“This tastes just like what my mom/grandma/grandpa used to make!” people often say as they taste recipes prepared with Locavorious produce for the first time.
And for good reason; freezing fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to preserve the harvest’s bounty.
Here at Locavorious, we’re still in our peak preparation time as we wash, chop, blanch and freeze the season’s perfectly ripe fruits and vegetables, fresh from local farms. We’re working to preserve the harvest so you can eat local all winter long.
Every harvest we document just what we did; we take pictures of our set up, how we chopped each fruit and vegetable, how we blanched them, how we put them onto trays to freeze, and even how we scooped them into bags and arranged them in storage, where they’ll patiently wait until a CSA member or a grocery store is ready for them.
We keep this information stored in a very precious notebook that we constantly turn to in our kitchen.
It’s probably more information than most would care to know. But what can we say? We love local food. And the best way to produce excellent local food year after year is to take its preparation down to an exact science. And a bit of art. It’s a science and art we’ve been honing for the past seven years and informally developing as home chefs many years before that.
With information this valuable, some would say we should keep it stowed away—that our methods for preserving the harvest should be well-kept secrets. But we’re not really into that. Here’s why:
Preserving local food is not only our work, it’s our passion. The way we see it, any chance we get to promote local food is an opportunity to share our passion with interested others. When we share the knowledge we’ve gained over years of preparing large amount of fruits and vegetables, we’re doing what we love.
That’s why, Rena gave a DIY freezing presentation at the Wednesday evening Ann Arbor Farmers Market this summer. That’s why, over the course of the past year, we’ve done dozens of demonstrations in grocery stores, at markets, and at public events.
We love local food.
And that’s why we’re sharing our favorite tips and methods for how best to freeze local fruits and vegetables. Here it is. The knowledge we’ve gained from our seven years in business, condensed into a handy guide.
We know that by sharing our knowledge, you’ll love local food, too.
Rena giving a demo at the Ann Arbor Wednesday Evening Farmers Market.
Cauliflower is a fall harvest veggie that preserves really well via freezing.
