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.
How to Preserve Quince: Easy Recipes for Beginners
Quince may seem intimidating at first—hard, tart, and inedible when raw—but this golden autumn fruit transforms into something magical when preserved. Whether you’re making fragrant quince paste, jewel-toned jelly, or simple quince compote, preserving this heirloom fruit is easier than you think. In this beginner-friendly guide, you’ll discover simple techniques to capture quince’s unique flavour and fill your pantry with homemade preserves that will last for months.
Pickled Zucchini: From Garden Surplus to Flavour-Packed Treasure
If you grow your own vegetables, you can certainly relate: we carry the first zucchini of the season into the house like a trophy and celebrate cooking it with obsessive care. Zucchini No. 5 is watched with growing unease, and by the tenth, the family becomes...
Channel Your Inner Oma: Simple Homemade Sauerkraut That Actually Tastes Amazing
Every autumn, there comes a time when my kitchen fills with the sharp, tangy scent of fermenting cabbage. Even though it may still be warm and sunny outside, for me, the season for winter comfort food has officially begun. Call it genetic programming if you like. I...
From Orchard to Jar: Heavenly Pear Jam Variations
Although it's still August - well, the end of August to be exact - we can already see the first signs of autumn around here: early morning mists, slightly shorter days and the first pears that are ready to be harvested! A few days ago, my dear colleague Bernadette...
How to Make Perfect Pear Jam: From Tree to Jar
When the first pears are ready to be harvested, we know autumn has arrived - no matter how warm the weather still feels. The first pears are ready for picking in August, while late-season varieties can hang on the tree until the end of October. But here's the dilemma:...
How to sterilise jars
Home canning has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it's obvious why: it's cheaper to make preserves by yourself instead of buying them, and you have full control over what's in your jars - or rather, what's NOT in them! Also, what's more sustainable...
Mastering Fermented Gherkins: Small Pickles, Big Flavor
I love it when I can harvest cucumbers and gherkins because it means that it's summer! And summer, for me as a school secretary, means holiday season, one of my favourite times of the year. While I could - and often do - eat cucumbers all summer long, gherkins are...
Fermentation vs. Pickling: Two Paths to Perfectly Preserved Food
Look at the title picture of the two jars of preserved gherkins. Apart from the herbs, can you see any difference? I dare say no. Same green cucumbers, same briny liquid—so what gives? The answer is that the gherkins in the left jar are preserved with vinegar, and...
Homemade Gherkin Pickles – A Simple, Yummy Recipe
As you may know, I preserve a variety of foods for my little family every year, and I enjoy trying out new recipes. One of the undebatable must-make preserves, however, is homemade gherkin pickles. That satisfying crunch when you bite into a perfectly pickled gherkin...
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...
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...