The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest
Pickled veggies. Jewel-tone jams. Dehydrated summer tomatoes. Kraut, kombucha and kefir. Fruit leathers. Homemade yogurt, ricotta and cultured butter. Preserved farm eggs.
Ever dream of stocking your pantry and filling the fridge with these healthful beauties but feel daunted by the whole mystery of canning and preserving? If so, Ann Accetta-Scott has written this book for you. And me. And a whole bunch of others.
Accetta-Scott didn’t grow up preserving food; she came to the practice later in life. She writes in her introduction, “I am a self-taught homesteader, and with my husband by my side, we are returning to a world that many do not know or have no desire to know.” She confesses that in her years living in suburbia, she didn’t give much thought to what she and her family consumed or how it was grown.
“I was oblivious that one could live off the land and what it meant to live simply.” Then, she, her husband and their two kids moved to two acres in the mountains and their lives changed forever.
Accetta-Scott blogs as “A Farm Girl in the Making,” lives in Washington State’s Puget Sound and teaches classes on how to grow and preserve food. Th is is her first book. She starts with common methods of preserving—water canning, dehydrating, freezing and basic fermenting—and then ushers the reader into pressure canning, curing and smoking. The book is jampacked with pro tips on how to select an appropriate dehydrator, basic canning supplies and ingredients and advice on how to safely manage a pressure canner.
She addresses the B-word (botulism) and discusses which vinegars and citrus juices to use for raising acidity level in canned food. I didn’t even know that was a hot topic, but I do now! She also explains the merits of various salts: pickling, sea, kosher and table.
Accetta-Scott guides her readers through every step of food preservation, in a relaxed and confident manner, like working elbow to elbow with a down-to-earth, experienced friend. Yes, you can find most of this information on the Internet, but Accetta-Scott saves us a lot of searching by compiling this user-friendly compendium. You’ll find yourself lingering over the pages, murmuring, “I can do this!” The photos are helpful and realistic, not overly styled, taken by the author in her own kitchen.
The beauty of this guide is that it gives novices the confidence to step into this world of preserving food, at whatever level feels comfortable, while the later chapters expand the experienced pro’s repertoire and, hence, pantry. Accetta-Scott shares 30 recipes, including pickled garlic (“Do not even consider skipping this recipe,” she commands), candied salmon, whiskey beef jerky, pickled eggs in jalapeño pepper, dehydrated chicken dog treats and homemade raw apple cider vinegar (apple peels and cores, sugar and lukewarm water).
Joel Salatin, the famed agriculturalist from Virginia, writes a reverential foreword, which includes this encomium. “I guarantee that anyone taking Ann’s hand to follow her through this harvest preservation journey will agree that this effort offers the greatest return on investment. Food security, safety and satiation all begin with personal responsibility and kitchen accountability. Whether you grow it or purchase it from someone who grows it, you can join this healthy team.”
At the conclusion, Accetta-Scott reflects: “When I first began preserving foods, I realized I was over-thinking the process. I was terrified I could make my family sick, possibly even kill someone, so I spent hours researching how to make jam or pickled green beans. I wrote this book to encourage you to learn how foods are preserved and become comfortable with doing it your own way.”
Stock up on Mason jars and get ready to enjoy seasonal bounty throughout the year!
Ann Accetta-Scott
A Farm Girl in the Making | @afarmgirlinthemaking
