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    • Estate Sale Finds 
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    • History Books 
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      • Tales of the Sea
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The Vintage Book Addicts Blog

10 Top Tips for Produce

September 17, 2019

fresh veggies reading vintage

Fall is the best time to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Gardens are bursting with an excess of fresh fruits, and vegetables  Roadside stands, Farmers Markets in your area are tempting you with produce. Your neighbors have an abundance of zucchini they are leaving on your front porch. Your container garden is full of herbs, tomatoes, and peppers. 

Gardening is an affordable way to add freshness to your family's meals, but how do you eat this healthy produce before it starts to go bad? There are simple things you can do to make your fresh fruits and vegetables last longer.

Keep reading for great tips to help you enjoy Fall produce for as long as possible.

10 Useful tips to maximize the freshness of your fresh garden fruits and veggies.

  1. If you can avoid washing your fruits or vegetables, do so. You put off any rotting or molding occurring.
  2. Brush mud or dirt off the vegetables.
  3. Before storing berries, pick any sticks, stems, or bruised 0berries out.
  4. Sweet corn is best served the day picked. If not, you can leave them in the husk ready to be eaten.
  5. Don't store your fresh-picked cucumbers with tomatoes. Only store ripe tomatoes in the fridge, this will slow the ripening process. Green tomatoes can be picked and set on a sunny ledge to ripen.
  6. For the best flavor, store your melons at room temperature or wash, cut, and store in the fridge in a sealed container.
  7. Cut your herbs with as much stem as possible — store herbs in water in the refrigerator. Or wrap herbs in a damp paper towel covered loosely in plastic.
  8. Discard the outer leave of any leafy vegetables, store in plastic in the crisper, wash before using. 
  9. Store beans in the crips, unwashed. Dampness causes black spots, always check for before using.
  10.  Late in the season potatoes have a longer storage life. Just brush off the dirt and store in a paper bag in a cool dark environment. 

Ways to Store Fruits and Vegetables

Freezing or canning? What is the best way to preserve fruits or veggies?

That depends, said Jessica Piper, analytics specialist in consumer affairs for Jarden Home Brands, which markets the popular Ball brand home canning products.

One thing to consider: "Not everything can be frozen, and not everything can be canned," Piper said. You can read more from this article  Is freezing or canning better?  It contains the pro's and con's of each and will help you decide what is best for you and your family.

History of Canning and Freezing

Canning was developed after lengthy research by Nicolas Appert of France in 1809.  Appert heard the appeal by his government for a means of preserving food for the army and navy.

Appert’s system consisted of tightly sealing food inside a bottle or jar, cooking it to a temperature, and sustaining the heat, the jar was kept sealed until use.

Clarence Birdseye is recognized with creating in 1924 the quick freezing process, which produces the type of frozen foods that we know today. Peas are the most popular vegetable commercially frozen.

    Recipe Recommendations for Canning and Preserving

    You are now ready to enjoy all the fresh fruits and vegetables, how do you prepare them? Yes, you have your favorite recipes your family looks forward to every Fall.  If you're looking for a new/old or straightforward recipe for tomatoes, blueberry cobbler, or a basic refrigerator pickle, vintage cookbooks are for you.

    You will trace the history of canning and preserving through the many vintage cookbooks still in use.

    The Modern Pricilla Cook Book published in 1924 has One Thousand Recipes Tested at The Priscilla Proving Plant is a comprehensive cookbook with 1000 recipes, a great look into methods of the early part of the 1900s. 

    This cookbook was created to be the go-to cookbook for the American housewife in the 1920s and would be a great resource for simple easy common sense ideas on home canning and food preparation.

    An excellent book for canning and preserving recipes is The Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Our Mothers and grandmothers used this resource as the bible of home preserving.  It is the classic American guide to keeping fresh-tasting food on hand.

    Here you will find answers to every food preservation question. Please enjoy the many canning and home preserves recipes but use the current USDA website for canning guidelines.

    Shop for More Cookbooks

    Reading Vintage has an extensive collection of cookbooks and recipes.  Cookbooks with instructions for the beginner cook to the gourmet, from preparation to serving, all presented in a transparent, concise, straightforward manner.

    You can search any term used in an antique or vintage cookbook you're unsure of in my glossary of terms used in vintage cookbooks. Or just read it for pleasure; I found brown flour to be very interesting.

    Happy Reading,

    Pam of Reading Vintage

    You Might Also Enjoy

    Vintage Cookbooks Great Old Rare Books Full of Recipes.

    All the best vintage cookbooks are here. They will bring back memories of your favorite family's old recipes. Explore cookbooks you will use daily & rare cookbooks you will display on your kitchen bookshelf.

    5 Interesting Facts Featuring: Julia Child

    Julia Child was much more than a bestselling cookbook writer and chef. Did you know that she was also a breast cancer survivor, a TV trailblazer, and a government spy throughout her life?

    Canning or Freezing? The Best Way to Preserve Fruits and Vegetables.

    You can either can or freeze your fresh fruits and veggies at their peak. But what is better? 



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