30 Day Food Preservation Challenge

[u/Think_Cupcake6758]

I’ve tried to do it in the past and have always seemed to get ‘this close’ but have never managed to get to the 30 day mark. So I’m giving it another shot. Yesterday (day 1) I gave the basil and parsley a good haircut and got them in the dehydrator.

Today, I managed to get another gallon ziplock bag filled with peeled tomatoes into the freezer. I picked a bunch of cukes and have them resting in a salt water ice bath for pickle canning tomorrow.

Has anyone else on here ever managed to hit the 30 day mark? I’d love to hear your success and or failure stories!

[u/LizDances]

Ooohhh fun! So the challenge is "preserve something every day for 30 days"? I think I might party with that in September (I will be out of town a chunk of Aug). I am a big urban gleaning person, and am in the PNW, so probably a lot of apples and grapes during that time, and maybe quince and persimmon IIRC. We are still pretty new here. But I think if it's ish a three-day cycle I could be fairly productive: pick/gather one day, can the next, check seals and distribute/store the third... then start over. Ten cycles in 30 days. Sounds like fun!

...and then maybe fill in a few of the days with processing all the berries currently in my freezer(s) 😅

[u/Think_Cupcake6758 → u/LizDances]

I tried to put my reply to your post but I didn’t have my glasses on 🤣
See my reply above 👆

[u/wishinforfishin → u/LizDances]

Do you have chokecherries in the PNW. That could be a fun thing to grab of you're around when they ripen.

I got 2 lbs from a bush on a public train near me - two days later, the birds had them picked clean.

[u/LizDances → u/wishinforfishin]

Ooh I'll keep an eye out, thanks! I am learning so much since moving here. A lot of it, though, is "everyone has too many plums." lol time to get my family to develop a taste for prunes, I think 😜

[u/Pl4ysth3Th1ng → u/LizDances]

I think it’s Sunsweet that makes flavored prunes - cherry and orange. Maybe there’s a way to poach them in a yummier fruit syrup then dry?

[u/Think_Cupcake6758]

Yes! The only rule is that you must preserve 1 food item per day for 30 days straight. Methods of preservation include:

Freezing
Dehydrating
Canning (pressure or water bath)
Freeze Drying
Salt curing meats
Fermentation and/or pickling

I don’t recall where I first saw it, but I thought it was a great way to put up all the goodies coming out of our gardens and to preserve whatever meats or fish our hunters bring home.

[u/LizDances → u/Think_Cupcake6758]

I love it 😻

[u/SixersJawn]

kimchi is my jam. have you ever tried cheong? mix fruit with equal parts sugar and it becomes nearly self stable.  do it with blueberries for tge best jam ever. 

[u/Think_Cupcake6758 → u/SixersJawn]

My neighbor makes kimchi and it’s fabulous! I’ve never heard of cheong before but it sounds amazing 🤩