What to Preserve in September: 25 Foods to Can, Freeze & Dehydrate

Byadmin

This post is all about what to preserve in September while fruits and vegetables are in season, abundant and often easier to find at a good price.

what to preserve in september

September might be one of my favorite months for preserving food.

The garden is still producing plenty of summer vegetables, but fall produce is starting to show up too.

Tomatoes are everywhere.

Peppers are still producing.

Apples and pears are coming into season.

And farmers markets, roadside stands and grocery stores can be great places to look for seasonal produce when you don’t grow enough yourself.

It’s the perfect overlap between summer and fall.

If you’re trying to stock your pantry and freezer for winter, here are some of the best foods to preserve in September.

Why Preserve Seasonal Food?

One of the easiest ways to make food preservation more affordable is to preserve foods when they’re abundant.

If you grow your own food, that means preserving things when the garden starts producing more than you can eat fresh.

If you don’t have a garden, you can still preserve food.

Watch farmers markets, farm stands, orchards and grocery-store sales.

Seasonal availability varies depending on where you live, but September commonly brings apples, pears, grapes, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, okra, squash, potatoes, carrots, beets and other late-summer and early-fall crops.

This is when I want to preserve as much as possible before summer produce disappears for another year.

25 Foods to Preserve in September

1. Tomatoes

If you preserve nothing else in September, start with tomatoes.

Late summer and early fall can mean tomatoes everywhere.

And there are so many ways to preserve them.

You can make:

If you don’t have enough tomatoes for a big preserving project yet, freeze them whole.

Then you can deal with them when you have more time.

This is also a great time to read my guide to 15 ways to preserve tomatoes if you’re staring at a counter full of them and need ideas.

2. Apples

September is when I really start thinking about apples.

If you have access to an orchard, apple tree or a good sale at the grocery store, buy extra.

Apples are one of the most versatile foods you can preserve.

Make:

I have an entire guide with 15 ways to preserve apples if you need more ideas.

And don’t overlook imperfect apples.

If you’re making applesauce or apple butter anyway, those slightly bruised apples can often still be useful after damaged portions are removed.

3. Pears

Pears are another fruit I watch for in September.

They’re wonderful canned in halves or slices, and they can also be turned into pear sauce, pear butter, jam and other preserves.

Bartlett pears are particularly useful for preserves and sauces.

You can:

  • Can pears
  • Make pear butter
  • Make pear sauce
  • Dehydrate pear slices
  • Freeze pears
  • Make pear jam

If you find a box of pears at a farm stand, don’t be afraid to bring it home.

They disappear surprisingly quickly once you start preserving them.

4. Jalapeño Peppers

My jalapeño plants always seem determined to keep producing.

Luckily, peppers are incredibly easy to preserve.

You can:

5. Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are another late-summer crop worth grabbing while they’re abundant.

One of the easiest methods is freezing.

Wash them, remove the stems and seeds, chop or slice them and freeze.

They’re perfect later for:

  • Chili
  • Fajitas
  • Soups
  • Omelets
  • Casseroles
  • Pasta sauce

You can also dehydrate peppers for longer-term storage.

6. Green Beans

If green beans are still producing in your garden, get them preserved before the season ends.

I love having jars of green beans in the pantry because they’re such an easy side dish.

Green beans are a low-acid vegetable and require pressure canning when canned plain.

You can also freeze or dehydrate them.

7. Peaches

Depending on where you live, September may be your last chance to preserve fresh peaches.

If you find a late-season deal, take advantage of it.

You can:

  • Can peaches
  • Freeze peaches
  • Dehydrate peaches
  • Make peach jam
  • Make peach butter

A jar of home-canned peaches in January tastes like summer.

8. Grapes

September is a wonderful time to preserve grapes.

Grapes span summer and fall seasonality and can be preserved as jam or jelly, frozen, or dried into raisins.

Try making:

  • Grape jelly
  • Grape jam
  • Grape juice
  • Raisins
  • Frozen grapes

If you find local Concord grapes, homemade grape jelly is definitely worth making.

9. Plums

Don’t forget about plums.

September can still be plum season in many areas.

Use them for:

  • Plum jam
  • Plum jelly
  • Plum sauce
  • Dehydrated plums
  • Frozen plums

Plums are especially nice for jam because they have so much natural flavor.

