Art of Drying and Storing Foods

Art of Drying and Storing Foods

Tuesday, October 7
6:30 pm - 8:15 pm
Tommy Douglas Library (7311 Kingsway / Burnaby - map)

Save the goodness of summer! Learn how to dry and store your own food at home. Led by Chef Andrea Potter.
 
**REGISTRATION CLOSED**

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Recipe: Fruit Leather

Foods can be preserved in a variety of different ways, from canning to smoking. Whenever preserving food, it is important to ensure that your workspace is clean and germ-free and that the food you are preserving has not gone bad or become over-ripe.

Freeze: Berries can be frozen individually and then packed together into a larger container.

Can: Fruits, tomatoes, peppers, and pickles are among the foods that can be preserved through canning.

Salt: Fish can be preserved by salting it.

Dehydrate: Fruit, and some vegetables, can be dried until the moisture in them evaporates.

Ferment: Some foods can be saved by fermenting (e.g. cabbage, in the form of sauerkraut).

(From FoodWisdom.)  

This recipe is from our Art of Drying and Storing workshop, taught by chef Andrea Potter of Rooted Nutrition.

Some delicious combinations are pear and blackberry; apple and strawberry; and peach and apricot. Mixing apples or pears with berries will also help boost the volume of purée!

Don't have a dehydrator? Don't worry! The method used in this recipe just requires an normal kitchen oven -- and some patience.

Fruit Leather

To email, print, or text this recipe, click here.

Ingredients

6 cups of fruit, plus peels* (for 4 cups of fruit purée)

*If using peaches, apricots, or nectarines, crush 1 tablet of vitamin C and add to the purée to keep it from oxidizing and browning.

Instructions

1. Put the fruit and, as needed, the vitamin C, into a blender. Process until the fruit is smooth. Add a bit more fruit, if necessary, to make 4 cups of purée.

2. Pour the purée onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It should be about a 1/4-inch thick. You can check the thickness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the purée. Too thin, and the leather will crack; but too thick, and it will take a longer time to dry.

3. Preheat the oven to 150 F or to the lowest setting on your oven.

4. Place the baking tray on the centre rack of the oven.

5. Dehydrate until the leather is tacky to the touch, about 2 hours. Dehydrating times vary greatly depending on the fruit and on the oven used. If you have a convection oven, using the convection setting will help the leather dry faster.

6. When the sides of the leather peel away easily from the parchment, flip the leather over and put the tray back in the oven. Dry until tacky.

7. To store, cool the leather completely. Cut the leather, still on the parchment, into 2-inch wide strips using kitchen shears. You can roll them up or simply stack the sheets. The fruit leather should be stored in an airtight jar or zip-top bag for about a month. The drier the leather, the longer it will last.

Recipe: Brined Pickles

Preserving produce using salt water, or a brine, can be a good way to extend the life of vegetables. Fermentation is a great way to store food, and eating pickled foods is also accompanied by health benefits. The salt in the preserving liquid helps to encourage good bacteria while keeping away bad bacteria. 

This recipe, using baby dill cucumbers, is from our Joy of Pickling workshop, taught by chef Andrea Potter, but it can be used with vegetables such as carrots, green beans, and asparagus.

Brined Pickles

To email, print, or text this recipe, click here.

Ingredients

2 lbs baby dill cucumbers (or baby carrots, asparagus, green beans, etc.)
2 to 3 heads of dill (optional)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon salt
6 cloves garlic (optional)
2 litres filtered water
A few oak, grape, or horseradish leaves, or a 3-inch piece of horseradish root

Things you need

Ceramic or glass jar or crock with a wide mouth
Container or jug for mixing brine
Plate that fits tight in the jar opening
Weight or other object to keep the vegetables under the water
Clean cloth or apron
Elastic band

Credit: Sofi Martinez

Instructions

1. Soak and wash the cucumbers (or other vegetables) until very clean. If they are fresh from the garden, simply wash them; but if they are store-bought, make sure to soak them in cold water for 3 hours beforehand.

2. Put the leaves or horseradish in the bottom of the jar.

3. Add in the dill, garlic, and spices.

4. Pack the cucumbers tightly in the jar, and set aside.

5. In a large jar, mix together the salt and water until the salt is dissolved.

6. Fill the jar packed with cucumbers with the salt water. The vegetables and spices must stay under water; to do this, you can hold them down with a heavy plate. Keeping the plate in the mouth of the jar, put a cloth on the top of the jar and secure it with an elastic band.

