An Overview of Preserving Methods:
Pickles
Pickled vegetables retain their texture, shape, & colour and are preserved in spiced vinegar.
This method is good for:
French beans, beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomato; fruits; hard-boiled eggs
Chutneys
Vegetables are chopped and cooked with vinegar, spices and sugar often with fruits.
This method is good for:
Beetroot, zucchini, capsicum, pumpkin, tomato, apple, apricot, pear, rhubarb, dried fruit
Relishes
Vegetables retain their crispness by chopping veggies coarsely and cooking quickly or not at all; keep in jar for at least 2 months before using.
This method is good for:
Tomato, capsicum, celery, cucumber, onion, beetroot, cabbage, corn, etc.
Sauces & Ketchup
To make sauces cook vegetables with vinegar then strain; sauces are made from multiple vegetables, ketchup only one.
This method is good for:
Mushrooms, onion, tomato.
Keys to preserving:
make sure the acidity level is high enough (greater than 4.6pH) – you can use lemon juice or citric acid to increase pH
make sure the jars are clean (sterilized)
for more info go to USDA National Center for Home Preserving website
Get your community together:
Create a local food swap – neighbors come together with their produce and swap for yours.
Fermenting or preserving group – each person brings their glut and creates a ferment (e.g. sauerkraut, kimchi) or a preserve (e.g. tomato passata, jam, chutney); each participant leaves with some of each.
Momma Bake- each ‘Momma’ brings the ingredients for a dish (times the number of participants); each person leaves with each dish created.
Ideas for common 'gluts':
Tomatoes
Semi-dried (in oil)
Sun-dried (in oil)
Passata (bottle)
Cook with zucchini and basil (freeze)
Cook with mince and seasoning (freeze)
Desert wine
Chutneys (bottle)
Kasundi (bottle)
Sauce/ketchup (bottle)
BBQ sauce (bottle)
Tomato paste (bottle)
Green tomato pickles (bottle)
Zucchini
Pickles (bottle)
Lacto-ferment (ready after 5-7 days)
Fritters (freeze)
Sauté with onion & garlic (freeze)
Grill and pack in oil
Grate into other dishes: Bolognaise cakes, meatballs, fritters, etc.
Cucumbers
Pickles (bottle)
Lacto-ferment (ready after 5-7 days)
Bread and butter pickles (bottle)
Dill pickles (bottle)
Sweet pickles (bottle)
Relish (bottle)
Chillies
Relish (bottle)
Kasundi (bottle)
Sweet chilli sauce (bottle)
Chutneys (bottle)
Hot sauce (bottle)
Apples
Chutneys (bottle)
Worcester sauce (bottle)
Apple sauce (bottle or freeze)
Apple butter (bottle or freeze)
Jelly (bottle)
Chokos/Cheyote Squash
Apple & choko sauce (bottle or freeze)
Chutney
Pickles
Rhubarb
Chop and freeze for later use
Rhubarb compote (freeze or bottle)
Rhubarb chutney (bottle)
Rhubarb and raspberry jam (bottle)
Rhubarb and apple relish
Quince
Quince chutney
Quince jam
Quince Jelly
Quince Paste
Lemons
Preserved in salt
Juice and freeze
Lemon cordial
Lemon jelly
Marmalade
Lemon butter/curd
Orange
Marmalade
Boil whole to use in almond cakes (freeze)
Orange cordial
Orange butter/curd
Happy Preserving.......N x