5 tips for preserving fruit and vegetables

Summer is the time when many home and learning gardens have a glut of fruit and vegetables all ripening at once, making it the perfect time for preserving!

In our January newsletter we ran a competition asking our subscribers for their top preserving tips and photos, and we were so pleased with all the lovely responses that we thought we’d share the winning entries …

Five tips for preserving fruit and vegetables:

1. Always have a big pot of simmering water on the stove when you are preserving. It’s great for putting utensils in to sterilise, or even extra jars at the last minute if you’ve underestimated how many are needed. [Ed note: Safety first of course!]

2. Don’t be scared of making a mistake, as some of the best preserves can happen by accident. For example: bottled apricots in a vanilla and amaretto syrup that have been left to cook too long can be turned into the loveliest jam - which is especially good on croissants or in desserts.

3. Plan ahead on the day you are going to preserve and begin with preserves that need to start in cold water and be brought up to temperature to finish. At the same time you can make sauces, chutneys, passata or other preserves that need to go into hot bottles/water to start. When the cold started preserves are ready to come out you can simply put the hot start ones straight into the water that has been brought up to temperature. This saves time and energy and doesn’t waste the hot water.

4. Start early in the day, as sometimes the preparation of fruit can take a lot longer than anticipated depending on the quantity you are making, e.g. bottled tomatoes.

5. The flavour of star anise goes wonderfully well with preserved cumquats. When filling a bottle of preserved cumquats, place a star on top as a special opening bonus for those savouring the preserved fruit.

Thanks to newsletter subscribers Robyn Sharpe and Amanda Swaney for sending in these great tips and photos! They both received a copy of the gorgeous book from Fowlers, What’s Old is New Again, for their efforts. If you’d like more preserving tips from top cooks and chefs (including our own Stephanie Alexander) check out the book in our online shop.

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