Preserved Menu Planning: 101

Over Josh and my three winters of eating primarily our own preserved food, we've learned a bit about the process. By and large, this knowledge can be boiled down to three take-home lessons.

Preserver's Food Pyramid

First and foremost, substantial food preservation requires year-round planning, from what to grow (February) and how to preserve it (June-November) to figuring out satisfying pairings for frozen entrees with pickled side dishes and taking note for the following season (November-June).

Second, in order to avoid wanting to swear off food all together by February, variety in flavor and texture is essential. Easier said than done when everything is dropped in boiling water, dehydrated, or frozen, let me tell you...

Finally, realistic expectations are a must. Enough said.

So, in part because it'll be another 4 weeks before I can start seeds and have prime blogging content (photos too!),  I present another installment I'm calling "Preserved Menu Planning." Each post in the series will take on one of the three issues outlined above, sharing the food preservation wisdom we've gathered (albeit limited) along the way. Though I'll be discussing these things in the context of our efforts to minimize the amount of food we buy at the grocery store, I hope the communal knowledge will be useful to anyone and anyone interested in the topic, regardless of scale. 

Until next time...