Fall is in the air and home gardens are overflowing with vegetables. Don't have a home garden? Farm stands are filling up to the brim with end of season bounty, and local orchards are awaiting visitors to do the picking. Gather up all of the fresh fruits and vegetables you can now and preserve them to be enjoyed all winter long.
Food preserving is becoming more and more popular. People are preferring home preserved fruits and vegetables over store bought canned goods and pre-packaged snacks that are filled with processed additives. In the long run, home preserving is also an economical way to prepare today's excess produce for tomorrow's meals. Here's the best news of all: many of the products you'll need for home canning, dehydrating, and preserving are made in the USA! Here are 3 great ways to preserve the flavors of summer with made in the USA supplies.
Canning With Made in USA Canning Supplies
Canning fruits and vegetables is a tradition that has been passed down through generations. Canning is a great way to preserve fruits in jams, jellies and pie fillings. Vegetables are great to use in canning salsas and for pickling. There are 2 ways to can- boiled water bath and pressure canning. Fruits and vegetables that are of low acidic content and are not being pickled, MUST be pressure canned to prevent the risk of botulism. Canned items are best to be used within 8-12 months. Here are my favorite American made canning necessities!
Freezer Supplies made in the USA
Freezing is my favorite preserving method because it is quick and easy. Vegetables and fruits can both be frozen. Small berries I freeze as is, but larger fruits and even strawberries, I like to slice or chop up before freezing. Vegetables are best blanched before freezing to kill any organisms and to preserve the vitamins. I chop my vegetables (like summer squash, zucchini, green beans) into bite sized pieces – the same sizes that you find store bought frozen vegetables before blanching. To blanch a vegetable is to add it to boiling water or steam for a few minutes- just long enough to brighten the color a bit, not to cook. After the vegetable is blanched it is immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. After the blanching and cooling, spread the vegetable pieces in a single layer onto a made in the USA Nordic Ware cookie sheet (I especially like this set that comes with lids). After several hours, or the next day, remove the vegetables from the cookie sheet and store in a freezer safe container or bag. Pyrex makes great freezable glass containers that can be found in all sizes. I have found it hard to give up my plastic made in the USA Target brand freezer bags because they fit so easily in my freezer!
American made Dehydrators
Home dehydrating food is gaining in popularity. Moms are conscious of the chemicals added to kid loved fruit snacks and are opting for the more natural dehydrated snack option. Sliced apples, bananas and apricots are just some many fruits that are great dehydrated. Fruit leather (like a Fruit Roll-Up) is popular snack made with a dehydrator. There are several popular brands of dehydrators made in the USA.
Do you have a favorite way to preserve fruits or vegetables? Are there any ‘Made in the USA' preserving supplies that you love that weren't mentioned here? Please share and let us know!
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We love to make our own dehydrated fruit. Great for personalized taril mix!
Awesome info about suppliers. Not sure who made the canning lids so I really appreciate that. So glad that Fall is almost here ~ such wonderful foods!
I’m loving with Heritage edition Ball canning jars in blue. They are embossed with a logo that reads “Made in the U.S.A.”
*the*
oooh, I did not know the Heritage Ball jars were stamped with Made in USA – cool! I’ve seen them and could imagine using them for decorative projects, but I wasn’t sure about the blue tint? What does that looks like with pickles or peach jam inside?
I LOVE my heritage jars!!!! However, you cannot tell they are blue when filled with my wild black raspberry jam. Well, not until they are opened and partially eaten that it 🙂 My peach jam appears green inside the jars…….. They are lovely but they are quite pricey in comparison to regular jars. It’s neat to have a vintage reproduction celebrating 100 years of Ball Canning jars but the regular clear jars work just as fine! And the jelly tastes the same either way! 😀 Happy canning!
I have a Nesco dehydrator and I adore it! I would love to have Ball canning supplies.
I just love canning and dehydrating and putting things up for the winter. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
I’ve just tried dehydrating tomatoes. It didn’t work so well… guess I need a dehydrator.
We are looking at getting a big freezer this year — such a smart way to store meat on sale and veggies from the garden!
i so want to learn how to do this,,
How about vacuum sealers?
Thanks so much for the Fantastic Review on Preserve Summer’s Bounty with made in USA canning supplies, dehydrators, and more! I used to make jelly and can it but through the kids growing up and all I haven’t done it for years! I definitely would love to get back into canning jelly! Also, I have a dehydrator and haven’t used that in a while either! Since the kids are getting bigger, I just may get the dehydrator out and start using it again with apples, bananas, mangos, etc. These would be terrific snacks for the kids! Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic review, the pictures of the products, and your personal and professional opinions on Preserve Summer’s Bounty with made in USA canning supplies, dehydrators, and more with all of us! And, yes, I use Ball jars! Thanks again! Michele 🙂
Loved this post, Tracey, and did not know all this equipment was American made, so cool! I used to make a mean hot & spicy green pepper jelly! Miss it, but no time for canning projects lately. but…maybe, if I did just one weekend, though, with some of those cool Heritage jars – would make a great batch of Christmas gifts!
I’ve always wanted to get into dehydrating fruits, but never have. 🙁
I only use Ball mason jars, I find the other versions are not nearly as durable and the lids are much less dependable. I also have a Nesco dehydrator and LOVE it. Makes dehydrating a breeze. Go USA 🙂
Just an FYI, my NESCO food dehydrator just quit working and my husband, who is very handy with repairs, opened it up to see what might have gone wrong. I was saying it was made in the USA and my husband said “really?” “I am reading right on the parts and inside of this machine “MADE IN CHINA.” ”
Hmmmm… This was the reason I bought it and I am very angry it is being toted as USA when the machine itself says CHINA!
This is great info! I have a Nesco dehydrator and love it!
We like to make jams and jellies with the raspberries that grow in our garden. Great Christmas gifts!
We love to can, it’s so much better than store bought.
I’m going to can this year, finally!
My mom and I make jelly every year. Apple and strawberry are my favorites!
I want to learn to can. Would love hands on with someone experienced st this.
I also own a Excalibur dehydrator and love it. Makes some really great beef jerky. Suggest getting a really good slicer so they are uniform thickness. Any thoughts on USA made mandolin slicers? (sp?)