It seems like the most common preservation methods are: freezing, canning, dehydrating, pickling and fermenting -- did I miss anything?

PROCESSING BEFORE PRESERVING (SETUP): I've gotten myself strainer attachment (FPPA) for my Kitchenaid mixer, for removing seeds, making sauce etc. Hopefully it's functional enough to replace a food mill. The shredder attachment is great for shredding big blocks of cheese before freezing.

VACUUM SEAL/FREEZER SETUP: I just got (hooray!) a manual defrost chest freezer setup: I got a Danby chest freezer, because they are supposed to have the best compressors by far (Consumer Reports, chat boards). I also got one of the manual vacuum sealer machines, because I read on here that people don't like the more expensive automated ones. Mine is the small black one from Foodsaver. I'm learning how useful it can be to "harden" foods for an hour before vacuum -sealing them and deep freezing them. I've been reading about how to avoid freezer burn, so I turned my freezer below O zero degrees and need to get some citric acid.

CANNING SETUP: I haven't researched or gotten a canning setup yet -- are there similar recommendations there?

DEHYDRATION SETUP, ETC: Same as above --?

Here's the most important question:

GO-TO RESOURCES - Is there one website that is the arbiter of all things in safe food preservation? (Or a few.) Another well-written site for smart techniques? It's always important to know your resources :)

Thanks!

That would be NCHFP linked below. All approved resources are based on their testing, recommendations, and recipes.

Otherwise, on the web, there are far more places to avoid than places to go and you'll find many discussions here about which are safe to use and which should be avoided. But you will need a copy of at least the Ball Blue Book - the beginners bible for canning. It is for sale anywhere canning supplies are sold.

As to what you will need for canning it depends on if you plan to only do acidic foods like pickles and jams which only require BWB canning or vegetables other than tomatoes which require pressure canning.

NCHFP covers all the equipment need and basic instructions on how to do both.

Dave

PS: welcome to the forum! :)