2024 So far this year I have preserved.....

[Nicos]

Thanks Melanie. Much appreciated.

I’m pressed for time at the moment so will use your neighbours recipe (I also already have the sugar and vodka!) but I love the idea of your brandy recipe.
I guess it’d work really well with defrosted fruit later on in the year?
We have local apple brandy which would be a nice touch too.
I presume yours a thicker syrup than your neighbour’s ?

[MelanieSW]

I guess it’d work really well with defrosted fruit later on in the year?

Yes definitely! I used frozen, and didn't even bother to defrost

I'm not sure if the there's a difference in the syrupiness between both recipes tbh.
I've only ever tried the first one. But her husband loves the second one too so must be alright

[smallblueplanet]

Mint sauce.

[Bren In Pots]

Brilliant MelanieSW.

If it's not too cheeky to ask, do you fancy copying these to your blog, Bren In Pots?

Posted on the vine blog with a link back to MelanieSW's post.

[Andraste]

Last week I dried enough red basil leaves (microwave method) to fill a little pot (previously contained shop bought dried basil so handy to have a sort of right label if you ignore the best before date).

We didn't have enough blackcurrants to make vodka this year

It was expected. Although we'd been told when we took on the plot that the blackcurrants were ours, we conceded the scrappy strip where they lived to the people behind us when they decided it was their side of the boundary when they build a pallet-fence - life's too short to argue over a couple of inches of dirt full of bindweed & broken glass. We did accept their offer of a plant but as most were really old we pulled up a young offshoot which is still small so we yielded only enough to garnish a few puds this year.

OH reliably informs me we may be receiving a donation of unwanted redcurrants from a friend of his soon so redcurrant vodka may be on the cards instead

Edit to add: I made some mint sauce a few weeks back too smallblueplanet - soooooo much better than the shop stuff - actually tastes of mint

[Containergardener]

Parsley.
Have made chimchurri sauce, salsa verde and pesto
Also frozen chopped into bags and ice cube trays with oil
Stems also in bags for using in sauces and soups

[Plot70]

Strawberry and raspberry jam.
Also some slightly overcooked gooseberry jam that has to be sliced.

[Andraste]

Have frozen some Tayberries, loganberries & broadies. Considered freezing some mangetout but they'd passed their best before I thought about it.

[Nicos]

Last week I made mirabelle and vanilla jam, and mirabelle with raspberry jam

Also mirabelles in a vodka and red wine with a mixture of spices, sugar, orange zest….

[MelanieSW]

Apple sauce - My apple harvest was quite modest in the end, due to wildlife and recent winds. What remained and was even vaguely usable had been stewed, pureed and is currently being jarred in the water canner.

[MelanieSW]

Yesterday I made and jarred a batch of tomato sauce (sugo). That is probably it for tomatoes, it has not been a good year. Normally I'd also jar crushed tomatoes and freeze a few bags whole, but this looks unlikely this year.

[Bren In Pots]

Pickled sweet peppers.
Rhubarb, orange and ginger jam.
Blackberry and apple Jam.

[Vince G]

Last week I made mirabelle and vanilla jam, and mirabelle with raspberry jam

Also mirabelles in a vodka and red wine with a mixture of spices, sugar, orange zest….

Bet your Mirabelle booze is delicious Nicos. Allotment neighbour has a large tree of the yellow ones, most of which have hit the floor as she's spent most of her time bringing the plot back from the dead, now that she's taken it on from the old fella who refused to give uit up despite being in his late 80s and not able to maintain it. I shall have to shmooz her next year for a harvest next year.

[Vince G]

Frozen:

2 large bags of sliced orange, red and yellow peppers
8 takeaway tins of pasta sauce so far (made from roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt & pepper, olive oil)
2 x 4 green pesto using my basil and garlic
2 x 4 red pesto using my basil and garlic, plus roasted red pepper and oven dried tomato
5lbs of peas
3 lbs French beans
1lb bag of gooseberries
1lb bag of bluberries
about 40 Padrón peppers
about 40 Padrón peppers I've allowed to go red

Other:
6 jars strawberry jam (will probably make more from the blueberries and goosberries if the strawb jam runs out)

[Nicos]

Bet your Mirabelle booze is delicious Nicos. Allotment neighbour has a large tree of the yellow ones, most of which have hit the floor as she's spent most of her time bringing the plot back from the dead, now that she's taken it on from the old fella who refused to give uit up despite being in his late 80s and not able to maintain it. I shall have to shmooz her next year for a harvest next year.

Good call Vince.
We desperately need room in our freezers ( unexpectedly being delivered half a sheep this morning)…I was thinking of making more jam with the mirabelles but your post has reminded me I can defrost a load and make more booze with them!
Along with some more blackcurrants in vodka.
(We already have enough jam to sink a ship so I don’t really need any more)
Thanks for that reminder!…brill