1000 Flowers for the Planet - #347 Make Your Own Preserves

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #347 Make Your Own Preserves

Making your own preserves may sound like a very old fashioned thing to do, but it is becoming increasingly popular these days. Those who grow their own fruit and vegetables will understand how sometimes the crop produces more than the family can reasonably eat, and whilst it’s great to give excess crops away to other families, it’s also a terrific idea to preserve the excess. Fowlers Vacola is a well-known brand of preserving equipment here in Australia, with everything included in its range that you’ll ever need for preserving. Check out what’s available in your country.

Fruit, due to its high water content, can actually be preserved using glass jars with metal lids, in the microwave. Yes! That’s right. I’ve even done it myself (which for someone who doesn’t like to be in the kitchen was pretty amazing). This is an incredibly easy, fast way to preserve fruit - you’ll love it.

Making preserves might seem daunting, but like everything, it simply requires a bit of research effort, a learning curve along with some trial and error, and some great success. Once you know how to do it and have practiced a bit it will be easy enough to do. Maybe the task could even reconnect you with the older generation – ask mum or grandma to show you how to do it. That would be a fun, memorable way to help the planet, and aside from these personal rewards, making preserves prevents food waste from going into landfill, which saves money both in food costs and rubbish removal, makes use of all the resources that have gone into growing the fruit and vegetables in the first place and saves energy. It’s ‘preserving’ on lots of levels.