How do you take advantage of all the cheap produce right now?

[holidaymama]

We do not have the space or climate (TX) to do much gardening besides a couple tomato plants and herb garden, but we have access to very cheap produce (Sprouts Farmers Market)

For example, right now, zucchinis, peaches, pears, and apples are all under $1/lb.

Would you stock up? How would you preserve these things?

I had thought about doing a bunch of jams or just freezing the items, but I'm not sure if it's really worth it. However, come January, the only thing affordable are citrus and bananas!

What do you all think?

[EFmom]

I'm pretty frugal, but my life is just too short to do canning. Plus, I hate canned vegetables.

We have a garden, and I mostly make vegetable soups, spaghetti sauce, pesto, etc. and freeze them for the winter.

[velochic]

Well, I'm of the opposite opinion. I would can them. I enjoy canning, though.

[Usually Curious]

You can freeze corn w/out even shucking it. It's super easy and tastes just like fresh in the middle of winter!

[Nicole730]

You could make applesauce/pearsauce and freeze it if you don't want to can it.

[alegna]

When I get zucchini cheap I cut it up and lay it on a cookie sheet to freeze it, then scoop it into a bag (that way you get little bits frozen not all stuck together). Then it's ready to add to sauces, soups, etc.

-Angela

[baby-makes-3]

I either freeze it or dehydrate it -- most fruits can be turned into fruit leather and put in fridge or freezer. My dd won't touch most fruits but loves the leather it turns into.

[lmonter]

I got a bunch of boxes of peaches and nectarines the other day. I'm canning. We go through fruit like it's going out of style (need a quart or two a day, and my kids aren't even that big yet!) - just as a side dish with dinner or whatever. But when I found 26lb boxes for $9, yeah, hubby loaded up his car for me on his way home.

I've become a bit of a snob over the years though. My strawberry freezer jam? Cannot be replaced/substituted by anything at the grocery store. Home canned peaches and pears and applesauce with just a very light syrup or a little sugar added is more my speed than HFCS canned goods. Home dehydrated Elstar apples are pretty much like candy. Dry some tossed in a little cinnamon-sugar, and I'm in heaven.

Btw, using store bought canned pears in just pear juice vs. HFCS? Costs $.78-$1.18/15oz can. We need at least 2-3 cans for a meal with our brood (there's only two pears in those tiny cans anyway). If I can find my produce at a decent enough price, I'm coming in way under that, even with the cost of canning lids. My time? Sure, it's valuable, but this is also part hobby for me. Even if it means I get all twitchy this time of year when I have 5 pints of peaches, 3 dozen quarts of applesauce and 10 quarts of pears left from last year (meaning, I *have* to replenish the pantry).

[Callimom]

I live in Ontario where our access to local fresh food is extremely limited in the winter. If it were me I'd freeze or can it or make jam. It's worth it to me not just financially but also quality wise and the fact that I can get it locally.

I canned 100 jars of organic tomatoes last fall and they lasted us all winter. They cost me pennies compared to buying them and no BPA in the cans.

Applesace is easy to do and such a treat on a cold morning. Frozen peaches are great for smoothies and canned peaches are easy to do and we use them in oatmeal and desserts in the winter. I made some pear sauce last year from pears that were past their prime given to us by a neighbour. I used it in baking a lot in place of sugar. Dried fruit is great for a snack and it is expensive to buy it here but easy to make at home.

I shred and freeze the zuchini so that we have some for zuchini bread and also for throwing into casseroles, soups etc in the winter.

[holidaymama]

This is why I love this site!!! And all of you wonderul mamas!!

I think I will freeze a bunch and dry a bunch. I don't have a dehydrator, but maybe I can find someone that does. I can also make preserves. I buy a lot of jam and since I only by the all-fruit, it's like over $3 a jar.

I've never canned before...my MIL was going to show me how while we were home, but we ran out of time.

I really want to do corn for sure in the freezer...so much better than what you can buy!

[HeatherAtHome]

I'm a little bit scared of canning and figured with our first garden and everything else going on this summer, learning to can is low on the list. I'll do it next year or something.

For now I plan on freezing a lot of our produce and instead of making regular jam I've been making freezer jam (surprisingly easy!) Someday I'd like to get a dehydrator.

