Savor Saver

By Ben Goe

As I sit down to write this article, tariffs are supposed to be coming into effect very soon on nearly all goods, including foods, that are imported to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. In the produce department, we’ve been faring alright through this long period of inflation, but these tariffs will likely change that. 

As always, we in Skagit County will do better than most of the country in terms of produce price inflation. However, right now, in early March, Mexico is supplying all of our green beans, Brussels sprouts, mangos, papayas, pineapple, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and peppers. We get tomatoes, English cucumbers, bell peppers, apples, mushrooms, and more from British Columbia during other times of the year. Given the uncertainty, it seems like a good time to once again discuss food preservation and waste reduction.

I’ve written about food storage in the past—about fermentation and using scraps—but now it might be time to consider investing in some new food-preservation equipment to help you save money on groceries. I recommend a pressure cooker, a vacuum sealer, and a chest freezer.

A pressure cooker is a pretty easy one to justify. Do you have an Instant Pot? Consider switching to a pressure cooker for most things. It doesn’t have a built-in timer, but it does almost the same job, and you can’t seal jars in an Instant Pot. Instructions are easy to find online for canning. Jams, jellies, and pickles are what most people think of when they think of canning, but stocking up on seasonal produce and canning it for the winter is pretty simple. All you need is water, salt for vegetables, and sugar or other sweetener for fruits. Peaches, plums, cherries, green beans, asparagus, kale raab, and garlic scapes are all well suited to canning for enjoyment later.

Vacuum sealers have their obvious use. You can roast or blanch veggies and freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet before sealing them, and you can also freeze things like stew, cooked or raw meat, mashed potatoes, and other sides. The less obvious utility of a vacuum sealer is for lacto-fermentation. In a nutshell, the bag holds the gases in while limiting oxygen and prevents additional bacteria from contaminating the ferment. 

I highly recommend checking out the Noma Guide to Fermentation; it provides step-by-step instructions on pickling a wide variety of fruits and vegetables using this easy, cost-effective method.

A chest freezer is pretty self-explanatory, but having one opens up possibilities that otherwise might be out of reach. Consider splitting a side of beef with a friend or buying a case of your favorite frozen convenience food when it’s on sale. I will often buy a roast or other large cut of meat when the price is good and freeze it when I know there’s a potluck or dinner party on the horizon.

Want to take it a step further? If you have the space for it, you might consider building a root cellar. Again, instructions can be found easily online, but it can be as simple as burying a garbage can flush with the ground. If you’re lucky enough to have a hillside to dig into, it’s not terribly complicated to build a walk-in root cellar. It’s a great way to keep produce fresh for longer and is also an ideal way to store canned goods. 

As always, remember the basics. If you aren’t trying to cook enough to freeze for a later time, carefully consider the quantity of food you are cooking. Dry herb stems to flavor oils and vinegars, dry leftover mushrooms for soups and sauces. Save bones and vegetable trimmings for stock. Any time I roast a chicken, I stuff the cavity first with herbs, carrots, onions, and celery. After dinner the leftover meat gets pulled off, and what’s left is tossed in a pot with some water, salt, and white wine, then left to cook overnight at a low temperature. The next day, all that’s needed for soup is some cooked veggies.