Making the season last

Preserving

From the garden, hedgerow and kitchen

Preserving is how we make the most of what is abundant now and carry a little of each season forward with us.

From jams, chutneys and bottled tomatoes to ferments, freezing, drying and simple seasonal makes, this is where I share what we are preserving at home, what works for us and what I am learning along the way.

Making good food last

Preserving what we grow and gather

One of the things I love most about growing and making more of our own food is learning how to make it last beyond the day it is picked.

A glut of tomatoes can become jars of passata for winter lasagne. Blackberries gathered in summer can become jam, cordial or something tucked away for later. Herbs, flowers and fruit can be dried, frozen, fermented or turned into something completely different.

For me, preserving is not about creating a pantry that looks perfect. It is about using what we have well, wasting less and gradually learning the skills that allow us to rely a little less on the supermarket.

And there is something particularly lovely about opening a jar in the middle of winter and remembering exactly where its contents came from.

From abundance to pantry

Grow it, gather it, preserve it, use it. The aim is not simply to fill shelves but to make what we have available for our family long after its season has passed.

Have a rummage

Browse Preserving

Choose a method or follow the seasons and see what we have been putting by.

Jams, Jellies & Chutneys

Fruit, vegetables and seasonal harvests turned into jars we can enjoy long after picking.

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Bottling & Canning

Passata, sauces and other foods preserved in jars for the pantry.

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Fermenting

Living foods and drinks, from ginger bugs and kefir to whatever starts bubbling on the kitchen counter next.

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Freezing & Storing

Simple ways we freeze, store and put away food when preserving does not need to involve a jar.

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Drying & Dehydrating

Herbs, seeds and seasonal produce preserved simply by removing moisture.

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Herbs, Flowers & Seasonal Makes

Useful things made from what is growing around us, including rose water, elderberry syrup and other garden and foraged ingredients.

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A little at a time

Learning to preserve through the seasons

I am still learning all the time.

Some things have become part of our normal kitchen rhythm while others are experiments I am trying for the first time. Some batches work beautifully and occasionally something teaches me exactly what not to do next time.

I want this section to include all of that because learning to preserve food is a skill built by actually doing it.

You do not need a huge garden, a dedicated pantry or shelves filled with matching jars to begin. Start with what is abundant, learn one method at a time and build from there.

See the latest preserving posts

Recently from the kitchen