Summer months bring floods of fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs. But the harvest from your own garden doesn't have to be purely seasonal. With the right processing and storage you can enjoy your own produce throughout the year. Let's look at the most important preservation methods.
Drying
Drying is one of the oldest and simplest preservation methods. It works on the principle of removing water — without moisture, bacteria and moulds cannot multiply.
Herbs
Drying herbs is the ideal way to ensure a winter supply. Harvest just before or at the very start of flowering, when essential oil content is highest. Tie herbs into small bunches (5–10 stems) and hang them upside down in a shaded, dry, airy space. Drying time is 1–3 weeks depending on the variety.
Herbs that dry well: thyme, oregano, rosemary, lemon balm, mint, sage, flat-leaf parsley. Basil loses most of its aroma when dried — it's better to freeze it in olive oil in ice cube trays.
Tomatoes
Dried tomatoes are a delicacy. Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and lay them cut-side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Season lightly with salt. Dry in an oven at 80–90°C with the door slightly ajar for 6–10 hours, or use a food dehydrator. Once ready, pack into a jar and cover with olive oil. They keep for months.
Chillies
Chillies dry beautifully — thread them onto a string and hang in a warm room. They'll be ready in 2–4 weeks. Grind the dried chillies in a spice grinder. Home-made chilli flakes have no rivals.
Freezing
Freezing is the quickest and most versatile preservation method. Most vegetables need blanching before freezing — a brief dip in boiling water followed by rapid cooling in iced water. Blanching stops the enzymes that would otherwise cause loss of colour, flavour and vitamins.
Blanching method
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of cold water with ice. Plunge the vegetables into boiling water for the time specified, then immediately transfer to the iced water for the same duration. Drain, spread in a single layer on a baking tray and freeze. Only once frozen solid, tip into freezer bags — they won't stick together.
- French beans — blanch 3 minutes, chop into pieces
- Peas — blanch 2 minutes
- Broccoli and cauliflower — blanch 3 minutes, break into florets
- Courgette — slice into rounds, blanch 1 minute
- Spinach — blanch 2 minutes, drain and squeeze into balls
- Peppers — no blanching needed, just chop and freeze
Tomato base sauce
Tomatoes freeze best as a semi-prepared base. Chop the tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes with onion, garlic and basil, blend, cool and freeze in portions. You'll have a ready-made base for sauces, soups and braised dishes for the whole winter.
Preserving (bottling)
Preserving is a traditional method that gives the summer garden harvest a second chance to shine at the winter table. Sterility is key — improperly preserved food can be dangerous.
Basic rules
Use only clean, undamaged jars and new lids (twist-off lids are single-use). Sterilise jars and lids by boiling. Fill hot jars with hot contents — a temperature shock could crack the glass. Seal the jars and sterilise in a water bath (a large pot of water) or in the oven.
Popular recipes
Tomato passata: Scald the tomatoes, peel them, halve and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend, add salt and a tablespoon of lemon juice (acidification is important for safe preservation). Pour into jars and sterilise for 20 minutes at 100°C.
Pickled gherkins: Pack small, freshly picked cucumbers into jars with dill, garlic, horseradish and mustard seeds. Pour over brine (1 litre water, 50 ml vinegar, 40 g salt, 1 tablespoon sugar). Sterilise for 10 minutes. Or choose the lacto-fermentation method without sterilisation — see below.
Ajvar from peppers: Roast peppers in the oven, peel and blend with garlic, oil and vinegar. Simmer for 30 minutes and pack hot into jars. Sterilise for 15 minutes.
Fermentation
Lactic-acid fermentation is the healthiest preservation method — it produces probiotic bacteria that are beneficial for digestion. The principle is simple: vegetables are covered in a salt brine and ferment in the absence of air, thanks to lactic acid bacteria.
Sauerkraut: Shred a cabbage head finely, adding 20 g of salt per kilogram. Knead thoroughly until the cabbage releases its juice. Pack tightly into a jar so the juice covers the cabbage. Cover with a small plate and weight it down. Leave at room temperature for 5–7 days, then move to a cool place. Finished sauerkraut keeps for months.
Lacto-fermented cucumbers: Pack cucumbers into a jar with flavourings (dill, garlic, horseradish, vine leaves for crunch). Cover with a 3–4% salt brine. Leave at room temperature for 3–5 days then move to the fridge. Fermented cucumbers have a more complex flavour than pickled ones and are full of probiotics.
Storing fresh vegetables
Some crops keep for months with no processing at all. Garlic and onions in a dry, cool room will last until spring. Store potatoes in the dark at 4–8°C. Carrots and beetroot can be packed in damp sand in a cellar. Winter apple varieties will keep in a cool cellar until March.
Preserving the harvest is just as important a part of gardening as growing the crops themselves. Investing in jars, a dehydrator or a good-quality freezer will be repaid in the form of tasty, healthy food all year round — without preservatives and with the certainty of knowing exactly what you're eating.