Arts of preserving partners to harvest> Kitchen skills extend life of produce

Now that the vegetable garden is yielding heavily, our attention turns away from the soil to the kitchen.

Preserving food is for some a joy, for others a chore. Regardless, we all preserve food for the same reasons — to economize, to become self-sufficient and to capture the essence of summer. Many of us preserve food because it means we know exactly how it was grown, what chemicals were used and how the produce was handled.

We have a lot more going for us than even our most recent ancestors. They had a hard job preserving food, especially meat. Thanks to advances in technology and many studies in the laboratory, we know why food goes bad. We know how to avoid spoilage through following steps in the preservation process.

As in all of nature, our food is subject to the processes of birth (or germination, in the case of plants), growth, death and decay. We nurture our crops in a sort of celebration of the first two processes, birth and growth. We do all we can to extend the life of our crops by growing indoors, using mulches and row covers in the garden and planting a succession of crops in one season. And when all is said and done, we try to make our crops immortal by preservation — skirting death and decay for at least a little while.

No matter what we do in the garden to work within the confines of our climate and short growing season, we are subject to nature. Some years we’re blessed with a bumper crop; others we are threatened with shortages.

Over the summer I’ve received questions from readers regarding preservation of the harvest. As the produce comes forth, mid-September seems like a good time to answer some of these questions.

Q: In a recent column you wrote about Swiss chard, a relative of the beet. I’ve grown beets for the greens not realizing that Swiss chard was bred for that purpose. I want to grow beets next year and know that I don’t like canned beets. Is there any other way to preserve them? D.A., Laconia, N.H.

A: As with most vegetables, the root of the beet may be frozen. The texture holds best if slices or wedges are parboiled or fully cooked and then placed in the freezer in a plastic bag or plastic container. Slices of the root may be dried or canned as well. Whole beets may be stored for some time packed in dry sand and stored in a cool, dry place.

For some, pickling is the only pleasurable way to partake of the beet. To pickle, wash the bulbous roots, then boil them in salted water. Use 1 ounce of salt per pint of water. Boil the slices or whole beets until tender. Pack the beets into sterilized jars and cover with cold spiced vinegar.

Q: I just read an article in a gardening magazine about growing mushrooms. Is there any way to preserve mushrooms that are either home-grown or store-bought? T.L., Milbridge

A: Drying mushrooms is a popular way of preserving them. If you don’t have a commercial dryer, air drying them on wire mesh in a hot place may prove successful for you. According to Pamela Dotter, author of the booklet, “Preserving Food,” mushrooms also may be canned and pickled. She gives a recipe for “mushroom ketchup,” which might appeal to some palates.

The ketchup contains 2 pounds mushrooms, 2 ounces salt, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon allspice berries, 10 cloves, small piece ginger root and 1 pint vinegar. She writes, “Roughly chop the mushrooms. Place them in a bowl and mix in the salt. Cover and leave overnight. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon and put in a saucepan. Crush the spices; add with the vinegar to the pan; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a nylon sieve into a jug; then bottle and seal while hot. Sterilize the bottles and label when cool.”

Q: I read somewhere that you can dry zinnia flowers in the microwave. True? P.B., Rockport

A: Yes, that’s true. In fact, several types of flowers dry best in the microwave. To dry, select fully opened flowers; cut the stem at the base of the flower head. Experiment with your microwave on some poor-quality flowers to see how long your machine takes to dry properly.

“Cook” the flowers for a while then let them sit out at room temperature for a few minutes, testing to see if they look and feel dry. If they don’t quite feel dry, put them in for a few more seconds, keeping track of the total amount of time you use to dry them. They are done when the petals feel dry but not fizzled from too much heat. Drying time will vary from machine to machine and flower to flower.

When dried in the microwave, flowers usually shrink in size considerably and usually darken in color.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, c/o MaineWeekend, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.