Storing and Preserving Home-Grown Fruit and Veg Successfully

Part of the Storing & Preserving Garden Produce For Dummies Cheat Sheet (UK Edition)

Here are a few important do’s and don’ts to bear in mind so that you can enjoy your produce at the planning, growing, making and eating stages, which can be several months apart:

Clamping and other simple storage:
- Do use breathable natural materials as containers.
- Do choose a place where moisture doesn’t lurk.
- Do store orchard fruits high up in a loft; open the shutters from time to time for a change of air.
- Do store roots low down in a cellar: dry, dark and cool.
- Do go through your stored produce from time to time and remove any rotten items.
- Do work on recognising signs of pests near your stores so that you can eradicate them quickly.
Using sweetness for preserving:
- Do make enough time for the whole process.
- Do use under-ripe or ‘just ripe’ fruit.
- Do add water but only for the first cooking stage (if the recipe says so). Boil until fruit is properly soft, add sugar at a gentle heat and dissolve totally before whizzing up the heat to setting point.
- Do check regularly for a preserve’s setting point.
- Do pot when warm.
- Don’t add sugar until your fruit is soft (sugar hardens fruit skins).
- Don’t over-boil your preserve at the sugar stage (it goes hard).
Making good use of vinegar:
- Do use the right vinegar for the job; let your recipe guide you.
- Do make sure that your vinegar is 5 per cent acid or more.
- Do remove moisture, by salting, from ‘wet’ produce before pickling.
- Do boil chutneys until they’re thick and pulpy, and dragging a wooden spoon across the base of the pan leaves a clear line.
- Don’t worry if your vinegar grows a natural haze; just sieve before using (vinegar is a living product).
Freezing:
- Do buy an efficient freezer and defrost it at least once a year.
- Do blanch special foods.
- Do label frozen food effectively.
- Do rotate your produce in your freezer. Open freeze or bag up in useful quantities and wrap produce tightly to eliminate air.
- Do check what’s lurking at the bottom of the freezer and use it or chuck it.
- Don’t put warm food into the freezer; chill it in the fridge first.
- Don’t leave your freezer half empty: fill the space with newspaper or water bottles for energy saving and efficiency.
Drying, salting and vacuum-packing:
- Do lay drying produce out in single layers where warm air can circulate and moisture can escape; or use a purpose-made food dehydrator.
- Do rinse salted produce well and dry it quickly before it reabsorbs moisture.
- Do vacuum pack in useful amounts: you can’t easily reseal a vacuum pouch.
- Don’t overlap drying produce.
- Don’t use corrosive materials near salt.
- Don’t vacuum-pack sharp objects: they make tiny holes in the pouches and admit air.
Making drinks for children and adults:
- Do make your own cordials free from unwanted additives.
- Do store cordials in the freezer or refrigerate and use up within six weeks (unless you heat-treat).
- Do make wines and cider from second-quality vegetables and fruit; it transforms these seconds into something special.
- Don’t leave home-made cordial out of the fridge.
- Don’t drink all the wine in one go: it’s probably stronger than you think!
Recipes:
- Do gather recipes from friends and neighbours.
- Do read and understand your recipe, jotting down any personal experiences or successful shortcuts you discover along the way.
Potting:
- Do pot up your still-warm produce into sterile, warm jars: a vacuum forms when it all cools down, creating a safe food environment for months of storage.
- Do ensure that lids with pop-up centres stay depressed and cellophane jar closures have a smooth, slightly concave shape.