Home Preserving

PYO strawberries

Living close to the land means understanding the ebb and flow of seasons.  In today’s global economy, we’ve lost track of the seasons, sometimes forgetting that a certain foods just weren’t meant to be eaten at certain times of the year.  While strawberries may be grown in say, the southern hemisphere in January, they are picked way before peak ripeness, and plumped full of chemicals and colors to look like the perfect fruit when it arrives in our grocery store.  But one bite into the red goodness, and you’ll notice that it tastes nowhere as good as the strawberry picked ‘fresh off the vine’ at your local farm down the street.

Picking cherries at Fix Bros.

By choosing to live locally, my husband and I realize that we won’t be able to eat everything we want at any time of the year.  But while the harvest is good, we enjoy participating in the timeless tradition of preserving delicious food.  Opening up a jar of cherry jam in January takes us back to that fresh, sunny day in June that we spent wandering amongst the cherry trees at Fix Bros. farm, stuffing ourselves full of fruit and having pit-spitting contests in the fields.  Sitting down to a pasta and meatballs dinner in March reminds us of the day we spent making sauce, slicing, spicing and stirring our summer tomatoes with herbs from our pots.

Half-pints of canned cherry jam

On this site you will find posts related to the preservation of food, how to’s and attempts and of course, flops.  I hope it will inspire you to try your hand and preserving something, to later on enjoy the rich and versatile flavors that come from your home.