How to store food

[Bsuds]

http://www.wikihow.com/Freeze-Bell-Peppers

Interesting. I did not know you can do that.

Any other interesting ways or foods you can store for long periods of time.

We have used a vacuum sealer for many years and it helps us purchase meat etc when on sale or in bulk and keep for longer periods without spoiling. It more than pays for itself.

[Lady tehMa]

That is how you freeze berries, too. Makes it much easier to use them. I measure mine in 2 cup quantities and bag them - 2 cups is what I need for most recipes, and if I don't use them all it's easy to tell.

My mom in law freezes her tomatoes whole, bags them. Then to use; defrosts, pulls off the skin and makes pasta sauces.

I have a dehydrator, that's how I do my plums and some herbs. Veggies you can do that way too - I have a mix of veggies I store in tupperware and toss into soups.

You can also chop herbs, put them in ice cube trays with olive oil or butter (your choice) and then when you're making a dish, toss it in.

You can preserve foods by smoking them (wonder if Briter would care to chime in?)

I can foods; make relish, winter salad, jams, jellies, mincemeat, fruits (pears, peaches, tomatoes), veggies (beans) and pickles (you can pickle a LOT of things). Mostly I use the hot water bath method, but I got a pressure cooker big enough to try sauces, will be trying that this year if I'm up to it.

My brother-in-law recently bought a freeze-dryer, and he loves it (he's a gadget guy, first guy to get a go-pro etc.).

I have a vacuum sealer too - not the nice one like at Costco, the Decosonic style. It works, but is picky to use.

I like this book https://www.newsociety.com/Books/F/Food-Security-for-the-Faint-of-Heart It's pretty easy to read, not that big.

[Bpeep]

I always freeze my peppers, do it the same way.
They lose their crispness but it's a great way to store them and use them cooked in the winter.
I froze about 150 pounds last fall.
Sadly, they're almost all gone, and the ones outside won't be ready for a while yet. I love peppers. Eat em daily.
I pickle the jalapeños that are left on the plant at seasons end, I put them on everything.

<<cue dogspoiler to call me a whuss coz they aren't habaneros >>

[Phoenix Within]

I was surprised to find out that rice can be frozen. I make big batches of fried rice and have it ready as servings in bags.

[Captain Awesome]

You can also freeze water!

[Lady tehMa]

I've heard you can also freeze leftover wine. I'm not quite sure how you can have wine left over, but there you have it.

If you freeze your leftover coffee in ice cube trays, keep the cubes in a bag in the freezer, toss them into milk on a hot day and have a tasty drink (or so I've heard).

[Osoyoos_Familyof4]

Do any of you have an opinion on the vacuum sealers? Specifically which ones work? Also are the refills for the plastic expensive?

What would you buy?

Thanks.

[Glacier]

Plastic bags are cheap. Use a straw, and suck out all the air when sealing. Works pretty good. I've been doing peppers for years, and they work quite well even when if you don't freeze them individually. Blueberries are the same.

With strawberries you can add some sugar to help maintain flavor, but my personal favourite for strawberries is to place them in a canning jar (whole or sliced), fill with a medium to light syrup, place in the freezer for later. When you pull out the jar out of the freezer 8 months later, the berries are still firm just like fresh.

[Bsuds]

Do any of you have an opinion on the vacuum sealers? Specifically which ones work? Also are the refills for the plastic expensive?

What would you buy?

Thanks.

We have been using the Food Saver brand for years. You keep using the bags over and over till you run out. (you lose a couple of inches each time you cut it open) They last a long time if you are careful.
http://www.foodsaver.com/defaultstart?k ... 63e39865fb

[Always Sunny]

Do any of you have an opinion on the vacuum sealers? Specifically which ones work? Also are the refills for the plastic expensive?

What would you buy?

Thanks.

If you keep an eye out, this one goes on sale at Costco from time-to-time. I believe it was $125.99 when I bought it a few months back.

http://www.costco.ca/FoodSaver%c2%ae-Au ... 15705.html

These are the rolls I bought and I went a couple rounds at Costco (salmon, chicken, and beef) and went through 1 of 4 rolls. These also go on sale for $9.00-$10.00 off. I also prefer the rolls over the pre-cut bags since you can cut them down to the optimal size of whatever you're packaging.

http://www.costco.ca/Foodsaver-Roll-and ... 41362.html

On top of your usual meats/veggies I really like using it to portion out fruit for smoothies. Whenever my strawberries, bananas, etc. start to turn or I'm leaving town and won't finish them I portion out into about 2 cup servings and freeze them. You could also easily do soups and things if you froze them in something like a sour cream container, popped them out and vacuum sealed the pucks (like M&M Meats frozen soups).

I'm single and I love this machine. You definitely don't have to be a family to take advantage of the Costco sized portions.