The best part of gardening is opening a jar of last August in January. These are my notes on preservation along with the numbers I tend to need to look up.

Quick Reference

These are some of the most common numbers and ratios I find myself referencing when preserving food. For more detailed information, please refer to a trustworthy source.

Canning Safely: 4.6

Low-acid foods have pH values higher than 4.6. These include meat, seafood, poultry, and vegetables except for most tomatoes. Acidic foods have a pH of 4.6 or lower. These include most fruits, pickles, sauerkraut, jams, jellies, marmalades, and fruit butters.

Although tomatoes usually are considered an acid food, some have pH values slightly above 4.6. Figs also have pH values slightly above 4.6. Therefore, if they are to be canned as acidic foods, these products must be acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower with lemon juice or citric acid.

Avoiding Botulism: Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at boiling-water temperatures; the higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed. All low-acid foods should be sterilized at temperatures of 240° to 250°F, attainable with pressure canners operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions and recipe (taking altitude into account). At temperatures of 240° to 250°F, the time needed to destroy bacteria in low-acid canned food ranges from 20 to 100 minutes.

Fermentation Salt Ratios: 2% or 5%

Salt is the whole ballgame in fermenting: too little and it spoils, too much and nothing ferments. My two rules of thumb:

Brine: If you are submerging your substrate in a brine, a general rule of thumb is to create a 5% salt solution. This means 5 grams of (non-iodized) salt per 100 grams of water. For example, if you are making a brine with 1 liter (1000 grams) of water, you would use 50 grams of salt.

Dry Salt: If you are salting your substrate directly, a general rule of thumb is to use 2% salt by weight of the vegetables. This means 2 grams of (non-iodized) salt per 100 grams of vegetables. For example, if you are fermenting 1 kilogram (1000 grams) of vegetables, you would use 20 grams of salt.

General Links & Books

• National Center for Home Food Preservation – comprehensive, safe, and peer-reviewed information on all methods of food preservation

Safe Canning

Botulism doesn’t care how confident you feel. Use tested recipes (USDA/NCHFP) and don’t improvise on low-acid foods. Here are some trusted resources for canning recipes:

• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Ball Canning Recipes
• Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving – usually available where canning supplies are sold.
• The manual to your pressure canner, which should include tested recipes and instructions for safe use.

Fermenting

• Brad Leone on YouTube: @BradLeone or appearances on Bon Appétit
• Nourished Kitchen: Drinks, Vegetables, Fruit
• Ferment from Scratch: Slow Down, Make Food to Last by Mark Diacono
• The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz
• Lacto Fermentation Brine Calculator
• Fizzy, Flavorful Kombucha

Cultured Dairy

• Nourished Kitchen
• Yogurt by incubation strategy:
  • Warm oven
  • Instant pot
• Instant pot cashew yogurt

My Favorite Recipes

Made these. Loved these. You will too.

Canning

• Roasted Tomato-Lime Salsa (America’s Test Kitchen; sadly paywalled but you can print it)
• Kosher Dill Pickle Spears (Ball Canning; free recipe)
• Curried Apple Chutney (Ball Blue Book, UCCE Master Food Preservers; free recipe)

Fermenting

• Lacto Fermented Salsa (Farmhouse on Boone; free recipe)
• Fermented Hot Sauce (Homebrewers Association; free recipe)
• Garam Masala Cherry Tomatoes (found in Ferment from Scratch by Mark Diacono)

How to Preserve your Produce

Equipment & Supplies

I try to keep my equipment and supplies simple and minimal. Here are some of the items I use most often:

Canning

For your first batch of 12 jars, your startup cost will be about $20–$100, depending on what you already have in your kitchen or if you can borrow from a friend or community resource. After you have the equipment, the cost per jar decreases significantly.

• Mason jars (the store brand has treated me well). The first time you can, there is a startup cost of about $1 per jar, but they are reusable and can last for many years if handled properly. Replace the lids every year, since their wax seal degrades after a single use.
• Ladle. An ergonomic ladle makes it easier to fill jars with hot liquids.
• Canning funnel. This makes it easier to fill jars without spilling.
• Jar lifter. This helps safely removing hot jars from the canner.
• Stock pot. A large pot allows you to boil water for water bath canning. A 16-quart stock pot or larger will see you through most water-bath batches. If you have a pressure canner, you can use it for water bath canning as well.
• Pressure canner (if you are canning low-acid foods). A good quality one is a worthwhile investment, but you don’t need to go crazy. I use a Presto 16-quart pressure canner, which is a good size for most home canning needs. It has a weighted gauge, which makes it easy to use and monitor the pressure.

Fermenting

For your first project, your startup cost will be about $5–$50, depending on what you already have in your kitchen or if you can borrow from a friend or community resource.

• Fermentation vessel. A simple glass jar or ceramic crock works well for most ferments. I use a ceramic fermentation crock or a wide-mouth mason jar for most of my ferments.
• Weights. These help keep your vegetables submerged in the brine. You can use a dedicated fermentation weight, a ziploc bag filled with water or ball bearings, or a small plate that fits inside the jar. I use a glass or ceramic fermentation weight for most of my ferments.
• Airlock. This allows gases to escape while keeping oxygen out, which helps prevent mold growth. You can use a dedicated airlock lid, a home brewing airlock, or even a simple jar lid. If you use a sealed lid, remember to “burp” the jar (briefly open the lid) periodically to release built-up pressure. I use a dedicated airlock lid for most of my ferments.

Drying & Freezing

If you already have a kitchen’s worth of basics, drying costs almost nothing to start — budget $5–$50 for the odds and ends you don’t own yet.

• Dehydrator. A dehydrator earns its counter space the first time you dry a whole flat of tomatoes. I use a simple dehydrator with multiple trays and a temperature control.
• Freezer. A freezer is a great way to preserve food for long-term storage. I use a standard freezer, but a chest freezer can be more efficient for larger quantities of food.