recap: stashing the harvest, a bounty of tips

ARE YOU RUNNING MADLY AROUND like a squirrel, caching your foodstuffs before you-know-what arrives? Me, too. Red squirrels, in particular, know you have to store the stuff right, so they pile up green conifer cones while fresh, but first cure treasures like fungi and apples—putting them up in the crotch of a tree to dry a bit before adding them to the larder. From potatoes to tomatoes, peppers and herbs and more, a fast review of how we humans can store it for later.

I’m gathering green herbs—parsley, basil, sage, cilantro, chives, you name it—and freezing them in various ways.

Have you put your white potatoes into storage? I leave mine in the dark, insulated ground awhile longer, but sooner or later…

With sweet potatoes, what to do when it’s time to dig and store.

Where to stash onions and garlic (and soon we’ll be planting the latter—along with multiplier onions—so have you ordered your bulbs?).

Freeze some peppers while they’re plentiful and cheap.

I’m ripening all the tomatoes I can (the tactics, on and off the vine)…

…then I’m freezing or canning not just fast red sauce, but also some whole tomatoes for anytime a recipes calls for “whole canned” (I just use “whole frozen,” which is much less work now).

If you fail to ripen some, no worry: green tomato and apple mincemeat (which doubles as chutney) to the rescue.

Leftovers? With all the good bits and bobs—the tops of turnips or carrots, and the other tasty trimmings—why not make stock? Or what I call “tomato junk,” a sort of all-purpose base to stews and heartier soups.

Are you gathering or buying apples for applesauce? Windfalls, or seconds, are cheaper and plenty good enough.

If there are ripe peaches still to be found, what about freezing some?

Still have cucumbers? Refrigerator pickles are always an easy way to make use of them.

Browse for all my food-related tips in the Edibles-Recipes& Cooking category.