How to Make the Most of End of Summer Fruits and Vegetables

Food preservation has always been one of the most important humanity’s survival-strategies. We had to have something to eat when nothing fresh could be picked, so we invented numerous simple ways to keep foods fresh well into winter. And even though we don’t need them all now, in the age of refrigerators and freezers, summer’s end, rich in fruit and vegetables ready to preserve, is the perfect time to try your hand at these old-fashioned skills.

1. Salt, Sugar and Oil – salt, sugar and oil work by depriving oxygen from the microbes that spoil food. These methods have the added benefit of contributing loads of flavor and allowing microbes that preserve food to take hold. Try covering some roasted peppers and tomatoes in olive oil.

2. Cold Storage – cold storage works wonders on the shelf life of almost all foods. If you have a cool spot in your house (check the corner of a closet, basement or unheated garage), you can store a number of summer harvest items, including onions, garlic and most root vegetables, through all or part of winter.

3. Pickling – Pickle recipes are often combined with another preservative ingredient—usually sugar, salt or heat (via canning). Vinegar pickles can be sweet or sour. You can try making some pickled lemons and oranges – their distinctive taste is not for everyone, but worth trying!

The Victory Park Farmer’s Market takes place every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the 2900 block of North Sierra Madre Boulevard. Call (626) 449-0179 or visit www.pasadenafarmersmarket.org for more information.