The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home - Janet Chadwick [31]
remove stem and membrane
tray-freeze
pack in freezer bags
Tray-Freezing Peppers Whole or in Halves
Best and quickest method
Wash; cut out stem end, seed pod, and white membrane.
Tray-freeze whole or cut in half.
Package frozen peppers within 12 to 24 hours.
cooking tip Whole or half peppers pre pared this way can be stuffed and baked; or sliced, diced, or ground from the frozen state, as needed.
Drying Diced Peppers
Excellent finished product
Wash; cut out stem end, seed pod, and white membrane. Dice or chop.
Dry in a dehydrator at 120°F for 8 to 12 hours, stirring occasionally and rotating trays once or twice. Or dry in a conventional oven at 120°F for 18 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally and rotating trays once, until leathery with no moisture inside.
Cool and package in airtight containers.
POTATOES
POTATOES FOR WINTER keeping should not be dug until the tops die off. Once the tops have died, pull the tops from the ground 10 days before digging. This will prevent diseases from starting that could destroy the tubers. Do not wash potatoes before storing. After digging potatoes, store at normal temperatures (60°F to 75°F) for 10 to 14 days to let the skins dry out enough to prevent moisture loss. The storage area should be protected from light as much as possible; otherwise, potatoes will develop solanine (manifested as a green coloring on the surface), and this condition can cause illness.
If you do a lot of backpacking, you may want to consider drying some of your potato harvest. Dried potatoes must be watched carefully, however, for any hint of moisture will cause the entire batch to mold. To use, pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of dried potatoes. Cook 45 to 50 minutes for boiled potatoes or hash browns. One cup dried potatoes yields 1 to 1½ cups cooked potatoes.
Storing in a Root Cellar
Best method
Potatoes are easily stored in open boxes, crates, or bins in the warmer area of your root cellar (approximately 40°F) or any cool, dark room or outbuilding. Potatoes stored below 38°F decline in starch and increase in sugar, which destroys their keeping and cooking qualities.
Do not store potatoes in the same root cellar as apples, unless both products are in well-covered containers and the room is well ventilated.
store potatoes in crate
Drying Potatoes
Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into ½-inch shoestring strips or -inch slices.
Dry in a dehydrator at 120°F for 12 to 18 hours, turning pieces occasionally, until brittle and semitransparent. Or dry in a conventional oven at 120°F for 18 to 24 hours, turning occasionally and rotating trays once, until brittle.
Cool and package in airtight containers.
SUMMER SQUASH
SUMMER SQUASH IS BEST EATEN DRIED; try it as a snack with a dip, or chop and add directly to salads.
If you can’t preserve right away, do not wash the squash. Store by one of the methods suggested in chapter 2.
tips Squash can be sliced ½ inch thick and tray-frozen, unblanched, to be breaded or flour-coated and fried. Do not defrost squash before frying.
Squash to be frozen, dried, or pickled should be harvested when it is small and firm, and the seeds are underdeveloped. Zucchini is at its best when it is 6 to 10 inches long; yellow types, 5 to 7 inches long; and scallop types, about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Squash grows fast and should not be allowed to remain on the vine past the time it reaches proper size.
Zucchini can be grated and frozen for fruit breads, cookies, and muffins. When defrosting, squeeze the moisture out of squash before measuring and adding to recipe.
Drying Squash Chips
Wash and cut into ½-inch slices; do not peel.
Dry in a dehydrator at 120°F for 6 to 8 hours, turning once, until crisp. Or dry in a conventional oven at 120°F for 6 to 8 hours, until crisp.
Cool and package in airtight containers.
Freezing Unblanched Squash Slices
Best