How to Preserve Food Without Canning and Freezing
While freezing and canning are two popular methods of preserving food, many others exist. Curing, drying and fermenting also are common, and require only a few simple ingredients. Salt-curing works well for meats, and, according to the homesteading experts at Sugar Mountain, can even add flavor. Drying works well for fruits, such as grapes (which become raisins) and plums (which become prunes), and helps maintain nutritional content. Fermenting works well with vegetables, especially when making sauerkraut and kimchi, and can offer digestion benefits. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Salt Curing
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1
Prepare a curing mix of noniodized salt, sugar and saltpeter. Some companies, such as Morton, sell premade blends. If creating the actual mixture at home, Sugar Mountain recommends a base amount of 4 lb. of salt, 3 oz. of saltpeter and 1.5 lb. of sugar.
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2
Coat meat in the correct amount of curing blend, which can be determined by the meat's weight. If you've created your own curing mix and are preparing ham, Sugar Mountain recommends 1.25 to 1.5 oz. of the mixture per pound. If curing bacon, use .75 to 1 oz.
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3
Store the meat in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, to allow the salt to penetrate evenly. Determine the correct curing time by the meat's weight and wait. Sugar Mountain recommends one and a half days of curing for each pound of meat.
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4
Rinse off the curing mix and store in the refrigerator for another one to three weeks. You will have successfully cured the meat.
Drying
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5
Use a dehydrator to dry your food; it's the easiest way to dry food at home. If you don't already have a dehydrator, you can purchase one online or at many department and natural food stores.
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6
Place food on the dehydrator shelves and turn it on. According to Preserve Food, the most important thing is to keep the fruit spaced apart by at least an eighth of an inch. Dehydrators differ, so proper time must be followed by consulting each model's manual.
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Remove dried food when the time is up, and turn off the dehydrator. You can eat the food right away or store it in containers.
Fermenting
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Consult a recipe book for proper fermentation time and vegetable-to-vinegar ratios of the food you wish to ferment. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, this is very important, as the wrong ratio could spoil the food and cause illness.
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9
Prepare a mixture of salt and vinegar. If making pickles, it is common to also mix in spices. Sauerkraut, however, usually produces enough juice to not require vinegar.
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Pour the salt and vinegar over a jar containing cucumbers, if making pickles. If making sauerkraut, work the salt mixture into the cabbage by hand.
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Cover, weigh down the jar, and store in a place between 70 and 75 degrees F, usually for three to four weeks.
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