10 Preserves you need to try
10th Sep 2018 Recipes
Try making these delicious sweet and savoury preserves that will improve any snack or meal
Making jams and preserves is a satisfying way of spending a few hours, and gives you a result you can enjoy weeks and months later. If you like jam on your toast, or chutney with cheese, then there’s nothing like popping open a pot of home-made. Here are ten recipes to get you going—it’s far easier than you might think.
Blackberries are a great fruit for jam making, giving a richly flavoured result. Here, we’ll start with the classic blackberry jam made from foraged blackberries—free fruit making it all the sweeter! It’s made in a small batch so that the jam-making doesn’t take over the kitchen or store cupboard.
Make the most of summer gluts of strawberries and figs with this delicious jam. A super flavour combination that you simply won’t find in the supermarket aisle. Using jam sugar with added pectin makes it much easier to get a good set.
Raspberry jam is a classic; here’s an easy recipe that uses natural pectin from lemon juice. Keeping the cooking time to a minimum brings out the freshest, fruitiest flavours.
This jam is the perfect way to enjoy the taste of nectarines when they’re out of season. Another small batch recipe, so it’s quick and easy to make. By macerating the fruit in sugar first, the actual cooking time is further reduced. Plenty of great small batch jam making hints here too!
Cherry jam is one of our favourites, which aptly and affectionally became known as “cheery jam” because of a typo when printing up of labels. This comprehensive recipe contains no pectin and less sugar than regular jams, as well as handy tips on using frozen fruit, too.
Now onto the savoury preserves...
For the perfect chutney you need good vinegar. There are special pickling vinegars in the shops, but they are twice the price of normal malt vinegars and it’s easy to make your own using your favourite spices.
This recipe for a delicious spicy tomato ketchup has been passed down in this blogger’s family. It can be made with both ripe red and yellow tomatoes and with unripe green ones, adding a little extra sugar to compensate for the tarter fruit.
Another ketchup, but a little unusual this time. Spice up your summer BBQ with this delicious beetroot & chilli ketchup. Use pre-cooked beetroots if you're short on time; it will still taste fabulous.
Quick pickles are absolutely delicious. They’re fresh tasting, crunchy, but with a hint of sharpness from the vinegar. Here’s a recipe for red onion quick pickles: try on hamburgers, salads, tacos, and pulled pork or grilled cheese sandwiches. Easy to make in one hour, the pickles will keep in the fridge for three to four weeks.
Sauerkraut—pickled cabbage—has numerous health benefits. Save money by making your own. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to get you started making this probiotic-rich food.
From Germany to the UK. Finally, a traditional British chutney from an American blog. I love home-made apple chutneys, where I can adjust the sweetness and spice to exactly how I like it. Here’s a version made in a slow cooker, so it doesn’t need careful watching. Once in jar, it’ll be perfect by Christmas.
Helen Best-Shaw, is a freelance food & travel writer, recipe developer & photographer. She has been blogging at Fuss Free Flavours for over 10 years.
