Many of you have planted a garden this year and are enjoying the fall harvest. Even if you didn’t, the local farmer’s market is full of tantalizing selections that are too hard to pass up and I’m sure you have more than a few in your kitchen.
What does all this produce mean? Canning! And freezing, fermenting, drying, preserving, etc.
The past few nights my family has stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning canning. So far we’ve done, plum fruit spread, salsa, green beans and applesauce.
Canning and preserving can quickly become expensive but there are ways to keep the cost down.
Buy the Unloved Produce
Ask your local farmer at the market for seconds or drops. These fruit will be an odd shape or have a blemish or two, but they’re perfectly tasty and great for canning. The price for this is usually less than half of the “good” stuff.
Buy in Bulk
Sometimes buying in bulk isn’t any cheaper, but often you can cut a deal at the farmers market. Ask around and see who will give you the best deal for a large amount of produce. We bought seconds on plums and a 10lb box cost only $4. That’s 57 cents per pint of fruit spread!
Buy the Unwanted Produce
In our area there are potato, tomato, peach and apple farms that grow for the food industry. These food companies are very picky about which items they will accept, so literally half of the food is left to rot in the field. After the first harvest the public is usually allowed to glean what is left, often for free. If it is for sale, the prices are dirt cheap (think $1 a bushel).
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| From Huffington Post (see below) |
Billions of dollars worth of food are left to rot in the fields each year. The UN hosted a banquet for government ministers and officials, serving up this rejected, but perfectly good food. In Europe even the green beans must be a certain length, so the ends on long ones will be cut off and thrown away.
Dumpster Dive
On average, supermarkets throw out $2,300 worth of usable food each night. Maximus Thaler, a Tufts University student runs a non-profit exclusively using this dumpster food. The Gleaners Kitchen doesn’t charge, but serves up meals for the hungry in a free and artistic environment.
But, is it illegal? If the dumpster is on a public street then no. In the case of California vs. Greenwood the court found that,
Legally this has been already given to a third party (the trash collector) and is now in the public domain. There is some grey area however with grocery dumpsters on private property.
Is it safe? All food that is obviously rotten or damaged should not be used. Packaged food that has just passed the expiration date is still usable, but cannot legally be sold.
Mark Harrison, professor of food science at the University of Georgia points out in a Business Week article that most dates indicate quality, not safety. “Some foods spoil if not refrigerated quickly enough—but they won’t kill you.”
Chances are most of the food from this source won’t be good for canning, but can be frozen or preserved in other ways. And of course, if dumpster diving is to hippie for you, stick to more conventional methods of saving!
Check Your Community Garden
In our local community garden those who help tend the produce can take some home. Ask your local community garden leader what the policies are and if you can come home with some food for donating time.
How do you save as you’re storing for winter? Comment below!