Food Storage

Freezer Meals Plus Organizing and Cleaning Your Freezer

Food Storage, Household Tips 6 Responses »

Feb 212013

Freezer meals can be dishes made specifically for the freezer (as with Once-a-Week Cooking or Once-a-Month Cooking) or simply leftovers saved for another day. Whichever style you prefer, keeping your freezer well stocked, clean and organized can be a great way to save time and money. You could put these savings towards additional food storage, a rainy day fund, or necessities like health insurance.

Home made frozen meals are also healthier than prepackaged foods, since you control the ingredients. Mass produced foods are packed full of artificial preservatives, colors and additives which are not good for the body. With a well-stocked freezer, you’ll be less tempted to grab fast food when you don’t feel like cooking (or don’t have time to cook). Continue reading »

Comparison of Jarden Metal Lids and Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

Food Storage 23 Responses »

Jul 282012

I’ve never seen a full side-by-side comparison of Jarden Metal Lids and Tattler Reusable Canning lids, so I thought I’d do a little digging and see what I could find. I know a lot of folks swear by one or the other, or use both, depending on what they’re canning (for instance, they may not use Tattlers on jars they plan to give as gifts).

Most Tattler reviews I’ve seen give little or no technical or background information, and the metal lids have been around so long no one “reviews” them anymore, although there has been a lot of buzz in recent years about their BPA content. I sent email questionnaires to both Jarden and Tattler. Jarden representative Judy L. Harrold, Manager, Consumer Affairs, responded quickly, and we also arranged a phone interview. Tattler declined to comment, so I pieced together information from their website and other online sources (as noted). Here are the results. My questions are in bold, responses in plain text. Continue reading »

Rhubarb Sauce for Canning – Rhubarb-B-Q Sauce and Rhubarb-Orange Compote

Food Storage, Recipes 1 Response »

Jun 162012

When rhubarb is in abundance, it’s a great time to preserve some of the bounty. This spring I made up two types of rhubarb sauce for canning; a batch of savory rhubarb Victoria sauce (left), which is basically a rhubarb barbeque sauce, and some rhubarb-orange compote (right). Unique and flavorful, these recipes are great for gift giving or to save a bit of springtime for your own use. Continue reading »

Getting Started with Home Food Drying

Food Storage, Getting Started 11 Responses »

Feb 182012

Want an easy way to store and preserve food? Need a food storage method that doesn’t take up much space and requires very little equipment? Want to make healthier snacks for your family to enjoy at home or on the go? Looking for portable food for camping or backpacking? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should learn about home food drying.

What Equipment Do I Need to Dehydrate Food at Home? Continue reading »

Getting Started with Home Canning

Food Storage 23 Responses »

Jan 262012

As I was growing up, I remember mountains of produce and days spent processing enough food to keep our family of 8 through the winter. Mom didn’t have air conditioning or even a ceiling fan. It was hot work and long days. Both my mom and my grandmother kept their canned goods stashed in a dark, cool corner of the basement, away from the wood stove. Mom told me that her mom used to do all her canning on the wood cook stove. Every fall they’d butcher and can up a mess of pork and chicken, along with the garden produce during the season (no freezers or refrigerators available back then). Mom was a little girl during the Great Depression and WWII. Before she passed we talked about the “ration points” mentioned in the poster above – she still had some tucked away in a bureau. Continue reading »

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