There’s nothing more satisfying for a fruit or vegetable gardener than that moment when your crops are ready to pick. Knowing that you’ve grown your own food successfully is so rewarding and from juicy tomatoes and clusters of ripe strawberries to plump courgettes and row upon row of beans, a bumper harvest is a great reward for all your hard work earlier in the year. However, the one drawback of a bumper crop is that everything is often ready to eat at the same time and you can find yourself with more than you know what to do with.
If you want to avoid eating the same thing day after day but don’t want to waste your wonderful produce, you need to think creatively about what to do when you have a glut of one particular ingredient.
The four things to remember when you have abundance are: Store, Cook, Preserve, Give.
Store
Some vegetables will keep for a long time if you store them correctly. For example, carrots can be kept for several months when stored in a layer of dry sand. Meanwhile onions and shallots can be dried on racks or newspaper before hanging in a cool place where they will last well for months. Some vegetables can be frozen in their raw state very successfully – for example, peas and beans can be podded and stored in the freezer until you need them. Take a look online to find out how different vegetables can be stored.
Cook
If you have an abundance of one particular ingredient such as tomatoes; take a look for recipes that make the most of the product. For example, you could make a large batch of tomato sauce which can then be frozen in individual portions for use over the coming months. Soups and stews are also great ways to use up lots of vegetables and can be frozen too. Fruit that’s slightly overripe can be used to make smoothies and juices, or even ice-creams and sorbets.
Preserve
In the days before fridges and freezers, food preservation was incredibly important and ingredients would be harvested and preserved when bountiful for use during the winter when food was scarce. You can use traditional techniques to create a host of delicious jams, chutneys and pickles from your home-grown produce. If you fancy making your own jams, relishes and chutneys, seek out courses in your area to get you started, or alternatively take a look online for lots of practical advice.
Give
If you still find you have too much of a particular fruit or vegetable, why not give some away to your friends and neighbours? Everyone is happy to receive a bag full of home-grown goodies and if it’s a birthday or special occasion, you can make your offering more attractive by presenting it in a basket with a bow. Alternatively talk to fellow gardeners and allotment owners in your area and arrange to swap produce.
For recipes and advice on food preservation techniques, visit: www.deliaonline.com or for more inspiration on what to do with a glut, visit: www.gardenersworld.com/gluts
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