10. Corn

Fresh sweet corn doesn’t last forever.

If you find a great deal, preserve some for winter.

Corn can be frozen or dehydrated.

Plain corn is also a low-acid vegetable, so shelf-stable home canning requires pressure canning according to a tested recipe.

Freezing is probably the easiest option if you’re a beginner.

11. Zucchini

By September, you may be completely tired of zucchini.

Preserve it anyway.

Your winter self will appreciate it.

You can:

  • Shred and freeze zucchini
  • Dehydrate zucchini
  • Make zucchini chips
  • Freeze zucchini for baking
  • Make tested zucchini relishes or pickles

Freeze shredded zucchini in portions you normally use for zucchini bread.

Then you can grab one bag whenever you want to bake.

12. Summer Squash

Summer squash can still be hanging around in September.

Try:

  • Freezing it
  • Dehydrating it
  • Making squash chips
  • Using a tested pickling recipe

Dehydrated squash is easy to add to soups and casseroles later.

13. Okra

If you grow okra, you already know how quickly it can produce.

September is a great time to preserve the last big harvests.

You can:

I especially love dehydrated okra chips because they turn a vegetable that can be difficult to use up into an easy snack.

14. Beets

Beets are a great crop to transition into fall preserving.

Try:

  • Pickled beets
  • Pressure-canned beets
  • Frozen beets
  • Dehydrated beets

Pickled beets are one of my favorites because they make an easy pantry side dish.

Remember that plain beets and properly acidified pickled beets use different canning methods. Plain beets are low acid and require pressure canning; tested pickled beet recipes can be processed as acidified foods.

15. Carrots

Fresh carrots are another great food to start preserving as fall approaches.

You can:

  • Pressure can carrots
  • Freeze carrots
  • Dehydrate carrots

Dehydrated carrots are especially useful for soups.

Throw a handful into a pot of soup or stew and let them rehydrate while everything cooks.

16. Potatoes

If you’re harvesting potatoes or finding them inexpensively, put some away for later.

Properly cured potatoes can already keep for quite a while in good storage conditions.

For longer preservation, you can also dehydrate potatoes or pressure can them using a tested recipe.

Plain potatoes are another low-acid food that requires pressure canning for shelf-stable storage.

17. Onions

Onions are another pantry staple worth buying in bulk when the price is right.

Properly cured storage onions can keep for months.

You can also:

  • Dehydrate sliced onions
  • Make onion powder
  • Freeze chopped onions

Frozen chopped onions are incredibly convenient.

Measure them into freezer bags and grab what you need for soups, chili and casseroles.

18. Garlic

If you harvested garlic earlier in the summer, September is a good time to make sure it’s properly cured and stored.

You can also dehydrate garlic and turn it into homemade garlic powder.

I love preservation projects like this because they replace something I would otherwise buy at the grocery store.

19. Cabbage

As cooler weather starts arriving, cabbage becomes another food worth watching.

One of my favorite ways to preserve cabbage is fermentation.

Turn it into:

  • Sauerkraut
  • Fermented cabbage
  • Freezer-ready cabbage for cooked dishes

A crock of homemade sauerkraut is such a simple way to turn inexpensive cabbage into something that lasts much longer.

20. Herbs

Don’t let your herb garden disappear with the first cold nights.

Harvest as much as you can.

Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage and other herbs can be dried or frozen.

You can also make pesto and freeze it in small portions.

Homemade dried herbs are one of the easiest preservation projects you can do.

21. Raspberries

Depending on your climate and varieties, raspberries may continue into September.

Turn them into:

  • Raspberry jam
  • Frozen raspberries
  • Dehydrated raspberries
  • Fruit leather

Freezing berries individually on a tray before transferring them to a freezer bag helps keep them from turning into one frozen block.

22. Blackberries

If late blackberries are still available in your area, preserve them while you can.

Try:

Even a small batch of jam is worth making.

23. Eggplant

Eggplant is another late-summer vegetable that can still be abundant in September.

Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve it.

You can also dehydrate eggplant for use in cooked dishes.

24. Winter Squash

Toward the end of September, you’ll start seeing more winter squash.

