We all know the deal.  You planted a punnet of zucchini and now all of a sudden you’ve got a wheelbarrow full, all ready on the same day.  Or you found a box of tomatoes at the market, really cheap.  Or you’ve been given a bag of oranges from your neighbour.    You’ve got produce in bulk and you cant eat it fast enough – now what?

You need some tips to make it last!  So we’ve done up a list of the fruit and veg that we come across most often, with some of our favourite tips for what to do with it.

Traditional food skills for the win – because we hate to see good food go to waste! If you need some ideas about which bottling technique to use for which ingredients, don’t forget to check out the blog post before this one – Food Safety 101.  Because nobody wants to get sick from something you bottled.  There is a quick video and a handy pictorial chart that identify what you can do with which ingredient.

The list of produce below is alphabetical – so just scroll down until you find the one you are looking for.  And if you have any favourite ideas or tricks that we have missed, send us a message so we can include it.  Because sharing skills and knowledge is what we are here for.

Happy food skills Keepers.  And don’t forget that if you need help with Fowlers bottling we have our on-demand workshops, and our ‘Seasonal Pantry’ series that steps through all sorts of other ingredients, including dairy.  If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask – we are only too happy to help.

Sheralee and Marieka.

 

APPLE

  • Preserving – slices, halves, pureed
  • Stewed and frozen
  • Dried apple rings
  • Apple butter
  • Apple jam
  • Apple scrap vinegar
  • Make liquid pectin

APRICOT

  • Preserved – whole, halved,sliced
  • Apricot puree/ Apricot nectar
  • Dried apricots
  • Apricot jam – either full sugar, or sugar reduced fruit spread
  • Chutney or relish

ARTICHOKE

  • pickled

ASPARAGUS

  • Eaten in the garden
  • Pickled
  • Blanched and frozen

AVOCADO

  • Can be sliced and frozen

BANANA

  • Banana jam /monkey butter
  • Sliced and dehydrated
  • Peeled and frozen
  • Icecream

BASIL

  • Dried
  • Blended with oil and frozen
  • Made into pesto and frozen

BEANS (green)

  • Blanched and frozen
  • Pickled
  • Green bean chutney
  • Fermented

BEETROOT

  • Pickled – whole, slices, chunks
  • Beetroot relish or chutney
  • Frozen in cooked chunks and used in chocolate cake (Red Velvet Cake)

BERRIES – strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, blackberries, etc

  • Jam
  • Cordial
  • Coulis/ sauce
  • Shrubs
  • Fruit leather
  • Jelly
  • Preserved  (will lose their colour)
  • Frozen

BROCCOLI

  • Pickled
  • Blanched and frozen

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

  • Spicy pickled sprouts
  • Blanched and frozen

CABBAGE

  • Sauerkraut
  • Pickled coleslaw
  • Pickled red cabbage

CAPSICUM

  • Pickled capsicum
  • Capsicum relish

CARROT

  • Pickled
  • Fermented

CAULIFLOWER

  • Picalilli
  • Pickled
  • Sweet mustard relish

CELERY

  • Quick fridge pickle
  • Dried

CHERRIES

  • Preserved – whole, pitted, sliced
  • Brandied cherries
  • Pitted and dried
  • Cherry sauce
  • Chutney
  • Fruit leather

CHILLI

  • Dried
  • Chilli flakes
  • Fermented
  • Chilli sauce

CORN

  • Corn relish – yum!
  • Blanched and frozen

CUCUMBER

  • Cucumber relish
  • Bread and butter cucumbers
  • Mint and cucumber jelly (delicious with lamb)

CUMQUATS

  • Preserved in syrup
  • Pickled

EGGPLANT

  • Roasted then pickled

FENNEL

  • Pickled

FIG

  • Preserved
  • Crystallised
  • Fig paste
  • Chutney
  • Fig jam

GARLIC

  • Stored whole will last for months
  • Sliced and dehydrated
  • Ground into powder
  • Pickled

GINGER

  • Sliced and dehydrated
  • Ground into powder
  • Pickled

GRAPES

  • Preserved whole, or frozen
  • Juice – preserved or frozen
  • Dried
  • Pickled

HERBS

  • Dried
  • Chopped, covered with oil and frozen

KALE

  • Blanche and freeze
  • Kale chips
  • Dried

KIWI

  • Preserved – look very pretty
  • Peeled and chopped and frozen
  • Kiwi purée for pancakes etc – frozen or preserved

KOHLRABI

  • Pickles
  • Can be used instead of cabbage in coleslaw

LEEK

  • Slice and dehydrate

LEMON

  • Lemon butter/curd
  • Salted lemons
  • Preserved lemons
  • Dehydrate peel
  • Preserve or freeze the juice
  • Cordial/syrup
  • Slices

LIME

  • As Lemon, above

MANDARINS

  • Preserved – helps to remove the pith
  • Marmalade
  • Juice

MANGO

  • Can be preserved
  • Dehydrated
  • Stewed and Frozen
  • Mango sauce
  • Chutney or Relish

MUSHROOM

  • Great to dehydrate – then blend into a powder

NECTARINE

  • Preserved – not safe to preserve white nectarines – stewing and freezing are a good option
  • Nectarine jam
  • Chutney

ORANGE

  • Marmalade
  • Juice
  • Slice and dehydrate
  • Cook whole, blitz and preserve

ONION

  • Pickled – whole or a quick fridge pickle
  • Dried
  • Caramelised relish (make sure your recipe has sufficient vinegar)

PASSION FRUIT

  • Passion fruit curd
  • Passion fruit jam
  • Preserved passion fruit pulp
  • Pulp can be frozen (ice cube trays are ideal)

PEACH

  • Preserved – whole, halved, sliced, diced – it is unsafe to preserve white peaches
  • Stewed and frozen
  • Fruit leather
  • Dried peaches
  • Peach jam
  • Peach chutney

PEAS

  • Blanched and frozen
  • Dried

PEAR

  • Preserved – whole, halved, sliced, chunks, puree.
  • Stewed and frozen
  • Pickled
  • Pear chutney
  • Pear butter
  • Dried

PERSIMMON

  • Dried

PINEAPPLE

  • Preserved pineapple rings, chunks
  • Cordial
  • Tepache
  • Pineapple jam

PLUM

  • Preserved – whole, halved, sliced
  • Plum jam
  • Plum sauce
  • Plum paste
  • Dried

POMEGRANATE

  • Frozen
  • Pomegranate molasses

PUMPKIN

  • Can be stored long term whole with skins intact. A cellar is ideal, or just somewhere dry.
  • Cooked and frozen as large pieces or puree
  • Can be pressure canned as large pieces (cannot be water bathed)

QUINCE

  • Preserved
  • Quince paste
  • Quince jelly
  • Quince and apple jam
  • Roasted and dried
  • Stewed until rich in colour and frozen

RADISH

  • Pickles

RHUBARB

  • Preserved – full stalks or chunks
  • Rhubarb jam
  • Rhubarb ketchup
  • Rhubarb syrup/ cordial

SPINACH

  • Dehydrated
  • Blanched then frozen

SQUASH

  • As per zucchini

TOMATO

  • Preserved – whole, halved, diced
  • Preserved – purée or passata
  • Tomato sauce
  • Chutney
  • Sundries
  • Dehydrated.
  • Dry the skins and make a tomato powder
  • Tomato paste
  • Tomato Soup

WATERMELON

  • Granita
  • Pickled rind

ZUCCHINI

  • Pickled slices
  • Grated and frozen in portions
  • Dehydrated
  • Can be substituted into jams as a great ‘extender’.  Pineapple and Zucchini jam is a traditional favourite.