7. Check the pickles every day. Using a clean spoon each time, spoon off any bubbles or foamy liquid you see on the surface of the brine, as this can cause the pickles to spoil.

8. The pickles will take from 3 days to 2 weeks to be ready. If stored in a cool place, the pickling process can take weeks or even months.

9. You can taste the pickles to see if they are ready. When you like the taste, remove the weight, cloth, and elastic, and put a lid on the jar. Store the pickles in the fridge.

Recipe: Apple Fennel Sauerkraut Salad

If you're wondering what to do for dinner, why not try an Apple Fennel Sauerkraut salad? This is a simple, quick recipe to make that's healthy as well as delicious. There's enough for a dinner accompaniment... if you're willing to share.

Did you know?
Raw sauerkraut is a great source of gut-friendly probiotics and enzymes, while cabbage helps soothe the stomach lining and ease digestive difficulties. Also, flax oil contains omegas 3 and 6, which are essential nutrients for brain and nervous system functioning.

This recipe uses sauerkraut, which was part of the menu from The Joy of Pickling workshop back in July, in which Andrea Potter of Rooted Nutrition dropped by with a fount of knowledge about preserving and fermenting food.

Apple Fennel Sauerkraut Salad
(Yield: 4 servings)

To email, print, or text this recipe, click here.

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 medium head of fennel, thinly sliced (green fronds, optional)
1 medium granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup to 1 cup sauerkraut
raw beet, thinly sliced (optional, if you want to add some colour)

For the dressing:

This is enough for about twice as much salad in this recipe. Extra dressing should be covered and kept in the fridge. Only make small amounts at a time and use quickly.

1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh
1/3 cup flax oil
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
chilli flakes, cayenne, or black pepper, to taste (optional)
pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. For the salad: Thinly slice the fennel and apple (and beet, if using). If the fennel has fronds (and you like them), feel free to cut them up, as needed, and use them as well. Toss the fennel, apple, and beet with the sauerkraut. Set aside.

2. For the dressing: Put all the ingredients into a small jar. A mason jar works perfectly for this. Screw on the lid tightly and shake vigorously before using.

3. To serve, add just enough dressing to lightly coat the salad. Eat fresh or leave it to marinate in the fridge for up to one week.

Early Fall Workshop Series

Burnaby Food First is pleased to present our Early Fall Workshop Series! All workshops are free and materials are provided:

The Art of Drying and Storing Foods
Tuesday, September 11
6:00 - 7:30pm

Learn about one of the most ancient techniques for food preservation – drying and storing. You don’t need an expensive food dehydrator to dry food. A conventional gas or electric oven can be used for all recipes. Not to mention that unlike canning, we can preserve these foods without added sugar or vinegar. What’s more, these foods make great snacks! Led by Andrea Potter.

Easy Bread Making
Tuesday, September 18
6:00 - 8:00pm

Learn about how to make your own healthy, tasty, artisan bread. By making your own breads you are able to control the ingredients (many store-bought breads are full of hidden oils and sugars), and save money at the same time! Led by Scott Bernstein.  

Soup's On
Tuesday, October 16
6:00 - 8:00pm

Learn about how to make delicious, healthy, home-made soups for the whole family. Soup-making is a great, basic skill that every cook should have. Soup-making is also a good way to make use of leftovers by remaking them into a whole new tasty meal! Led by Brenda Laface. 

All workshops are taking place at Tommy Douglas Library (7311 Kingsway - map)

Please help us spread the word to your friends!

Spaces are limited. Register now by emailing us or by calling (604) 570-3623. When registering, please tell us the name and date of the workshop you are interested in, the name(s) of who will be attending, and provide a contact phone number or email address.

**REGISTRATION CLOSED*

See you at the workshops!


Workshop Reviews:
The Art of Drying and Storing Foods
Easy Bread Making
Soup's On

Workshop Review: The Joy of Pickling

Thank you all for coming out to the second Joy of Pickling workshop on July 25!

It's a little late coming, but here's the review, for interested parties -- and as usual, a few pictures from the day of.

For those who missed the first workshop in June, Andrea Potter returned to teach another group of students about fermentation as a way of preserving food and about the health benefits that come with eating pickled foods. 

