Preserving, pickling and storing

The effort and hard work that goes into growing our own food is worth it on so many levels. We can be confident that no harmful chemicals, including pesticides and fungicides, were used, we know that the work we put into maintaining good quality soil will reap benefits in relation to plant disease and infestation resistance and, that the final produce is full of micro-nutrients and bursting with flavour.

Typically, we often have a glut of produce at certain times of the year. Whether it be a beetroot, courgettes, soft fruit or root crops, we can always find a way of preserving this valuable resource for use later in the year.

Our main methods of preservation are  pickling, making jams and chutneys, dehydrating, freezing, vacuum storage, air-drying, bain marie and cool storage.

This year we have pickled chili peppers and green walnuts. We will pickle figs and beetroot later in the season.

Our freezer contents include diced root vegetables, soft fruit not yet made into jams, beaten eggs, cooked aubergine, tomatoes, blanched vegetables, various vegetable soups, sliced peppers, various herbs and peas.

We have dehydrated pears, piesco (wild peach), apple, beetroot and figs. These are then vacuum packed and used as energy foods for when we are out walking or trekking.

Chutney and pickle features high on our menus as it is a really useful way of using fresh vegetables. So far we have made Piccalilli, Pear Chutney and Tango Pickle.

Jams either made or to make are piesco, raspberry, fig, orange and mixed fruit. We will also be making membrillo (quince jelly) from fruit given to us by Luis' sister.

We are increasing the number of vegetables we preserve using a bain marie method and so far we have had success with leeks, green beans and peppers. We would love to try more so any suggestions please drop us a line in the comments.

Air-drying includes herbs, nuts, beans and chili.

Our cool storage includes potatoes, squash, marrow, apples and onions. We find that is there is a efficient, dry circulation of air, these crops will last form many months into spring and beyond next year.

We are lucky in so much that we have plenty of storage space and we are able to grow vegetables and some salad crops all year round which reduces the need to preserve foods, never-the-less it is great to be able to scan our storage shelves for ingredients and enjoy the fruits of our labour throughout the year.

Those of you who are involved in your own food production will know only too well the amount of time and effort it takes, many hours spent not only in the vegetable garden but also in the kitchen preparing and processing, but it really is worth it and you can taste the difference when freshness is preserved. A few years ago we wrote about experiences for living a simpler life and how we prepare our own food etc. It has proved to be one of the most viewed and read pieces on our blog with over 800 views. If you want to read it you can find it here:  Downsizing: less is more

What do you preserve, pickle or store? Any tips?

Making pear chutney - we love a pickle

We love pickles, chutneys and spicy salsas, and most years we will make several types depending on what fruit we have available. This year we had a very poor gooseberry harvest so one of our favourite pickles was out of the question however, we did have a healthy pear harvest.

As with most recipes we adapt them to suit our own tastes and usually reduce sugar and maybe add some extra spices or heat. This particular recipe comes from a set of cards issued by a vinegar company many years ago: Sarson's. We have used this recipe before and found that the vinegar content is way too much, especially given the juices given up by ripe tomatoes and pears so we reduced it and it worked. We used our own onions, pears, garlic and tomatoes for this recipe.

Pear Chutney

3 kg pears, peeled and chopped
1.5 kg onions finely chopped
900 g or ripe tomatoes skinned and chopped
4 red peppers finely diced
900 g of dark cane sugar
2 tablespoons salt
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1.1 Litres of malted vinegar (or similar)

Put all the ingredients into a large pan, mix well, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 1 hour until the fruit breaks down and the chutney thickens. Put into sterilised jars and seal.

This particular chutney isn't too acidic as the sweetness of the pears helps to neutralise it. We normally store chutneys and pickles for at least three months before consuming but I'm not sure we'll be able to wait that long as supplies are running low.

Too late... Char-grilled aubergine, sweet potato and onion layered with goats cheese and herbs. Served with salad and fresh walnut bread and, a large spoon of pear chutney - delicious.

This was a new goats cheese we bought at a local fair and we have to say it is one of the best cheeses ever. Here is the Queso de Cabra - Hircus link, we now need to find a local supplier.

What is your favourite pickle, provide us with a link if you can. We're always up for trying something new. Thanks.

August at La Pasera

Summer is well and truly here. Along with the hotter weather, influx of tourists, much needed rain and more events than you can shake a stick at, it's all happening in and around La Pasera.

We have had an exceptionally dry May, June and July with little or no rain which is unusual for Asturias. The clay ground had started to crack and the normally green grass became scorched and brown. Thankfully the rain came a few days ago and after several heavy showers and a few half days of persistent drizzle, the land is looking greener and the crops are perking up.

