Eating Locally by the Seasons "Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites." ~ William Ruckelshaus, Business Week, 18 June 1990

Use a straw to draw out air in bag to be frozen. Air left in the bag will promote freezer burn. Insert the straw deep inside the bag, secure the bag on either side of the straw so that air is not allowed in. Draw on the straw, until air is withdrawn and bag forms around the contents. Quickly remove straw and complete seal.

Blanch all vegetables (except peppers they can be frozen without blanching) prior to freezing. Drop in boiling water for 3 minutes and then immediately immerse into ice water for another 3 minutes. They are ready for dehydration.

To avoid having to puncture the skins of each blueberry being dried, freeze the blueberries prior to drying. Freezing first contracts the skin and then putting in the dehydrator will expand it, breaking the skin for you.

Blanch all vegetables prior to drying, just as if you were preparing for freezing. Drop in boiling water for 3 minutes and then immediately immerse into ice water for another 3 minutes. They are ready for dehydration.

Curing is best accomplished by allowing quash and pumpkins to remain in the sunshine for about ten days.  It is the sunlight that cures or hardens the skin.  If  there is a chance of freezing weather, protect in a storage building and return to the sunlight the following day. If you cure the fruit and store them properly, they will last well into the winter.  The storage area should be dark, about 50°F (10°C), and rather dry (>65% humidity).