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Root Cellars 101- Root Cellar Design, Use and Mistakes to Avoid

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In this article we'll talk about 5 things you must include in a root cellar design, plus 10 tips for fruit and vegetable storage. There's also a printable storage guide for over 30 fruits and veggies, and jump links to additional information at the bottom of the post.

A root cellar is a great low-cost way to store food – not just root vegetables, but other fresh produce, too. They require no energy to use and very little maintenance. You can build in a root cellar when your home is under construction, but it’s also possible to add a root cellar to your basement, or build one outside your home.

root cellar with squash and root vegetables on shelves, canning jars on right [Read more…] about Root Cellars 101- Root Cellar Design, Use and Mistakes to Avoid

9 Ways to Preserve Pears, Plus Tips to Prevent Browning

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Our neighbors have a beautiful pear tree that's over 50 years old, and each year they invite us to share in the harvest. Big tree = many, many pears, so over the years I've used many different ways to preserve pears. No matter how you store them – canning, freezing, drying, freeze drying or fermenting – their high sugar content makes them a naturally decadent dessert. In this post I'll cover both short term and long term storage options for pears, plus tips to prevent browning.

9 Ways to Preserve Pears, Plus Tips to Prevent Browning [Read more…] about 9 Ways to Preserve Pears, Plus Tips to Prevent Browning

Freezing Fresh Green Beans With or Without Blanching, Step by Step Instructions

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Freezing fresh green beans is a quick and easy way to preserve them for later use. We'll walk you through how to freeze green beans, step by step, with or without blanching. Whether you're freezing pole beans, bush beans, yellow beans or other snap beans, the method is the same. You need about 1-1/2- to 2-1/2 pounds of green beans per quart of frozen beans.
flash freezing green beans on a cookie sheet
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25+ Healthy Asparagus Recipes Plus 4 Ways to Store Asparagus

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cut and blanched asparagus

Spring asparagus is a wonderful blessing after a long winter. Those first tender stalks are absolutely delicious raw, straight out of the garden. If you have large home patch – or want to take advantage of the seasonal abundance in stores and farm markets – it's great to have an assortment of asparagus recipes on hand and to know how to preserve asparagus for later use. This post features over 25 healthy asparagus recipes, including soups, salads and main dishes, plus instructions on how to store asparagus and preserve it for later use. [Read more…] about 25+ Healthy Asparagus Recipes Plus 4 Ways to Store Asparagus

Vacuum Sealers – What You Need to Know Before You Buy

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small, black FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer machine sealing a package of dried cranberries

A vacuum sealer is one of those kitchen machines you don’t realize how much you’ll use – until you buy one. We use our vacuum sealer for food storage, sealing jars and bottles, corrosion protection, resealing bags and emergency preparedness. You can also use your vacuum sealer for sous vide cooking. In this post, we’ll discuss ways to use your sealer, do a comparison of Foodsaver models and their features, and share some tips on Foodsaver bags. [Read more…] about Vacuum Sealers – What You Need to Know Before You Buy

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