Mr CP isn’t particularly keen on Bonne Maman jam and doesn’t understand why I buy it.

Many reasons…

I like the WW2 story.

I really like their raspberry conserve.

But I really, really like that the labels come off their jars in the dishwasher. And that’s the main reason why I buy Bonne Maman.

I thought the only way to preserve tomatoes was to cook them down into a sauce, but last year we just froze a load of fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden and it's worked out perfectly. We just washed, dried and bagged them.

They don't defrost back to fresh state obviously but are great for cooking with.
I just grab a handful from a bag, microwave for a minute and chuck them in a pasta or a curry or whatever.

I was looking at this Cumquat Ferment today, but it is only slightly different to Preserved Cumquats (the same way you do lemons), but with (not needed) fancy equipment. I'd rather make them my way.

https://krautsource.com/blogs/recipes/kumquat-ferment

I've made preserved lemons, limes and cumquats for decades (citrus, salt, lemon/lime juice) without realising they are actually fermented. I've just capped them off and left them on the shelf until I've wanted to use them It is only when I started looking at fermenting things that I realised.

They are SO delicious. So much better than any you can buy these days. They are out of fashion now, so selections are slim and not such good quality.

I use mine several times per week.

#Introduction
I've been on Mastodon for quite some time now, but under another name. I started a new account because I decided to take a step back from world news, collapse, climate change, hunger, war, fascism and inequality.
In short less doom and gloom and a little bit of positive small scale projects that might also inspire or help others.

With this account I'll focus more on my day to day life, the things I do and make.

Of course I sometime still will post concerning subjects that provoke my rage or frustration. Sorry, it's not all moonshine and roses.

Having said that, I've a broad range of subjects that have my interest, so hopefully something useful will stick with you.

From my profile text:

#Collapse aware person, born @ 320 ppm CO2, world population 3.1 billion.

Fighting depression and #sadness by doing some positive and small scale things that might help people.

Too many interests, like:
#DIY #SelfReliancy #LowTech #gardening #food #fermentation #preserving #ReUse #ReCycle #ReThink #WoodWork #electronics #MicroControllers #Taoism #Cycling #reading #photography

PRO: #sharing #local #ecocentric
NO: #capitalism #states

It was almost too much new-to-me stuff to pull it off, but I did it!

#Canning violet and redbud jellies today. I used my new pressure canner as a water bath canner(no pressure, obvs), and it was almost a little too tall on the new stove.

I got a couple of steam burns and one burn on my arm from the edge of the canner. So, lesson learned. I really should use my water bath canners only for this, because they are shorter and wider.

I also used a different pectin, and new-to-me recipes for both jellies. I really need to write down my favorites cause it's hard to find them again with the internet being so enshittified.

I must've had a sugar fairy visit, because I didn't buy enough, but I found more in the cabinet.

I should not have put the hibiscus flowers in the violet tea to color it. The jelly is gorgeous, but it's not purple.

I still have enough dark purple violets that I may be able to make another batch later this week after it stops raining. I will have to go get more sugar and jars, though.

I think if I make the second batch, I will remove the green part of the violet flowers first, which means I'll need to pick twice as many flowers.

I made a sugar syrup last week with only purple violet petals and it is astoundingly purple.

Popped open a jar of last summer's plum jam. I used citrus pectin and it made the texture funny. Kinda like quince paste. Still tastes good though. #food #preserving #jam

You know that thing about sufficiently advanced #technology being indistinguishable from #magic ?

That's how I feel about #bread.

And #beer.

And #preserving vegetables in brine.

Let's hear it for good guy #microbes.

We may have made slightly too much quince jelly today. It tastes amazing but there’s only so much you can work through (especially when there’s still homemade passion fruit jelly, guava jelly and plum jam in the cupboard). Oh well more to share, now to find out which of our friends want some …
#jam #jelly #preserving #food #AutumnFruitGlut

Canned some pickles today with Grandma’s old canning equipment. I’ll let you know how they taste in a couple weeks!

If you’re wondering, I just followed Ball’s recipe https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=sliced-dill-pickles

Hoshigaki season in Southern California. Hoshigaki (Japanese dried persimmons) are made from hachiya persimmons, which are peeled before soft, with their stems preserved in a "t" shape and hung--traditionally outside in Japan--and regularly massaged. They come out extremely, extremely sweet -- with a layer of sugar that forms on the outside. #gardening #preserving #hoshigaki

Hi experienced folks who do canning/preserving, I want to get started doing this but I have a question. Whenever I look up about preserving and canning around the internet I get told about XYZ speciality canning system that I need to buy. My Gran used to can and preserve things in jars she saved from store bought products using an old pot and that seemed fine to seal them.

My question is, can I just do as my Gran did or is there some reason I need to shell out money for speciality products?

I realise I need to find jars with reasonably thick walls and would only use ones that had originally come with products such as those I want to put in them.

To answer @keefmarshall's questions about how to pickle #olives (see https://mastodon.online/@keefmarshall/113498139217112928 ), here's a quick thread:

Before actually pickling the olives you will need to remove their bitter compounds.

For this you will need:
- gloves (as olive juices can stain your hands for days)
- a bucket
- a chopping board and sharp knife
or (if you're a traditionalist)
- a wood stump and a small block of wood that fits into your hand
...

1/x

Having a play with a different format of video, trying to briefly summarise how we preserve & use our excess of #allotment cherry tomatoes.

Making dried cherry tomatoes in oil and using them in a simple pasta dinner: https://youtu.be/oZtREEQpT5M

Dried 12 lbs of clearance apples (well, minus a few bad ones) over night. The $5 estate sale apple corer/peeler made short work of the bags of apples, and the $$$$ expensive Bass Pro Shops dehydrator did all the hard work overnight. This batch went into some mylar bags w/oxygen absorbers to replace my 2019 era dried apples, which I am going to open and snack on for the next 2 seconds (err... hopefully, next 2 weeks). #apples #preserving

Hey, if you're thinking of making homemade mincemeat for mince pies at #xmas this year, it's probably time you got it started, so it can mature a bit and soak up lots of yummy alcohol! https://prufrax.blogspot.com/2013/09/mincemeat.html #recipe #mincemeat #cooking #preserving

It's grape juicing season! This time with three types of grapes! A big family occasion. I probably have another dozen jars to do tonight with this tub of grapes!
#fruit #home #family #grapes #juice #homecanning #preserving