Yummy yummy - we're having the first asparagus of the season tonight! I find that in trying to live "closer to the land" I tell the seasons by the foods - asparagus and rhubarb in the spring, tomatoes and basil and sweet corn in summer, etc....Which means the other 9 or 10 months of the year, I really miss those foods. Tomatoes and corn freeze or can well, and basil goes into pesto (YUM!) but I've never had much success with asparagus or rhubarb. I've tried canning and freezing, but it always comes out rubbery or, with rhubarb, just disintigrates. Does anyone have any tried-and-true ways to preserve these foods?
Karen--Did you blanch the asparagus first before freezing? The Ball Blue Book is a Godsend when I'm preserving foods. I wonder if you need to "stew" the rhubarb--cooking it with sugar some--before freezing it?? I'll look in my books and see what I can find...
Karen, My issue of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning and Freezing...lists "Raw Pack Pressure Canning" as one method. Maybe canning it this way won't be as mushy as canning the Hot Pack method. If you don't know the "Raw Pack" method, reply and we can help you with it. Terri
Asparagus Ideas?
Posted - Apr 21 2006 : 5:38:03 PM
