Storing Food for the Winter

Every summer we preserve food from our garden, the farmers market, and local fruit farms to eat during the winter. We try to eat seasonally, so no fresh strawberries in February for us, but we still enjoy the nutrients of strawberries throughout the winter in smoothies and over oatmeal.

Each summer it's always a guess at how much of each fruit and vegetable to put up. Keeping a record of the previous year helps by giving me a place to start from and then I either do more or less of the food based on if we ran out early or had extra left over at the beginning of the next season. This coming summer I am planning on doing more of about everything...little boys eat a lot...A LOT!

Here is our 2012 pantry.

Asparagus - 10 quarts frozen

Strawberries - 34 pints frozen

Blueberries - (2) 10# boxes frozen

Tart cherries - 5 pints frozen

Peaches - 25 pints plus 3 quarts canned and 1 quart frozen

Peach Jam - 11.5 jelly jars canned

Raspberry Jam - 5 jelly jars + 1 pint canned

Pears - 18 pints canned

Corn - 30 pints frozen

Apples - 1 pint + 4 jelly jars of apple butter and 8 quarts crock pot applesauce canned

Tomatoes - Whole, 40 quarts + 1 pint canned

Dill Pickles - 7 pints canned

Sweet Pickles- 4 pints canned

Relish - 7 pints canned

Carrots - Lots and lots and lots stored in a cool dry place

Salsa - 30 pints canned

Peppers - 14 pints green peppers frozen + 7 quarts colored peppers frozen