GYO's editorial assistant with another growing question for you to answer

[Rose C]

Afternoon growers, I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far. I have another question that i'd love for you all to answer. It is, what preserving methods do you use for surplus fruit and veg? When the harvest period starts drawing to a close, a lot of us are left with more crops than we can eat, and a limited time to make use of them! Some of the answers might be featured in the October issue, so keep your eyes peeled!

[nickdub]

I usually put surplus fruit in the freezer, unless it stores naturally like late season apples. Then I make a bit of conserve with some of the fruit using less sugar than you would for proper jam - tastes better with a higher ratio of fruit in it imo and keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

[ameno]

Freezing, usually. Fruit all go in the freezer, as do beans, and courgettes (pre-sliced, so they can go straight into meals).
I've made pickled green tomatoes in previous years, too. Both the kind pickled in vinegar and lacto-fermented ones in brine.
I've also made wine out of excess fruit crops, like plums, apples and rhubarb.

Most other stuff I have an excess of just lasts on it's own. Onions and potatoes last quite a while, squash and sweet potatoes last for months, most root veg lasts in the ground where I live (we have fairly mild winters).

[Chestnut]

Spuds, pumpkins, apples and onions just go in cardboard boxes in the garage where it’s cool but dry and frost free.
I also freeze quite a bit of stuff, as well as bottling fruit, assorted pickles and chutneys, and drying veg for later use in soups etc.
I tried salting a jar of runner beans last year, but didn’t enjoy eating them as they were too salty for my taste, even after rinsing and cooking.
A root veg clamp will be this year’s experiment.

[lottie dolly]

Another 1 for freezing here,soup could be made to freeze,or just freeze ingredients ready to make fresh soup,other years i have dried bean seeds,but not lasted,so this year am going to bag and freeze bean seeds straight from the pod,i have 2 rows just for this purpose,jam,the odd chutney,as has already been said,lots of things will keep for a while if stored correctly,parsnips can stay in the ground,as can the relevant brassica's.

[SarrissUK]

Fruit and berries go into the freezer, jam, cakes, cordial or flavoured vodka (a real favourite in this house).

Glut veg are either stored appropriately (carrots in the dark, in sand, apples in trays somewhere cool and dark, potatoes in sacks that exclude light, stored somewhere cool), but most of them get frozen, made into chutneys and now I'm toying with fermentation. I love sauerkraut, and anything pickled so other fermentation is an extension of that.

I eat more veg during the summer because of the gluts, than I do in the winter, and less meat. I also eat less potatoes, rice and other carbs during the summer as the veg and salads take over the plate

[Logunner]

Blackcurrants = Vodka
Rhubarb = Gin
Raspberries = Gin & Vodka

Not sure about the rest just yet...

[Baldy]

Note to self - keep an eye on logrunner's posts

[ameno]

I tried salting a jar of runner beans last year, but didn’t enjoy eating them as they were too salty for my taste, even after rinsing and cooking.

Try fermenting them instead.
They end up sour (thanks to the lactic acid), but it uses less salt so they don't taste excessively salty, and they last ages.
About one level tablespoon of salt for every litre of water is plenty. Pack the beans tightly into sterilized jars, pour the brine over them, lid them loosely (don't do it right up), and leave to ferment for a few days to two weeks at room temperature (how long depends on how warm the room is and how sour you like your beans). Once they taste about the right level of sour for you, move the somewhere cooler, so that fermentation slows right down. A cellar, unheated garage, shed, or even the fridge.

[weegie]

Runner beans
I freeze, just chopping them into 1/2-inch pieces and putting straight into bags without blanching. After several months the texture is a little rubbery after cooking but they still taste really good. I can't be bothered / don't have time to blanche first.

Peas
I shell straight into bags and freeze without blanching. Works well, though we've always eaten them within a few months.

Cabbage
I love sauerkraut and make some each year from bought, organic cabbages. I may have room next year to grow my own.

Courgettes
I'll have to sort something out - I've never had such a bumper crop before!

Apples
The Bramleys store well wrapped in newspaper and kept in baskets in a cool place, lasting until March/April.

The Grenadiers (also a cooker) don't keep so I cook them first, then freeze some and bottle the rest in preserving jars, Le Parfait or Kilner. Frozen ones last well for 6-8 months but then lose a bit of flavour. Lightly sweetened puree in jars lasts perfectly for years -I once found a 10-year-old jar of plums at the back of a cupboard and they were delicious! Bottling is more trouble to do initially but is much more convenient when I want to use it, and in any case I don't have enough room in the freezer - last year I bottled nearly 20 litres and we still have some left.

Blackcurrants, rhubarb
I freeze any surplus after cooking lightly with a little sugar. If necessary I'll bottle some rhubarb to save space in the freezer.

[Teds Mum]

Most of the raspberries and blackberries are picked straight into plastic bags and frozen, some get made into wine. I do use them for jam but usually later in the season from frozen because I have only so much space for jars and all available jar space at the end of summer is need for chutney, relish and pickles.

Last year we had a bumper crop of crystal apple cucumbers, I was picking dozens of them. This led to the discovery of a sweet cucumber relish recipe, my family absolutely love the stuff and I have to make it every year now. I hope the cucumbers do well this summer, we are down to our last jar!

[Issy]

Damson vodka and looking forward to the elderberries later on for the wonderful elderberry wine - the courgettes and to tomatoes make lovely ratatouille and I have already stored veg soup made along with lots of other veg and a lovely round courgette somebody gave me.

[Can the Man]

Raspberries are frozen to be used in trifles and smoothies.
Potatoes are washed and dried then stored in a deep cardboard box layered with straw, any blemished ones are removed for early use.
Peas frozen directly in zip lock bags. No blanching.
Curly kale is boiled cooled the put into individual portion zip lock bags and frozen.
Sprouts are blanched and frozen
I also share excess with family & friends.

[muckdiva]

As well as the usual freezing and making jams and chutney, I like drying plums and apple rings - they keep well and are great in puddings and cakes.

[SarrissUK]

I tried fermenting french beans, chard stalks and chard leaves last weekend. They're ready to eat now, and I'm not sure about the chard stalks - they definitely still need cooking, but the chard leaves, OMG. I can eat them by the gallon! So I'm sowing more chard