| Recently, I talked about dehydrating. But there are actually a few other ways you can make the most of your fresh produce you have on hand, whether it’s extra produce from the garden or a generous neighbor/local farmer. If you have a lot of fresh fruit, you can try your hand at making juice using a steam juicer like this one! Note: Don’t confuse this with a steam pressure canner. They are two very different tools for the home canner. This does not process your jars of food. It does, however, steam foods and produces a beautiful juice! In addition, if you really want to ramp up your food preservation, you can try something called a freeze dryer. This is a little more involved than a regular dehydrator–the machine is MUCH larger! When Harvest Right (a freeze dryer brand) first contacted me about their freeze dryer, I was intrigued but hesitant. After all, I do so much canning, I was not sure if this would be something that would work for me. Then I realized…well, shoot, I love love love freeze dried fruit in my cereal, freeze dried meals would sure be easy for traveling and…I can create my own food storage, and know what is in the cans! or bags…or jars…whatever the case may be. So I decided to give it a try. Read about my experience with the Harvest Right freeze dryer here. I’ve had a freeze drying machine since 2021 and have been testing it out on a variety of different fruits, vegetables, and other items since then! My favorite might be freeze-dried pineapple, which tastes just like candy, but we also like to freeze-dry strawberries, cherries, apricots, and so much more. Learn how to freeze dry fruit yourself here. | 
