegar
● Yogurt
● Kefir
● Kombucha

30. Fermenting Fruits and Veggies

31. Apple Scrap Vinegar

32. Fermented Drinks Kombucha

33. Fermented Drinks Tepache

34. Questions?
Contact: Sandi Smith
Email: sandi@paleogreenville.com
Website & Farm Search paleogreenville.com
Facebook.com/PaleoGreenville