Brighten the winter: We’re making preserves!

Now that the summer is coming to an end, we’re feeling somewhat wistful and have done a bit of brainstorming on how to make our favourite season last just a little longer. The solution was simple: by making preserves! Heating fruit and vegetables to a high temperature so they’ll last long is really child’s play. The perfect way to put a bit of that summer feeling back into the winter! 😉 So, find all those jam jars or smoothie bottles, you’re going to need them for making preserves.

What else do you need? A towel and a pot or a baking tray – depending on which preserving method you choose. You can surely preserve all the fruits and vegetables that your winter heart desires. Cut them up small, because we’re ready to preserve them:

1. Fill preserving jars with lids with hot water. This is very important, so that everything is absolutely clean! Then pour out the water and collect it in a bowl.

2. Fill the cut up fruit or vegetables into the jars and pour your favourite stock over them until everything is well covered. Now screw on the cover tightly and check that it’s properly closed.
3. You have two options for making your preserves: you can go with either the pot or the baking tray version. To make preserves in a pot, place a towel double folded on the bottom of the pot (inside). Place the filled preserving jars on it. Then fill the water to 3/4 of the jar height and put the lid on the pot. Heat on the stove until the water really boils. Depending on the type of fruit or vegetables, this can take 30-45 minutes. Do you prefer to use the baking tray version? No problem! Simply pour 2 cm of water onto the tray and place the preserving jars in the water bath. Put it into the oven at 175° C – until small pearly bubble rise in the glass.

Totally easy, right? One or two tips, so that you can enjoy your preserved delicacies for a long time: store the cooled jar in dark, light-protected, dry and cool rooms. Also good to know: food preserved with fatty ingredients such as nuts or cocoa flakes do not last so long. If you use a bit of liqueur, red wine or other alcohol, your preserves will keep even longer – because alcohol helps to conserve very well. But enough talk for now. Have fun trying this out and when winter comes, may it be a sunny one! 😉