Chef Potter with her students, demonstrating pickling techniques.
Credit: Sofi Martinez

 

At the end of the night, everyone took home a sample of sauerkraut -- and the confidence to delve into fermentation at home with the skills they learned.

Workshop participants are hard at work.
Credit: Sofi Martinez

The event overall was a success, and thank you to all attendees who helped make it an amazing evening!

Jar, meet pickles-to-be. Pickling cucumbers are stuffed into mason jars.
Credit: Sofi Martinez

Missed the workshop? The rest of the Summer Workshop Series is still to come, with plenty of opportunities to learn about canning fruits and vegetables and making the most of local harvests. Spots go quickly, so make sure to register early.

Check out the Summer Workshop Series post for most information, and stay tuned for workshop reminders later in the week!

Modern Pantry Workshop: Spots Still Left!

There are still a few spots available in our upcoming workshop:

Modern Pantry Canning
Learn how to make fresh, local relishes and salsas

August 13 / 5-7pm
Newcomers Centre / 7009 Kingsway (map)

Eat local and save money by learning how to preserve fruit and vegetables in season with Chef Karen Dar Woon. Using produce from local farms, participants will make and take home: Ginger Plum Sauce, Sweet Virginia Pickle Relish!

Please bring along a paring knife, small cutting board, and a bag for taking home your preserves; jars will be warm and need to be protected. Hair should be tied back. Recipe sheets will be available to take home. 

To register, send us an email or call (604) 570-3623.

**REGISTRATION CLOSED**


Workshop Review:
Modern Pantry Canning

Workshop Review: Drying and Storing Foods

Thank you for coming out to the food drying workshop on July 13!

Under the guidance of Preet Marwaha from Organic Lives, a small group learned techniques for drying and preserving food and making the most of the summer's bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Marwaha during a food preserving demonstration.
Credit: Sofi Martinez

We learned lots that evening, and thank you to all participants who helped make the workshop a success.

Workshop participants soaking up the information.
Credit: Sofi Martinez

 Wishing you were there? Keen on seeing what other workshops are on offer?

Keep your eyes peeled, folks, because there are still a number to come -- stay tuned later this week for more details!

Workshop Review: The Joy of Pickling

Thank you for coming out to the pickling workshop on June 25!

A lucky group, under the skilled eye of Andrea Potter, got the lowdown on basic techniques for fermenting vegetables and brining pickles at home and also took home samples and pickling starter goodies.

Chef Potter explaining the process of pickling to a keen group of ladies and gents.

Credit: Sofi Martinez

The event was a success, and thanks to all attendees who helped make it a fabulous afternoon.

Some colourful reasons to be jealous.

Credit: Sofi Martinez

Missed the community workshop? There's no need to fret, folks: Burnaby Food First has many more workshops this summer - including another free workshop 'The Art of Drying and Storing Foods' being held this Friday, July 13 at the Newcomers Centre (7009 Kingsway) from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. See the previous post for all the details.

Also, we'll be hosting another pickling workshop at the end of July - so stay tuned!

For copies of the recipes used in this workshop, please visit our Recipe page:

Basic Sauerkraut
Apple Fennel Sauerkraut Salad

FREE Workshop: The Joy of Pickling

Burnaby Food First is pleased to present another FREE community workshop. Join Andrea Potter to learn how to make your own delicious pickled food safety and easily.

The Joy of Pickling

Monday, June 25

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Cranberry Commons (4272 Albert St. / North Burnaby - map)

Space is limited - please register by email or by phone at (604) 570-3623.

**REGISTRATION CLOSED**

What are pickled foods?

Pickling is a simple way to preserve food through fermentation. People in many parts of the world have been fermenting food for thousands of years. Fermented foods are full of beneficial bacteria. These foods improve digestion and have many other health benefits.

What will you learn in the workshop?

In this workshop, you will learn how to make fermented vegetable sauerkraut and brined pickles. We will make a batch of sauerkraut together for you to take home. This will help you get started fermenting your own food.

Andrea Potter is a Red Seal Chef and a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She teaches whole-foods cooking classes and also offers nutrition counselling. She is passionate about the benefits of whole, local and slow foods. For more information on Andrea Potter go to wholefoodscooking.ca.


Workshop Review:

The Joy of Pickling