Preserving food

If you are lucky enough to have fruit trees or a vegetable garden, or access to cheap produce when it is in season, you might want to try keeping it longer by preserving it.  Then you can enjoy those same summer fruits and vegetables later in the year without having to pay out-of-season prices. 

Until recent decades, preserving was something done in every household.  Preserving is now making a huge comeback as people remember to appreciate the skills, satisfaction and unbeatable flavours of preparing food at home.  Pickles and chutneys can also help to make vegetables seem more appealing if you have family members who won’t eat zucchini, cauliflower or other healthy treats.   Shelves full of preserves also help in being prepared for a civil defence emergency.  Your 3 days supply of food will be much tastier if you can include home-preserved fruit or chutney.

The trusty Edmonds cookbook has great information and recipes for preserving.  Take care to follow the instructions when preserving food to avoid botulism.  Botulism is a form of foodbourne illness that can cause paralysis and be fatal.  You should carefully select and wash fresh food and make sure that you peel, hot pack and add acid as required. Also use acceptable jars and self-sealing lids and process them in boiling water for the correct time.

Did you know?

• New Zealand has a long history of freezing and preserving food: Māori carefully stored kumara for the winter in pits or storehouses New Zealand’s first shipment of frozen meat to Britain was in 1882.
• The canned and frozen food you buy at the supermarket uses exactly the same methods as your preserved and frozen food at home. Just on a bigger scale.

Related links

• Freezing food
• Great reasons to freeze food
• Blanching vegetables for freezing
• Fruit and vegetables - growing your own favourites

External links 

Check out the following websites for tips, ideas, recipes and inspiring photos:

• New Zealand Gardener
• Healthy Food Guide
• Lovefoodhatewaste.com