Thursday 23 August 2012

Preserving Summers' Bounty

I don't know about you, but I have already started preserving the excess from crops that are doing well, in readiness for winter.  There are many different ways of doing this - drying, leathering, smoking, freezing, bottling, juicing, jamming, pickling, salting - to name just a few.
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 As each crop is harvested, rather than standing for hours in the kitchen pickling, jamming and freezing - it is easier to work in small batches.  Dealing with a glut of a particular veg can be very time consuming.  I do like a manageable glut - so if there is a small surplus produced beyond my weekly needs - then I will go about preserving it.

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I prefer to eat seasonally and only preserve as a final option.  No one wants to waste any of their precious crops but there is a limit to how much you can store and how much you think you will eat over winter.  I do try not to grow too much of any one plant.  Some years I have grown a couple of dozen runner bean plants - had a fantastic crop - and ended up giving most of it away - because I just didn't have the freezer space  - and also because there are only just so many meals with beans that I actually want in winter - I prefer the cabbages and kales, brussels and broccoli.  It also means I look forward much more to the new seasons beans.  This year I have only grown half a dozen runner bean plants - which was nearly my undoing - due to the slug-attack-from-hell.  Luckily they survived despite everything and are giving me nice manageable quantities - a few to eat fresh - and a few to freeze.
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So far this year I have made redcurrant jelly, pickled beetroot, tomato sauce and Mediterranean chutney.  In the freezer there are frozen chunks of courgette to be made into soup and some bags of runner beans.  When the eating apples are ready (my apples - James Grieve - are not keepers) I'll make a few jars of apple sauce and freeze some for pies and crumbles and juice the rest.
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I also use dry storing for carrots, beetroot and parsnips.  Layering them in dry earth they keep really well right through the winter.  Parsnips keep well if left in the ground but on a cold and frosty morning when the earth is solid - I prefer just to uncover a couple that have been stored in dry earth or sand than trying to dig them up.

This is a huge subject and I can't possibly cover everything in this post - even if I plan carefully what I am going to grow there will inevitably be gluts (you only have to think of courgettes and you'll know what I mean).  Overplanting means that you do have to deal with your excess,  if you have so much stored that you never get round to eating it all, you are just wasting your time.

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Here's what Bob Flowerdew has to say in his book 'Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own' where he covers every aspect of storage and preservation of crops.
"It simply makes sense to store and preserve as much as you can in season of your own home-grown produce to keep you provided as long as possible after your fresh supplies run out.  And if you believe in eating what you have rather than what you fancy so the more available ingredients the better.  With more fresh, stored and processed ingredients, the most possible recipes and the finer your table."

35 comments:

  1. Lovely post Elaine I lover Bob Flowerdew my all time favourite gardener.

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    1. Geoff Hamilton is my all time favourite - but Bob's right up there for no-nonsense gardening

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  2. The only thing I will have had a lot of is shallots this year.I think they will store ok anyway but I prefer to harvest as things are ready.Since our garden is tiny anyway I dont grow large amounts of anything so wouldnt normally need to preserve anything.I did have a glut of tomatoes last year which I made into sauce and froze.

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    1. You're lucky my shallots were rubbish this year - but tomatoes have to be the best thing as there are so many things you can do with them when preserving.

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  3. Well I hope to have a glut of tomatoes soon. I hope to make sauce to freeze. As always I will freeze runner beans & for the first time I hope for a jar or two of dried borlotti beans.

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    1. I didn't grow any borlottis this year - I wish I had now - but I always save some haricots from the french beans - unfortunately my harvest has been pretty small this year - the worst year I have ever had with french beans.

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  4. What great storing information ! Thanks Elaine.
    Oh yes...them courgettes again...LOL!
    Onions are great to store, i pickled beetroot and froze portions of spinach and turnips.I have just blanched chunks of courgettes and must divide them into 2 person portions if I have room in my freezer now!I will make chutney and sauce with the tomatoes.

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    1. It's such a busy time of year for harvesting and preserving - something I look forward to every year - and finding different ways of dealing with all the excess.

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  5. Looks like you're going to be busy over the next few weeks! But you'll be able to enjoy the results of your work all through the winter. I like the sound of Mediterranean chutney - does it involve tomatoes and aubergine?

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    1. Yes - it's practically the same stuff you would put into a Ratatouille but with vinegar and sugar added.

