The Art of Preserving: Capture Nature’s Bounty
There’s something truly magical about opening a jar of tomato sauce in the dead of winter or gifting homemade preserves to friends and family. Discover how this rewarding practice brings sustainability, savings, and incredible flavour to your kitchen!
From water bath canning vibrant jams and pickles to pressure canning hearty soups and sauces, I guide you through safe, tested methods to store nature’s bounty. Learn how simple techniques like freezing and fermenting can transform fresh produce into pantry treasures that last for months.
Beginners will find step-by-step instructions that take the mystery out of preserving, while experienced canners can explore unique flavour combinations and international preserving traditions.
Homemade Elderflower Syrup (simple recipe)
When it suddenly smells of summer at the end of May/beginning of June – sweet, flowery and a bit like childhood – then it’s elderflower time! And as this fragrance is too precious to enjoy just on a walk, I preserve it every year with my homemade elderflower syrup....
Lilac syrup
Every year, I can't wait for the lilac to bloom, and every year, I'm sad when it fades again a few weeks later. That's why I try to preserve those beautiful flowers as best as I can and thus prolong their season. Contrary to popular opinion, lilac flowers are not...
Sweet-sour pumpkin
Let’s be honest: there comes a point every autumn when we hit “peak pumpkin spice”. You know, when even your neighbour’s cat seems to wear a pumpkin spice collar. But wait: before you swear off anything pumpkin for the rest of your life, let me introduce you to this...
How to Preserve Quince: Easy Recipes for Beginners
Once the apples, plums, and pears are harvested, once all the nuts are dried and in bags for storage, and the vegetable garden is cleaned up for winter, we are blessed with one last fruit: the quince. Looking like a knobbly apple but smelling deliciously aromatic,...
Pear Jam
After a year with almost no fruits due to an arid spring and summer, this year provides us with abundant berries, apples, plums and pears! Every evening I peel and slice fruits to preserve them for winter. I've already made apple sauce, dry-canned apples and started...
Dry-canning apples
Usually, when we preserve fruits or vegetables by canning, we add some liquid (usually water) to fill up the jars. But did you know that you can also preserve apples by dry-canning them? These dry-canned apples are the basis for a quick apple strudel or the filling...
How to make apple vinegar from scraps
If you, like me, pickle a lot of vegetables, you need a good deal of apple vinegar. Instead of buying it, however, why not try your hand at making it by yourself - from scraps! It's so easy, that you'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier and never will buy a drop of...
Canning apple sauce
Apples are available all year round, especially when you grow a variety of them that ensure a long harvesting and shelf life. If you don’t have an orchard, you still can buy apples at any time of year. Nevertheless, fresh apples, plucked right from a tree when they...
Pickled beetroots
Never judge a book by its cover - or in this case: a vegetable by its appearance. Beetroots are not the prettiest of veggies. They are plump, dirty and make a hell of a mess when cut up. But if you get to know them, you'll love them. You can eat them raw, cooked,...
How to dry herbs
What would cooking be without herbs? They not only are beneficial for our health but also add flavour to practically any dish. To make sure that we can use herbs all year round, we have to preserve them during summer. Drying is the most common practice to preserve...
Six great ways to preserve herbs
Herbs are often unremarkable to look at, but man, what would we do without their flavour? Can you imagine a tomato sauce without thyme, rosemary and basil? Or a roast without a bouquet garni? What about pesto and herb butter for a barbecue? Yet, herbs not only flatter...
Three recipes for herb pesto
Aficionados of pasta and fresh vegetables appreciate the fresh and aromatic flavour of pesto. If you have fresh herbs at hand you can make some delicious herb pesto with simple means and relatively few ingredients. The big advantage compared to the store-bought...
Five uses for calendula
The first year I cultivated my garden, I decided to sow a few calendula between rows of red cabbage. The patch looked beautiful with its combination of thick violet cabbage heads and the bright orange calendula flowers floating above them like tiny suns. Not knowing...
My favourite strawberry jams with a twist
Fancy strawberry jam with a twist? Try these yummy recipes for strawberry jam with mint, woodruff or kiwi. Four ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time are all you need to be sent to seventh jam heaven. Strawberry Mint Jam My first recipe is for strawberry mint...
Classic strawberry jam
Strawberries! These sweet, bright red fruits are always a highlight in desserts and cakes. And above all in homemade classic strawberry jam! Enjoy it on freshly baked rolls and you have the ultimate indulgence for breakfast. You can easily capture the sweet taste of...