I write for a wonderful Italian-Canadian cultural and lifestyle magazine called
Panoram Italia. Here is my latest article about harvesting and preserving summer veggies.
After all your hard work the weeding, pruning and watering; you now understand the joy that comes from stepping out in the garden and seeing all your plants bearing the fruit of your labor. The time has come to eat the benefits! No salad is better than one made from handpicked ripe tomatoes and fragrant green basil... Here are some tips for harvesting and preserving your vegetables.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are ready to pick when they are fully red and firm, but not hard. When the harvest starts check the plants every few days and pick those that are ripe. Overripe tomatoes will fall off the plant and rot quickly.
How to freeze:
Wash, remove stems, and pat dry. You can cut them or leave them whole. Place in freezer bags and remove air using a straw. Label and seal. Keeps 6 months.
Another option is to dip the clean tomatoes into boiling water 1 minute. Remove and peel. Place on a tray and freeze for 30 minutes. Then place in plastic bags, remove air, seal and label.
In our climate a better option to sun dried tomatoes is oven dried tomatoes. All you need for this recipe is time, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt. Preheat your oven to 250’F, slice tomatoes in half (lengthwise), place skin-side down on lightly oiled baking tray, season with a little salt and place in oven for about 8 hours.
You can then place the cooled oven dry tomatoes in mason jars with a little finely chopped garlic and dry oregano and cover in oil.
Saving seeds for next year
Saving seeds is a method used by many vegetable gardeners to grow a beautiful vegetables year after year. Allow perfect tomatoes to ripen until they become soft. Cut them in half and squeeze the gel and seeds into a jar. Cover with 3 inches of water and shake well. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 24 hours before pouring out the liquid. Discard the floating seeds, and rinse the larger seeds on the bottom in a strainer and then dry them at room temperature for approximately 2 weeks. If handled and stored properly in a cool dark place, tomato seeds can last up to 6 years. This method can be used with peppers, eggplants, zucchine, fagiolini...
String Beans
Pick beans before you can see bean swelling in pod, this method insures that the beans will be tender. For continual harvest pick them frequently (every 3-5 days).
How to Freeze:
Wash, pat dry, cut into pieces or leave whole. Transfer to freezer bags, remove air, label and seal. Keeps for 6 months.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are tastiest when harvested young before the seeds fully develop. Harvest sizes vary with the variety, but a good gauge is as follows: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inch in diameter and 5-to-8-inches long. Making pickles with garden cucumbers is a great way to preserve them.
Zucchine
Zucchine are best harvested when young and tender, the skins should be soft enough to poke fingernail through. My husbands aunt Zia Lucia from Campobasso gave me this recipe when she was here for a visit a few summers ago. Like most recipes passed down from our Italian aunts, mothers and grandmothers the quantities are very vague: “abbastanza sale, qualche spicchi d'aglio” but we manage to understand this language and keep passing it along.
Zucchine sott’olio
Ingredients
Zucchine 1 kg
Minced garlic (as much or a little as you like)
Vegetable oil
Fine sea salt
Peperoncino: 2 Tbsp (optional)
Chopped parsley
Dried Oregano
White vinegar 2 cups
Preparation
Wash and dry zucchine. Grate them and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a handful of salt and let sit 24 hours. After 24 hours squeeze out excess water from the zucchine. In a large pot add 2 cups white vinegar to 1 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and add the grated zucchini. Let simmer for 1 minute and strain. When cooled, squeeze excess liquid. Place in a large bowl with chopped garlic, oregano, parsley and peperoncino (if you want some heat!). Toss all the ingredients to combine. Fill sterilized jars with mixture, cover with oil. Let sit uncovered for 30 minutes, add more oil if needed and seal tightly. Keep is a cool dark place and enjoy after 40 days. Refrigerate after opening.
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Eggplants
Eggplants should be picked as soon as they are ripe, this can be seen when they are just about full-grown and their color is bright and shiny. Cut, do not pull, the fruit from the plant.
How to Freeze:
Want to make a fast parmigiana? Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch slices, sprinkle with salt and allow to stand 30 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and fry gently in oil until just tender. Cool on brown paper and pack into plastic bags with parchment paper between slices. Seal and label. When you are ready to use, simply assemble as a parmigiana with frozen eggplant slices and bake. Keeps up to 3 months.
Peppers
You can harvest peppers when they are green or leave the fruit on the plant until they turn from green to orange, yellow, or red. It's best to harvest peppers when the fruits are full size and firm.
How to Freeze:
Wash, remove seeds and cut into slices or leave whole. Place on a tray in a single layer. Freeze for 30 minutes. Pack in freezer bags, remove air, label and seal. Freeze up to 6 months.
Peperoncino
To have hot peppers all year round simply thread them on a string through the stalks and hang them in the sun on a south wall. You can also preserve them in oil like sun dried tomatoes.
After the harvesting season is over remember to winterize your vegetable garden in the fall by removing the plants, raking the fallen leaves and pulling out the weeds. Also clean and store all your tools and gardening accessories for next season. I hope my gardening series inspired and motivated you to gear up and start your first vegetable garden.
Sources: http://www.veggieharvest.com/
Marthastewart.com: Harvest & Beyond
http://www.gardenguides.com
