Bottling produce

[Arch]

Eventually NT and I would like a veg patch in the front garden, and while it won't be huge we might end up with the odd glut. Has anyone ever bottled fruit or veg, and if so, how do you use the bottled stuff? I've pickled onions, and I did some nice pickled pears once, but not everything wants to be doused in vinegar, and I like the idea of preserving veg to use without freezing it and relying on electricity (all part of our long term future-proofing plan for the zombie apocalypse...).

 

[Sandra Piddock]

In Spain, at special times such as Christmas and Easter, you can buy whole peaches, bottled in a light syrup. They're wonderful, and I'm thinking of trying it myself when we go back in a couple of weeks.

I also do a lot of pickles. Pickled eggs is a big favourite in our house. White vinegar gives a less astringent flavour, and it looks better for stuff such as eggs, as they keep their natural colour.

 

[Alex H]

Peaches, from our trees - fine to eat straight from the jar

Pears, from our only pear tree - if the pears fall into the road they bounce with hardly a scratch, but they taste great after bottling, which is really cooking anyway.

Plums - a bit of a pain stoning them, but they work OK

Cherries - not so clever - all the colour drained away

Beetroot - fine in white vinegar - just as well as we currently have 5 1 litre jars and there's still more in the ground

I would like to try bottling ratatouille, but I'm still a bit busy constructing at the moment - maybe next year