[Ellp]

Our local corn is now in season and we can get them at 6 for $1.99. Plus our local tomatoes are going for $0.99/lb. I'll be making salsa this week.

[Callimom]

This is a great site for learning how to can
Pick Your Own.

Tutorials for almost every type of canning you want to do with lots of pictures.

If you are interested in canning you might want to start with something small, maybe with borrowed equipment. It's really not that hard to do a batch of jam or can some tomatoes.

Good luck
Karen

[SophieAnn]

Originally Posted by holidaymama

This is why I love this site!!! And all of you wonderul mamas!!

I think I will freeze a bunch and dry a bunch. I don't have a dehydrator, but maybe I can find someone that does. I can also make preserves. I buy a lot of jam and since I only by the all-fruit, it's like over $3 a jar.

I've never canned before...my MIL was going to show me how while we were home, but we ran out of time.

I really want to do corn for sure in the freezer...so much better than what you can buy!

Freezer jam is super easy to make. No pots, no stove and it's quick too! I did two batches of strawberry jam last year using the low-sugar pectin (Certo) in less than an hour. The nice thing about freezer jam is that you do have the low(er)-sugar option.

[tinuviel_k]

I really like to buy large quantities of fruit and freeze it. Before summer is done I plan to have about 30 lbs each of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and sliced nectarines. (All of which I get at the farmers market, local farms, or pick myself).
I use it all winter in smoothies (we eat a LOT of smoothies) and deserts like blueberry peach crisp. Super easy: you just throw the frozen fruit together, make a quick topping, and bake. Very impressive to spur of the moment guests.

I haven't really gotten into canning of fruits and veggies, or into freezing vegetables. Maybe one of these years.

[Denvergirlie]

I mostly freeze or can.

Zucc - either sliced and frozen flat on cookie sheet - then transferred to ziploc type bag once fraozen OR shredded and frozen in 3 cup portions for making bread later in the season.

Peaches/ Pears/ Apples - I've sliced and frozen on cookie sheet for smoothies, breads, desserts, etc. I've also made "sauce" (apple sauce, peach sauce, etc) and canned.

I do dehydrate some, more so tomatoes and berries thou.

[holidaymama]

Hello mamas!! So I went to the Farmer's Market Grocery store (sprouts) and here is what I got:

100 cobs of corn - 10/$2
10 lbs zucchini - $.77/lb
10 red peppers - $.66/each
5 green peppers - $.50/each
15 lb - white peaches
15 lb - pears

So far, I blanched and did my corn = 12 bags in the freezer plus a dozen for supper tonight.
I shredded, cut, and chopped the zucchini and bagged and in freezer
I cut the peppers and mixed some red and green and did a red plain...sliced real thin and put in the freezer

The fruit was pretty hard, so it is all in brown paper bags ripening.

I am going to make 4 batches of peach freezer jam and then just slice the rest of the peaches to freeze.

I am going to make 2 batches of pear sauce and then just slice and freeze the rest.

So, I spent under $60 at Sprouts and about $50 at Walmart (but those supplies will last another round of doing this)...not bad!

The new Sprouts ad will come out on Wednesday so I will see what they have then.

I am getting in full swing because hubby and I are both teachers and we go back to school next week!!!

[hollytheteacher]

I am so jealous!! All of our farmers markets are waaay more expensive than in the store. I still shop at them because I want to support them, but i've paid $5.00 for one green pepper before. It's kinda nuts.

[Ellp]

Yeah, I can't afford to buy stuff at the Farmer's markets here. They charge way more than what I get at a store. Plus, they only take cash at the farmer's market and I rarely have more than $15/2 weeks, whereas I can use a credit card at the store. (Card is paid off in full at the end of the month).

On a separate note... I found an ad for bulk potatoes.
"Standard New White/Red: $22/50lbs Box
Nugget/Mini New White/Red: $40/50lbs Box"

Is this a good deal? What does one do with so many potatoes and how do you keep them? We don't eat a lot of potatoes but this just seemed like a good deal. Note: I don't have a deep freezer so I can't freeze anything more in my regular fridge freezer.

[holidaymama]

hollytheteacher - Sprouts is a chain store...they call themselves a farmers market, and they do carry a lot of local produce, but a lot comes from other states as well. However, they have the best meat and produce prices around if you buy what's on sale!