Last Chance to Appear in GYO's September Issue

[reetnproper]

Last year I:

pickled cucumbers and beetroots (but not together );
froze rhubarb, runner beans and french beans (we were still eating the latter two come January );
cooked and froze red tomatoes for use in chillies, spag bol and beef stroganofs etc;
cooked and froze green tomatoes for use as a base for Green Tomato soup;
dried the excess chillis;
kept our elderly neighbour supplied with various salad leaves, cucumbers and beans; and
used our large number of winter squashes as decorations about the house (starting with our hallway on Halloween) until ready for use .

This year will probably be much of the same with mangtout and courgettes added to the list (I've already got 1lb of mangetout in the freezer).

Oddly enought, no matter how many sweetcorn or strawberry plants I have, I never seem to have a glut of either .

[gojiberry]

I make jams and chutneys and use all the other methods of preserving but at the end of the day there is only so much that you can eat in a year. I have just cleared out the freezer of last years veg that didn't get used and this included broad and runner beans, PSB and courgettes.
One method of preservation I am using this year is is fruit in brandy, not a cheap method but I reckon strawberries in brandy on Xmas day will go down real well after the Turkey dinner.

Ian

[Sara]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Do any of you store veg in clamps and boxes of sand or do you find it easier to make a tasty chutney?

[Alison]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Do any of you store veg in clamps and boxes of sand or do you find it easier to make a tasty chutney?

Combination, makes lots of jams, chutneys, relishes etc, can fruit and tomato sauces but also salt beans, store carrots in sand, pots in sacks etc etc. Chutneys etc are great but not a substitute for actual veg with your main meal.

[Sara]

Thanks, Alison. That's good to know. What does everyone else think? Would you rather make a meal of your stored crops or turn them into a preserve?

I think it's hard to beat a plate of home-grown veg for flavour, but I also have a weakness for my gran's jam recipe!

[solway cropper]

Sara, I'm going to make a beetroot clamp this year. I've always pickled what I couldn't use fresh but it looses that gorgeous sweetness and I do think that boiled beetroot is a very underrated veg.

[SarzWix]

It's horses for courses really. Some things store quite well in a cool place, like potatoes in sacks, onions in nets and garlic in strings. But other things only keep in the freezer, or, by being converted into a preserve of some sort.

I grow a large quantity of tomatoes specifically to turn into sauces and soups to last through the winter because otherwise we'd be spending a fortune on tinned tomatoes.

[haza1981]

It's my first year growing so I will be glad of any excess. Anything I do have left over (and thats after hampers for the family) will got wine and maybe if there is anything left after that I may make some jams. But I prefer Wine

[dave_norm_smith]

Freeze, pickle, chutney or jam and then trade the excess with friends and family to extend the choice or variety. This has two benefits in that you don't get bored of the same blackberry jam over and over again and you get to try new things that you may then opt to grow in the season ahead. Now would anybody care to swap a blackberry jam..............anyone?

Dave

[roadkill]

my biggest glut is pumpkins but i do this on purpose and then leave them outside my house for the kids on the street for halloween

[perkin]

Last year I lightly steamed a glut of rhubarb, popped it in the freezer and enjoyed rhubarb crumble and rhubarb tarte tatin all through winter.
As I don't like them fresh, all my tomatoes get made into passata (and then also frozen) or into green tomato chutney - including a really lovely spiced one that's great with curries.
Chillis get harvested as and when ready and if not to be used immediately either frozen whole (chop/slice them from frozen and add to whatever's cooking) or dried and whizzed up for a kick-ass chilli powder!

[fruitylou]

Last year I made and froze loads of minestrone soup and veg lasagne with my mums glut which made great healthy 'ready meals' for after i had my son. Its my first year growing myself and it looks like more minestrone is definately on the cards.

[Bountyhunter]

I froze a lot of my baby veg last year and i found that when you put it in freezer bags its important to get all the air out so i use a straw to suck out every last bit, twist, them tie. I am still using runner beans and carrots from the freezer. Thats 9 months and still going strong!

I cant pickle as i never use the right vinegar

[T8Ter]

I pickle my beets, and add a tablespoon of demerara sugar and two slices of fresh ginger to each jar, with my onions I always add some home grown chillies, whole, but with a couple of cuts in the skins - these are really fab, I have a long list of friends who look forward to the pickles I give out each year for Christmas. Tomatoes and chillies I make into a tomato/chilli chutney and any soft fruit glut I usually turn into Jam.
I don't tend to freeze much apart from the runner beans,

[Parsleythelion]

I was surprised to find my humble breadmaker had a jam making setting!! It was easy too. Not only home made bread but home made jam with fruit from my garden. Life is good.