Think:

  • Butternut squash
  • Acorn squash
  • Delicata
  • Spaghetti squash

The nice thing about winter squash is that you may not need to do much at all.

Properly cured squash can keep for months in appropriate storage conditions.

You can also freeze cooked squash.

If you want to can pumpkin or winter squash, use a tested pressure-canning method for cubes rather than puree; home-canned pumpkin or winter-squash puree is not recommended.

25. Hot Peppers

Don’t limit yourself to jalapeños.

September is a great time to preserve whatever hot peppers your garden is producing.

Cayenne, serrano, habanero and other peppers can be:

  • Dehydrated
  • Frozen
  • Pickled using tested recipes

Dried hot peppers can also be turned into homemade pepper flakes or powder.

Just be careful when handling very hot varieties.

What Should I Can in September?

If you specifically want to spend September canning, I’d focus on produce that’s abundant now and recipes you know your family will actually eat.

Some great possibilities include:

  • Marinara sauce
  • Whole tomatoes
  • Salsa
  • Applesauce
  • Apple butter
  • Apple pie filling
  • Pears
  • Pickled beets
  • Pickled peppers
  • Green beans
  • Carrots
  • Grape jelly
  • Plum jam

Always use a current tested canning recipe and the correct processing method.

Most fruits and properly acidified foods can be processed using an approved boiling-water or atmospheric-steam method, while plain low-acid vegetables such as green beans, carrots, corn and potatoes require pressure canning.

What Should I Freeze in September?

Don’t feel like everything has to go into a mason jar.

Your freezer is one of the best food-preservation tools you have.

September is a great time to freeze:

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Corn
  • Green beans
  • Apples
  • Peaches
  • Berries
  • Zucchini
  • Herbs
  • Onions

This is especially useful when you only have a small amount of produce at a time.

You don’t need 25 pounds of tomatoes to preserve tomatoes.

Freeze the five tomatoes that are ripe today.

Add more next week.

Preserving food doesn’t have to be an all-day project.

What Should I Dehydrate in September?

This is also a great month to keep your dehydrator running.

Try dehydrating:

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Tomatoes
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Okra
  • Herbs
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Zucchini

Dehydrated foods take up very little pantry space, which is especially helpful once the shelves start filling with jars.

Look for End-of-Season Deals

You don’t need a huge garden to preserve food.

September is a great month to watch for bulk produce from:

  • Farmers markets
  • Roadside stands
  • Pick-your-own farms
  • Orchards
  • Local farm stores
  • Grocery-store sales
  • Friends and neighbors with extra garden produce

Ask farmers whether they sell seconds.

These are fruits or vegetables that might be oddly shaped or cosmetically imperfect but can still be perfectly useful for sauces, jams and other preserving projects when they’re sound and safe to use.

And don’t buy something just because it’s cheap.

Preserve foods your family will actually eat.

Ten jars of something nobody likes aren’t a bargain.

My September Preserving Priorities

If I only had time to focus on a few foods this month, I’d prioritize:

Tomatoes first.

They’re nearing the end of their season in many areas, and there are so many useful ways to preserve them.

Then peppers.

Freeze, pickle, dehydrate or turn those jalapeños into cowboy candy.

Then apples and pears.

Those lead us right into fall preserving season.

And finally, I’d preserve whatever is overflowing from the garden or deeply discounted locally.

That’s the beauty of seasonal food preservation.

You don’t necessarily need to walk into September with a rigid list.

Look at what’s abundant.

Look at what’s inexpensive.

Then figure out the best way to save it for later.

September Is the Perfect Month to Stock the Pantry

September feels like the best of both seasons.

We still have tomatoes, peppers, green beans, okra and zucchini coming from summer gardens.

At the same time, apples, pears, grapes, beets, cabbage and squash are starting to bring us into fall.

That overlap gives us so much food to work with.

You don’t have to preserve everything.

Start with what you already grow.

Then watch for seasonal produce that’s abundant locally.

Can a few jars.

Freeze a few bags.

Run the dehydrator.

Make some jam.

Every little bit adds up.

By winter, those jars and freezer bags become quick dinners, side dishes, baking ingredients and little reminders of everything that was growing in September.

And that’s one of my favorite things about preserving food.

We’re taking what’s plentiful today and saving it for when it isn’t.

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