Quality fruits and vegetables can be sun-dried or dried inside using an
oven or a food dehydrator. As with other methods of preservation,
quality of the final product will depend greatly on quality of the fresh
food being dried. Drying does not improve the quality of any food.
A top quality dried product reflects suitable pre-treatment before
drying, and adequate drying under proper conditions. Also, appropriate
storage after drying is vital to keep moisture from re-entering the
dried product.
Fruits may be dried more easily than vegetables, because of their high
sugar content and since not as much moisture must be removed to get a
quality product. When properly dried, fruits should be leathery and
pliable, and have a color characteristic of the fruit. Excessive
darkening indicates a less desirable, poorer quality product.
Vegetables must be dried until they are brittle. The color should be
characteristic of the vegetable and not excessively dark.
To sum up, nutrient content of foods depends on natural differences,
control of deterioration, and handling techniques of food preparation as
well as preservation. Therefore, overall nutrient content of a specific
fruit or vegetable, whether fresh or preserved, may be about the same.
Top quality, garden fresh foods, served in season, provide the greatest
satisfaction when served fresh as table-ready food. Individual
preferences for market fresh, frozen canned, or dried food will differ.
Since nutrient content is nearly the same, the choice is up to the
consumer. Even more important is the choice of vegetables and fruits for
a good diet.
For Further Reading:
Food editors of Farm Journal, _How to Dry Fruits and Vegetables at
Home_, Countryside Press and Doubleday & Company (Dolphin Books),
1975. $2.95.
Hamilton, Louise W., Kuhn, Gerald D., Rugh, Karen A., with the food
editors of Farm Journal, _Home Canning--The Last Word_,
Countryside Press and Doubleday & Company (Dolphin Books), 1976.
$2.95.
US. Department of Agriculture, _Home Canning of Fruits and Vegetables_,
H&G Bul. No. 8, on sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. 45¢.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, _Home Freezing of Fruits and
Vegetables_, H&G Bul. No. 10, on sale by Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
20402. 75¢.
Economics of Home Food Preservation, or Is Do-It-Yourself Back to
Stay?
_by Ruth N. Klippstein_[3]
Back-to-basics may turn out to be the theme song of the 1970's as some
of the simple activities of the past are rediscovered and practiced.
Do-it-yourself is in. Nowhere is the trend more apparent than in the
area of home production and preservation of the family food supply. Ten
years ago no one would have dreamed the lowly canning jar lid would be
the subject of Federal hearings. No one would have believed that an
estimated one in four U.S. families would be raising and preserving a
portion of their food supply.
What motivates people to return to home food production and
preservation? Are their expectations realistic? How extensive is their
gardening? Will they continue a second year? Do they preserve any of
their crop? These were among the questions posed by Stuhlmiller, How and
Stone of Cornell University in 1975 to a group of gardeners in five
upstate New York counties.
When asked whether they gardened to save money, to have better quality
food or just for a hobby or recreation, three-fourths of the 2,800 who
replied hoped to save money, 54 percent considered gardening a hobby,
while only 46 percent gardened for fresher food. Most said they
preserved at least some of the food they grew.
If this study is indicative of the country as a whole, it is important
to realistically assess whether home food production and preservation
can save substantial amounts of money and whether the satisfaction
gained warrants the cost of time and energy expended.
The actual costs of home food preservation, for example, should be
considered. The cost of home grown food should be compared to the cost
of similar food purchased for preservation in quantities at local farms
or markets. The quality of the home preserved items should be
realistically analyzed against readily available commercially preserved
food.
There is no such thing as free food. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for
it in time, energy, know-how, and at least some outlay of dollars. Home
production in amounts needed for food preservation requires a longtime
commitment of family resources. Beginners should realize that realistic
goals and reasonable skills in the field and kitchen are essential to
make home preservation pay off.
There are no general statistics citing the average dollar-cost needed to
grow a given amount of fresh produce in a home garden. Conditions
between individual gardens, weather, soil type, skill of operator, and
geographic areas vary too much for valid comparisons.
Extension specialists at Michigan State University, however, have
computed the actual cost of raising tomatoes under home gardening
conditions in East Lansing, Mich. They found it costs 12¢ to grow the
amount of tomatoes (2½ to 3 pounds) needed for one quart, canned. A
similar cost analysis for green beans showed that beans cost 30¢ for the
amount needed for a quart. Only the expendable cost--seed, fertilizer,
pesticides and water--was considered.
Adding the expense for needed tools, hoses and other capital items
raised the cost another 33¢ a quart if the cost were absorbed in one
season or 2¢ if amortized over a 20-year period. Unfortunately, the
first-year gardener will find that the outlay for tools must be spent
the first year so that return for the investment requires a commitment
to gardening over many years.
Additional expenses are necessary if the bounty is to be preserved at
home. Equipment for preserving tomatoes is minimal but equipment for
canning vegetables and for freezing may be costly. Homemakers needing to
invest in canners, a pressure canner, and home freezer will find that
the dollar cost per package of food preserved during the first years of
preservation may be higher than the cost of comparable food at the
corner supermarket.
The costs of canning peaches, tomatoes and green beans in upstate New
York were calculated by the author in 1975 and updated for price changes
in 1976 using a number of different cost variables. She found that those
who canned tomatoes could realize substantial savings, while the cost of
purchasing peaches and preserving them at home approximated the cost of
the commercially canned peach.
Determinations of the true cost of frozen food must consider the initial
cost of the freezer plus the cost of operation and repair. Containers,
plastic bags and boxes, or foil are additional costs.
Evelyn Johnson in her Outlook Talk of 1975 quoted staff at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University as reporting a cost of 20¢
to 24¢ per pound of food frozen just for the convenience of freezing and
storing food at home. Add to this the price of the food being frozen for
the correct cost of home-preserved frozen food.
Freezing is probably the most satisfactory method of home food
preservation, the most versatile and the easiest to do. But for all
except the very best managers who use the freezer intensively, the home
freezer is more a convenience than a money saver.
[Illustration: Needed equipment for home canning. Left, water bath
canner, and right, pressure canner.]