keep enjoying your

It’s not the necessity it was back in Grandma’s Day, but preserving your fruit & veges is both fun and satisfying! It’s all about eating fresh when you can, and being smart with the surplus. Big PLUS - it’ll save you tons of $’s.

Preserving and pickling can take time, which is often in short supply, but many fresh produce items freeze really well, and that’s less time-consuming.

Before you start, hands, jars and equipment all need to be thoroughly cleaned.

Makes 1.5 litres

This is an oldie but a goodie, but it does require careful timing. Jam making is all about getting the jam mix up to 105C, which is the setting temperature, so make sure it comes to a good boil before timing.

Ingrediants

1kg berries of your choice – fresh or frozen

1kg caster sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Method

Put the berries, lemon juice and 170g of the sugarinto a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling and the sugar is dissolved, boil over moderate heat for 5 minutes (time it). Add the remaining sugar and stir to dissolve. Bring to the boil, boil another 5 minutes then remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Yes, you can freeze bananas, either whole, or sliced. If slicing, cut to approximately 2cm thick, freeze and bag as above.

Always choose fruit and veges for freezing when they’re at peak quality. You can use these basic tips for just about any kind of fruit: apples, berries, plums, peaches, nectarines, tomatoes and more.

Wash and dry the fruit. Slice larger items such as plums and peaches. Spread them in a single layer, untouching, on a rimmed baking tray. When they’re frozen solid, store in air-tight containers or freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible before placing bags of fruit in the freezer. Label your bags with the freeze date - most will be good for 8-12 months - freezing doesn’t mean that they’re good indefinitely!

Frozen fruit is great for baking pies and muffins, making smoothies, making sauces, chutneys and jams.

The best vegetables for freezing are corn, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and beans. Most vegetables benefit from blanching first, so rinse your produce, trim off stems, roots and any damaged areas. Shell fresh peas and beans. If you would typically peel, deseed or core the vegetable before cooking, do that now as well. Chop larger vegetables into a uniform size and blanch for two to three minutes before laying out on trays for freezing.