Book Review: Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning

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Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning, by the gardeners and farmers of Terre Vivante

Chelsea Green Publishing Co, White River Junction VT

Preserving food is an art form. Sticking something in the fridge, while technically a form of preservation, is on the low end of the spectrum. Then there’s freezing, which most of us have done, and canning, which most of us are familiar with even if we haven’t tried it.

Then, there are the things covered in this book. Drying – ok, I’ve done that, no biggie. Preserving in vinegar – pickles, check. Preserving with sugar – jelly and jam, check. But lactic fermentation, using the ground or a root cellar, oil, salt, sweet-and-sour preserves, alcohol… Lactic fermentation in particular is out of my current comfort zone, but after reading this book I think I’ll try a jar or two, just to see what happens.

This book does a great job of easing you into the idea of using alternative methods for preservation (aka not freezing or canning – and by canning they mean heat processing canning jars). As the authors of the forwards, the preface, and the introduction (almost 20 pages in all) point out, these methods have been used for hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of years. Yes, some people died of botulism and other ickiness from improper food storage. But with modern tools, sterilization, and some common sense, we can adapt these methods for safe modern use.

After the initial musings, the different methods are broken into chapters with a brief introduction to each chapter. The ‘recipes’ are collected from gardeners and farmers through Terre Vivante, “an ecological research and education center located in Mens, Domaine de Raud, a region of southeastern France.”

Chapter 1: Preserving in the Ground or in a Root Cellar

Chapter 2: Preserving by Drying

Chapter 3: Preserving by Lactic Fermentation

Chapter 4: Preserving in Oil

Chapter 5: Preserving in Vinegar

Chapter 6: Preserving with Salt

Chapter 7: Preserving with Sugar

Chapter 2: Sweet-and-Sour Preserves

Chapter 2: Preserving in Alcohol

Appendix: Which Method for Preserving Each Food

The contributions are all tried and true methods, often passed down from generation to generation. But having been passed down like that, it’s good to keep in mind that there is no individual instruction like you would get in person, and the contributions were initially in French, so there may be something lost in either the transcription process or the translation.

Chapter 1: Preserving in the Ground or in a Root Cellar

I have visions of bins in my basement/glorified-crawl-space filled with beets, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins and acorn squash. We all know these are good keepers, and this chapter covers even better ways of preservation – such as storing beets in damp sand, and just how damp to make that sand.

Chapter 2: Preserving by Drying

This may seem like a no-brainer chapter – stick things in a dehydrator and let it do its thing – but there is a bit more finesse needed than that. Most of the time. I had a few, “Well, why not?” moments reading this chapter, like drying eggplant. I’d just never thought of it, but what a great way to preserve that flavor that is lost in freezing.

Chapter 3: Preserving by Lactic Fermentation

I admit, this chapter made me a little nervous. Fermenting things, then eating them… Well, besides yogurt, cheese, booze, cider, vinegar… Ok, maybe I’m being overly cautious. One of the main foods to preserve through lactic fermentation is cabbage in the form of sauerkraut. I’ve never been a fan of sauerkraut, but maybe that’s because I’ve only had the sloppy stuff from the supermarket. I’m going to give sauerkraut a try and see if I like the real thing.

Chapter 4: Preserving in Oil

I’m totally willing to try preservation in oil. The downsides: cost (olive oil gets pricy), and potential for botulism. I can just hear my dad now…  But, with proper cleaning methods, it would be worth a try for maybe a single jar. Like for my itty-bitty current tomatoes.

Chapter 5: Preserving in Vinegar

Pickles! Woo! And, according to this book (as well as several other sources), if you start out with sterilized jars you don’t need to process in a water bath (aka, can them) because the vinegar will kill bacteria. Win!

Chapter 6: Preserving with Salt

This chapter is reminiscent of the lactic fermentation chapter, and also covers fish. I’m not horribly interested in preserving with salt, so honestly I just breezed through this chapter.

Chapter 7: Preserving with Sugar

A wagon I can jump on, sugar. I love sugar. And, what’s nice, is they have options for less sugar, and in some cases no sugar. Apples and pears have enough of their own sugar to be preserved without added sugar, following the correct methods of course.

Chapter 8: Sweet-and-Sour Preserves

A collection of chutneys, ketchups, sauces, pickles, etc, that use a combination of vinegar and sugar for preservation. Ketchup, mmmm…

Chapter 9: Preserving in Alcohol

Not so much my cup of tea, but might be fun to do as gifts.

Appendix: Which Method for Preserving Each Food

Now, this is a handy item. The appendix has a great chart with a list of fruits and vegetables charted against the different preservation methods. Then they have two symbols that indicate a preferred method, or an alternative method (not quite so preferred, but will work in a pinch). I plan on keeping a copy of this chart in the back of my recipe book.

Overall, I’d definitely consider this a worthwhile read if you’re interested in preserving food. I’d borrow it from a library first, like I did. The book is full of good ideas, but it seems like once you get the basic ideas and principles down then the book may become redundant. But if you can find a copy at a good price, and have the room on your shelf, go for it.