After the hectic growing period throughout the summer, autumn often brings a glut of fruit and vegetables which need to be stored or preserved for use throughout the winter. Here are some handy tips about preserving your bumper crop.
VEGETABLES
- Green tomatoes, courgettes and beans are all great ingredients for pickles and chutney – lots of quick and easy recipes to be found on the web.
- Ratatouille ingredients such as tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and onions can be part cooked and frozen in portions.
- Courgettes can also be used in cake baking giving a wonderful light, moist texture.
- Ripe tomatoes cooked with onions and garlic and then frozen make a delicious addition to pasta sauce or soups and casseroles.
- Oven drying tomatoes and peppers concentrates the flavour and they can be stored in olive oil in sterilised jars for months.
- Winter soup is a must for virtually all excess vegetables and will freeze extremely well. Make a base of chopped onion, carrot and celery; add vegetable or chicken stock and any or all of your favourite vegetables, herbs and seasoning. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked through and either liquidise or leave as a chunky soup before freezing.
- Squash and pumpkins are plentiful at this time of the year and once you’ve made lantern faces for Halloween, the pumpkin flesh is a great ingredient in soups or eaten as a roasted vegetable accompaniment to any meal. Pumpkin can also be pureed and stored in the freezer for use later in baking, soups or savoury dishes.
FRUIT
- Plums, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries make delicious homemade jam – lots of quick and easy recipes to be found on the web.
- Any over ripe fruit can be peeled, chopped and then frozen and used later for smoothies or as a fruit coulis or compote to go with ice cream or other desserts.
- Rhubarb, apple and blackberries can be part cooked and frozen and make a perfect filling for a crumble dessert.
- With a juicer, pears and apples can be juiced and then frozen in empty milk cartons – a cheaper and healthier alternative to supermarket fruit juice.
- Apple puree is a great way to preserve apples: peel, core and slice the apples, cook slowly in a pan with a little water and sugar until the apples are soft and pulpy. Push through a sieve to make the puree and freeze in portions. Great with roast pork and can be used in baking or as a topping for ice cream or yoghurt.
- Make ‘Fruit Leather’ from a puree of your chosen fruit adding sugar, lemon juice and any spices you prefer (cinnamon is great with apples). A perfect handy, healthy snack for lunchboxes or picnics – free from additives. Store it in airtight containers in the fridge or freezer. Lots of easy fruit leather recipes on the web.
Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labours!
What a timely article, thank you! I did exactly as you suggested with the surplus tomatoes this afternoon, home grown onions and garlic too
Hi Barbs, pleased that you the article useful.
Cheers, David.