We are currently harvesting lots of beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, beetroot, raspberries, marrows and cucumbers with many more crops to come over the next few weeks. One plant we haven't grown before is Lemongrass, we know when it will be ready to harvest but would welcome ideas on preparing it, and preserving it for cooking. Get in touch if you've grown it and can advise us.

We have had another load of wood delivered in preparation for winter. It is mainly Oak and needs to dry further but it was a good price and a decent amount.

We are staying away from town (Ribadesella) for the next few days as life is about to change as thousands of tourists arrive in preparation for the 78th International Descent of the River Sella. There will sound stages, closed roads, outside bars and toilets, lots of partying, camping in every available patch of grass....litter and of course the canoe descent with over 1000 competitors from all over the world. We might walk down to watch the race although once the winners have passed the finish line there is not that much to see but there is a great atmosphere in town for the rest of the day and weekend.

Once the visitors for the canoe descent have disappeared, although busier than the remainder of the year, August brings many fiestas, street markets and fairs. We are busy preparing for a street market where we will sell a few chairs and stools, give a live demonstration of bergere cane work and hopefully make a few useful contacts for future work.

Vegetables, salad and soft fruit crops we are growing: 2014-15

We thought it might be useful to make a list of the vegetables we are growing in 2014 through to Spring 2015. It will be useful for us to document it and also give our readers some idea of the range of food that can be grown in a temperate climate that has all year round growing conditions.

We use a crop rotation system that makes the best use of companion planting in the two large and two smaller raised beds situated past the orchard at the bottom of the garden.

Product	Cropping
Celeriac	Feb 2015
Carrots	October 14
Beetroot	Since April through to February 2015
Tomatoes, Spring onions	Current
Leeks	September onwards
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Flower Sprouts	November onwards
Turnip, Swede and Chard	November onwards
Aubergine, Peppers, Butternut Squash	September onwards
Beans (various)	Current
Basil, Parsley, Coriander	September onwards
Lemon Grass and various herbs	Current
Fennel	Ongoing until early Spring
Marrows, Cucumber and Kohl Rabi	Ongoing until September
Chili Peppers	Current
Raspberries and Blackberries	Current
Red and Black Currants	Cropped and frozen
Peas, Onions and Potatoes	Cropped and stored
Winter Lettuce	November onwards
Gooseberries	Crop Failure 2014
Horse Radish	November

No doubt we will be challenged with black fly, aphids, opportunistic intruders, mildew, watering, wild animals and birds but with careful management, pest control and natural defences such as companion planting, we should be able to provide more than enough fresh vegetables, salad crops and soft fruit to see us through the year for eating, processing into jams and pickles and, for preserving in the dehydrator or freezer. The excess we will distribute amongst friends or compost and return the goodness to the soil.

In addition to the vegetables we also grow a range of fruit including peaches, oranges, apples, pears, plums, greengage, rhubarb and physalis as well as a range of plants we will use in hand-creams, soaps and herbal teas: lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, calendula, lavender, comfrey, sage and so on...

Lemon Verbena - harvested for drying

There is little doubt that growing your own food is hard work and never ending but the rewards are worth the effort. In our experience, it tastes so much better and we can be confident that no harmful chemicals have been used in its production. Friends often say that they wish they had the space to grow food, our reply is always the same: a window box, tub or series of plant pots can produce quite a bit of food. If you've thought about growing your own but never got around to it, it is not too late, have a go and let us know how you get on.

Geraldine the Hedgehog - slug control...

Tomato wars

We are never that successful growing tomatoes down here on the North coast. The sea mists, high humidity in spring and early summer, and frequent rainy spells are just not conducive to healthy plants and high crop yields. This year we had a poor start with blight infection early on. We grow under plastic but have recently changed to grow under half a plastic shelter to increase air flow whilst giving partial protection from the mists. This seems to have helped.

We are really pleased with their progress in the past few weeks. We sprayed with a natural fungicide, stripped the affected parts of the plant and continue to remove any diseased leaves immediately. They are producing well considering and we have already eaten about 3 kg of them.

We normally rely on Luis' sister Rita for the main supply of tomatoes as she grows about 150 plants and we can take as many as we wish. We would make our year's supply of tomato pesto and pisto which is brilliant. Sadly, this year her crop was ruined with a massive hail storm with hail stones the size of golf balls destroying most crops over several square miles in Palencia. Fortunately she also grew some in the new poly tunnel which was also damaged in the storm but at least she will have some for her own family's needs. In the mean time we'll be thankful for the few tasty toms we have managed to grow at La Pasera.