Four New Books Explore Food Preservation
Freeze Fresh: The Ultimate Guide to Preserving 55 Fruits and Vegetables for Maximum Flavor and Versatility
BY CRYSTAL SCHMIDT
(Storey Publishing, July 2022)
IT’S CLEAR FROM the start: Author Crystal Schmidt wants you to succeed. She seems determined to lay solid groundwork for readers to savor their favorite garden flavors even during the darkest doldrums of winter.
Schmidt not only covers the most basic tenets—why freezing makes sense, the science behind it and the techniques available—but she also gives priceless hands-on tips that could save a novice countless trial and error efforts, including tips for washing and blanching produce prior to freezing and which containers and supplies are worth the investment. She even breaks down freezer styles to consider, along with best storage practices, before getting into some of the fun parts—like how to make baked desserts using frozen fruit.
“My preferred method for using frozen food [in pie, crisp or cobbler] is to cook the filling before baking,” writes Schmidt, directing readers where in the book to find specific measurements before continuing, “this technique can be adapted to many types and combinations of fruit and baked goods, so feel free to experiment!”
Schmidt then explores freezing specific produce, from A (freezing and cooking and baking with raw apple slices) to Z (working with frozen shredded zucchini) and just about everything in between (hello, bok choy), all along giving the sense that she’s in your corner. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
“As one of the most thorough people I know and an incredible cook, Crystal is the perfect person to write a preserving and recipe book. I trust that if I follow her instructions on how to make anything, it will be successful and taste heavenly,” writes Eve Kilcher, co-star of “Alaska: The Last Frontier” and author of Homestead Kitchen, in the intro, adding that “there are few comprehensive resources for preserving food through freezing, and this book fills a huge gap.”
The Preserving Answer Book: Expert Tips, Techniques, and Best Methods for Preserving All Your Favorite Foods
BY SHERRI BROOKS VINTON
(Storey Publishing, March 2021)
AUTHOR SHERRI BROOKS Vinton may not have all the answers … but then again, she might come pretty close.
“Eaters all across the country have reached out with their preserving questions, concerns, and triumphs,” writes Vinton in the introduction. “This book is by no means an exhaustive overview of all food preservation processes. It does, however, aim to answer the most frequently asked questions about putting up your own produce. Consider it a hit list of the problems and solutions that many home preservers face when drying, freezing, fermenting, infusing, and canning their food.”
Like Schmidt in Freeze Fresh, Vinton starts with the basics—why preserve and how to do so safely—and works to make the act of food preservation feel less daunting. Along the way, she poses (and then answers) countless questions: What are the most common causes of food contamination? How can I tell if my food is contaminated? What is the difference between fresh dill and dill weed?
Chapters cover preserving processes— the boiling water method, pressure canning, refrigerator/freezer and fermentation and even infusions—plus related topics including which vinegars work best for pickling and what a canning porch is. Throughout the book, Vinton peppers kitchen tips—what is cheesecloth?—with sketches and recipes and useful bits of information, including a glossary of salt and how to stock a canning pantry, all while answering those questions that somehow found their way to her inbox.
“Q: I have some grapevines in my backyard. Can I pickle the leaves?”
“A: Absolutely! Pickled grape leaves are delicious when stuffed with all manner of different fillings. The best leaves to use are the young, tender spring leaves,” writes Vinton, recommending the more succulent white grape variety. “The best way to preserve them is to ferment them. Make a stack of 12 leaves and roll them up like a cigar. Repeat with 24 leaves to make 2 more rolls, packing them in a clean quart glass jar as you go. Submerge them under a simple brine of 1 scant tablespoon of kosher salt dissolved in each 1 cup of water. Weight down with a small jar and cover with a tea towel. Allow to ferment until the leaves are pliable and tangy, about 1 week. Refrigerate until ready to use.”
The Complete Guide to Seed & Nut Oils: Growing, Foraging, and Pressing
BY BEVIN COHEN
(New Society Publishers, April 2022)
IN THE PREFACE, Bevin Cohen opens The Complete Guide to Seed & Nut Oils: Growing, Foraging, and Pressing by painting a picture of abundant goods filling grocery store aisles, then quickly reminds readers that behind each bottle and box is a maker—whether a grower or a producer—who laboriously cultivated, harvested and processed crops for food to reach those shelves.
“We see the daily struggles of the farmer, battling the elements to ensure a fruitful season. We see the processor, crafting raw ingredients into viable commercial products. We see, and are acutely aware of, the sheer amount of resources that are spent, exploited and are too often wasted in a desperate attempt to keep these shelves filled with a myriad of choices.”
Cohen only briefly laments about consumerism’s overreach before he shares what his personal journey has meant to him, and how, as a practicing herbalist, he is keenly aware of a dependency that stretched beyond his own homestead. This book is his way to help others take their own journey toward making oils, yes, but also, it seems, to make mindful decisions.
He then dives into the nitty gritty of the book with a brief history of plant-based oils, providing a how-to guide about small-scale production, tools needed—from a manual expeller oil press to a tabletop motorized oil press—to filters and bottling.
With illustrations by Alicia Mann, as well as photos, Cohen takes readers through the steps: planting and growing, post-harvest processing, storage and uses. He shares the history behind oil extraction and a how-to guide for small-scale production before breaking down oilseed crops from planting and growing almonds—plus processing and uses—all the way to walnuts. Near the end, Cohen also reminds readers about other seeds and nuts worth considering, including amaranth and coriander.
To read more about Bevin Cohen, go to page 44.
Our Fermented Lives: A History of How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures & Communities
BY JULIA SKINNER
(Storey Publishing, September 27, 2022)
BORN OUT OF a weeklong residency author Julia Skinner had with fermentation guru Sandor Katz, Our Fermented Lives: A History of How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures & Communities explores “fermentation’s path through human history,” writes Skinner in the author’s note.
The transformative experience eventually led her to research and write this book and to found Root, a restaurant consulting business centered on food history and fermentation as well as food waste.
“Fermentation equals community, both in a microbiological sense and through the human connections built by this style of preparation,” she writes, adding that it “relies entirely on relationship: the relationship between the maker and the microbes, and between the microbes themselves.”
“Perhaps it is because fermentation necessitates this relationship between microbe and human that people are drawn to it—and drawn to others who are fermenting. More than any other preparation method I’ve engaged in, fermentation builds a community of enthusiasts who are curious and hungry for new knowledge—and hungry not only to learn, but to learn from each other.”
Food origins and fermentation’s place in communities are central in Skinner’s tome. She also shares favorite recipes—turmeric, lavender and honey ferment sounds particularly tempting— before diving into chapters about what fermentation is, its various classifications and its extensive history, including fermentation’s influence on cultures, places and trade. Skinner also covers how food preservation meant food security for early humans, and continues to do so today, as an important tool for lessening food waste.
