Food preservation isn’t just a skill; it is a way to really maximize your harvest, reduce waste, and preserve the flavors of the season all year round. I share how to store your food properly so you can save money, time, and stress.
Whether you grow your own vegetables or take advantage of farmers markets, you need a way to preserve and store that food for several months. Here are 4 ways to preserve and store food.
Stocking up in September & October when the harvest is plentiful is a great way to do it. Prices are lower, and there are a lot of choice veggies available.
Below, I’ve linked up some of our best posts on preserving food. Take a look! From preserving herbs, pickling (using brine and vinegars), making kimchi from scratch, jerky, homemade sauces, soups, salsas, stews and more, all from your own garden.
(Want a complete list of all of our preserving articles? They’re right here)
Here are 4 ways to preserve and store food:
Storing some food is a great way to save money. Prices are definitely going to be higher all winter long because of the lower local supply and the same high demand.
Starting your own food stockpile is a way to save money and feel more in control of your personal food supply.
Plus, preserving food is a fantastic way to reduce food spoilage if you are looking for a lower footprint. Plus, you can maximize long-term storage on items and reduce grocery store trips.
Read on for some popular methods of home food preservation.
Freezing Food
You can freeze some veggies. Every summer, I freeze a one-year supply of shelled green peas. And why not? Canning recipes is a great way to add shelf life to all that summer produce you worked hard on all summer.
They taste fresh all winter long and don’t take long to make. You can even use fresh fruit like pears and apples to make jams and more in jars to keep on hand in your pantry.
Plus, it’s guaranteed rocking time in the late afternoons – someone has to shell all the peas! Having self-sufficiency tools for preserving your goods is going to be a game-changer.
Other food items that works best for freezing include:
- poultry
- seafood
- meat
Use good quality freezer bags and ensure you close them air tight to keep out moisture and stop any growth of microorganisms.
Canning Food
You can home can some veggies. Want to water bath can some Pickled Beets? How about pressure canning some Green Beans?
Water bath canning is the most usual way to preserve fruit like cherries, peaches and other stone fruits.
You can also water bath can a variety of juices too.
Home canning food can completely fill your pantry – you can literally save thousands of dollars a year by canning extra food. Aim for airtight containers, mason jars, and more that will help truly create that seal you need when it comes to canning jellies, berries, beef, and more.
They taste fresh all winter long and don’t take long to make. You can even use fresh fruit like pears and apples to make jams and more in jars to keep on hand in your pantry.
Now you can can the old-school way with pots of boiling water, or invest in a pressure canner. Either way, you have choices of food preservation methods that work best for you.
I love using the fermentation process for cabbage to make sauerkraut and other items to keep in your pantry. It adds so much flavor.
You can do this with pickling carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables as well. Helps veggies last in the fridge or pantry for much longer without reducing their nutritional value.
Dehydrating Food
You could dehydrate lots of different types of fruits, vegetables and even meat. Dehydrated food takes up a lot less room.
Herbs, of course, are often dehydrated. We dry herbs and some spices every year, including:
- mint
- basil
- lovage
- oregano
That means extra freezer room for you to stock up on meat when it’s on sale.
You can also dehydrate foods you pick up on sale or grow, such as:
- bananas
- peppers
- cucumbers
- kale (make these healthy kale chips!)
- turn ripe fruit into fruit leather
Storing Food in a Cold Room
You could store a few boxes of root vegetables down in the cool part of your basement. These need to be in a cooler area in your home to preserve and extend the life and prevent bacteria, botulism, mold, and more from showing up on your food.
Vegetables that store well in a cold room are:
- potatoes
- onions
- carrots
- garlic
Squashes including:
- pumpkins
- acorn squash
- hubbarb squash
- all other winter squash
Note: Zucchini can be stored in a cold room, but use it up sooner rather than later. Winter squashes can be stored longer.
Storing Food When You Don’t Have a Basement
But what do you do if you live in a rancher home? If you have no basement, you have to start looking at other option.
You could look at building a small insulated and vented room in a corner of your garage. Another option is to have a root cellar.
If you don’t have room for food storage inside your house, an outdoor root cellar is a great way to go. Built right into the ground, you can store all kinds of root vegetables inside a root cellar.
Mother Earth News has several plans for outdoor cellars and they range from the super simple to structured cellars.
You need to live in an area where there are cold winters. You also need to put in some time digging and setting up the root cellar.
You do not want the cans at room temperature; they need to be in a cooler area in your home to preserve and extend the life and prevent botulism, mold, and more from showing up on your food.
I have seen pictures of outdoor root cellars but instead of being boxed in with wood, the builder instead drops an old deep freeze in the ground.
This is a great idea and would really work well. We use old freezers here down at the barn to hold animal feed.
We don’t care if the freezers work or not. And we are keeping a few old freezers out of the landfill. Come to think of it, that’s where we got the three we have. A great way to recycle!
Want to see all of our food preservation posts? Head right over!
Originally posted June 2020; latest update March 2026
