Last Autumn was the first time in years that I hardly did any preserving. A few jars of redcurrant jelly, some pickled beetroot and some ratatouille and mediterranean chutney and that's it. Usually I spend hours in the kitchen making jams and chutneys at the end of the gardening season, trying not to waste anything. Last year was an exception as the fruit harvest wasn't very good and there wasn't an awful lot to preserve.
I have been clearing out my store cupboard and found jams and jellies going back to 2006. There are only two of us and we just don't eat enough of that kind of food - so it sits in the cupboard, year after year, and I keep adding to it mindlessly, because I hate waste. The thing is, it is all still perfectly edible. There is no fuzz on top, it tastes just as good as when I made it, the picalilli that used up all the spare cauliflower and beans still has a fresh bright colour, but it sits unused in the cupboard.
So what will I do this year if there is a glut of plums or blackcurrants? There are only so many plum crumbles you can eat. I pack the freezer full of rhubarb and gooseberries when there is really no need - we only eat puddings at the weekend and I do prefer to eat things in season. I am not sure what the answer is - with fruit and veg gardening the harvests are so unpredictable that I always feel that I should use it all up when I have worked so hard at producing it in the first place.
Anyone out there got any answers!
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| Preserves 2012 |
So what will I do this year if there is a glut of plums or blackcurrants? There are only so many plum crumbles you can eat. I pack the freezer full of rhubarb and gooseberries when there is really no need - we only eat puddings at the weekend and I do prefer to eat things in season. I am not sure what the answer is - with fruit and veg gardening the harvests are so unpredictable that I always feel that I should use it all up when I have worked so hard at producing it in the first place.
Anyone out there got any answers!
Get a dehydrator! I did and it has freed up SO much space in the freezer for other stuff :-)
ReplyDeleteThat is something I hadn't thought of - thanks for the suggestion.
DeleteSnap!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAny advice would be much appreciated.
So - you have the same problem - we'll just have to put our thinking caps on.
DeleteWe don't eat jams but we make a sort of compote with our fruit (far far less sugar) which is frozen and used to add to plain yoghurt (instead of buying fruit yoghurt)and to morning porridge.
ReplyDeleteAs kids we always had a dollop of compote on our rice pudding as well. I have made freezer raspberry jam before now but even that didn't get used very much.
DeleteI always share our harvests, I love to gift things I've grown.
ReplyDeleteI do that too Jo and I leave boxes of stuff on the village bench for people to help themselves.
DeleteIs there perhaps an opportunity to give it away to homeless / disadvantaged people (if Health & Safety regs allow!)? As you say, it would be a real shame to waste perfectly good food. Maybe Citizens' Advice could advise you about whether you can sell the food at a WI market or something??
ReplyDeleteBoth good ideas Mark - not sure how I would accomplish this though as we live in the back of beyond.
DeleteI was the same, with a glut of plums made into jam a few years ago. I gave a few away but was left with loads that sat in the cupboard. They didn't go off, but just dried out and weren't very nice. I reckon freezing is the best thing, to make into puddings later! xx
ReplyDeleteTrouble is the freezer gets full pretty quickly - I shall have to be more selective as to what I fill it with.
DeleteTrade your jams or jellies with seeds from other gardeners! (=
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea Jay
DeleteI made chutney and flavored vodka with my rhubarb last year (as well as the obligatory crumble). I also made a lot of jam, which I don't think I'll do this year as only the blackcurrant jam was really popular. I do find that tons of my fruit gets wasted, so this year I am going to use it to make smoothies.
ReplyDeleteI can see that I am going to have to be a bit more inventive.
DeleteCould you start a local food swap? Trade excess fruit and veg for eggs or home baked cakes?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very community-friendly idea but as I live in a very small village and almost everyone grows their own veg not sure it would work.
DeleteThe local Church Fete used to be a good place for jams, pickles and cotton hankies as I fondly recall...but I like the trade your jams for seeds idea best of all :)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a fete in the village any more which is a shame.
DeleteI am big on bottling my excess tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, etc. I also make my own paté, and occasionally bacon.
ReplyDeleteI keep a mental list of what's in the store cupboard and plan around it (I'm also the cook). It could be an idea to have a blackboard in the kitchen with everything written down, so you don't ignore what's there.
The only things that get chucked here, are jams and experimental chutneys. Small jars are a good idea too!
I really should try bottling more but finding the space to store everything in my small kitchen is already a problem. Goodness I am sounding really negative aren't I.
DeleteI put stewed rhubarb or stewed fruits on yoghurt for breakfast - that uses them up pretty fast and makes me feel virtuous. Have you tried making Cassis or Rumtopf?
ReplyDeleteHere's to a massive harvest this year! A glut is a lovely problem to have!
As I don't drink alcohol I usually make cordials instead.
DeleteElaine...make booze! ;)
ReplyDeleteOr...make cordials for yourself and BOOZE for guests! When they drop by for a spot of Cassis you can send them home with one of those pots of jam!
DeleteA dilemma Elaine but a good one to have. I think that all my suggestions have already been
ReplyDeletesuggested but will return if I think of anything else :)
I have certainly been given plenty of suggestions to mull through I just hope this year will be a bit more fruitful than last.
DeleteI so get this dilemma. Brought up on "waste not want not" I hate wasting food, but preserving takes such a lot of work and electricity or gas (in winter I can use the wood stove, but I'm not lighting it in midsummer to bottle tomatoes!). I used to make jam when my kids were little, and got the irony of limiting sugary sweets, but urging them to eat the home-made jam! I don't need jam in my diet at all. Nowadays my strategies are: plant more intelligently, aiming to avoid gluts (ie, one or two cucumber plants, not a whole packet of seed planted at once.) What's for dinner is based on what's in the garden, so build up a repertoire of recipes so you can eat zucchini every day and not get bored. Take lunch to work, bake snacks, make breakfast out of the garden too. Give away fresh food - foster the development of a local bartering-giveaway spot. Sun dry - it's an easy, low energy way to preserve things like tomatoes and chilis. Make preserves that are real treats, so good that you use them as gifts (as opposed to things that will just sit there because it can't compete with the next season's fresh food). And if all else fails, have chooks.
ReplyDeleteI can see we are on the same wavelength Linda your advice all makes good sense.
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