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  6. I've already done all my tomato based preserves, and have a huge amount still on the plants. I can't even give them away. Today I shall do pickled red cabbage, and maybe try some pickled carrots too.

    The winter stocks are slowly building-up.

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    1. Pickled carrots eh! Not something I've tried yet. I hope to do some Sandwich Pickle soon - which involves cucumber and onion just like my Mum used to make.

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  7. We've not had an excess of anything this year so far but I'm expecting a big crop of damsons soon! I love Bob Flowerdew too x

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    1. Lucky you - not a single Damson this year. Mind you I still have Damson jam from about three years ago.

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  8. Must admit we do more freezing than any other sort of preserving and there is always someone who will appreciate a gift of fresh fruit or vegetables. Our plot neighbours takes courgettes to a local hospice.

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    1. Last year I had so many courgettes that I was leaving boxes of them 'help yourself' in the street, giving them to friends and my husband was taking them into work - this year we hardly have enough for ourselves. Never two years the same eh!

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    2. Funnily enough we wondered about leaving a box in our street too!

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    3. It took under two hours for the boxes of courgettes to be emptied every time I left them out - I think it was the dog walkers stuffing their pockets. At least they went to a good home and not on the compost heap which would have been sad.

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  9. I haven't had any gluts this year. I was hoping to have plenty of beans in the freezer ready for winter, but I haven't harvested a single one yet.

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    1. It's still early days yet Jo - be patient - I am sure they will start producing - mine have after a very poor start.

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  10. My attitude to preserving is very much like yours. I prefer fresh things. However some preserved things are so nice that I'd make them even if it wasn't necessary to preserve them (if you see what I mean) - e.g. Blackcurrant jam; pickled onions/shallots; tomato sauce.

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    1. I'm with you on this one Mark - I don't want to work unnecessarily hard on preserving but who can resist blackcurrant jam and pickled onions - not together of course.

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  11. Interesting post, and good photos, although it's not something that I do. Flighty xx

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    1. I'm sure you store onions and potatoes - even if you don't make jam.

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    2. I do but that's easy compared to all this! xx

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  12. Very vibrant photos. I haven't done any canning but I freeze occasionally. This year I don't have much in bulk!

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    1. This is a bad year for me too - I haven't really had too much of a glut of anything - supplies will be pretty low this winter.

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  13. Elaine you are just awesome! Even if I'd managed to grow an excess of food (I'm currently wondering when to harvest my ONE spaghetti squash for maximum enjoyment), I'm not sure I'd have the time to preserve it all ... plus there's the teensy consideration of where to put it in my miniscule flat. Ah, I seem to back at my dream of country living with wide open spaces and a large kitchen again!
    At least I can read about it... sounds like the Bob Flowerdew book is a good one and my gardening bookshelf is growing faster than my garden!

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    1. Snap! I only have one spaghetti squash as well - it is getting pretty big - I think I will wait till it changes from paleish green to golden. Believe me the more space you have the harder it gets to keep it under control.

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  14. I love Bob's philosophy - and your colourful jars. I have to admit to really disliking the watery consistency of frozen beans, any tips for avoiding this? Other than pickling or eating them all...

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    1. I have tried salting beans before - they actually taste better than freezing and remain crisp - but you have to remember to take them out of the preserving jar well before you need them - which I nearly always forgot to do.

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  15. Hi Elaine,

    I have just found your blog, and been given both inspiration and solace. Down here in the West Country we've had just so much rain, this year has been pretty much of a wash out.

    The slugs have been a real problem for me too. I've used four packets of Nematodes on those guys, and resorted to what I hope are a wildlife friendly type of pellet, and still they keep on coming!

    And now the mice have nipped out the tops of each and every one of my Brassicas!!

    Hey Ho. Next year..! Jessica.

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    1. You're right about this summer being a wash out- not the best year I've ever had for growing veg. A couple of nights ago we had heavy rain and watched 'the march of the snails' across the patio, the next morning some lovely new chrysanthemums I had potted up had had all their flowers heads eaten off. As you say hey ho!

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  16. Slug-attack-from-hell...LOL! As you know, I can empathise.

    Your tactic of just preserving a little bit of each harvest is probably the most sound. I've had years where I've made FAR too much jam and chutney and it just ends up being given away to be honest.

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    1. Also to take into consideration is the cost of preserving sugar which has gone up enormously this year. It's nice to be able to give stuff away obviously but there must come a time when enough is enough.

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