Preserving for the Pantry on a Weekly Basis Part One 25 July 2025

 I get it, I am very fortunate compared to most on the food front as I sometimes have more choices than others.  Equally though,  I do go without other things to ensure that my family is fed and that we have good meals on a daily basis.  My priorities are different to everyone else.  I do not do things in a day, but when I come across them.  I have a small preserving fund which allows me to take advantage of any offers I come across; a float if you like.

Moving forward I am going to be preparing a lot of food for the Pantry shelf which will ensure that we have ready to go meals off the shelf.  At the moment we have an influx of fresh ingredients, I want to ensure that we have an array of meals and ingredients ready to use in the Winter months that will feed us well without any preservatives.  I am talking meat, vegetables, stews, soups here initially, but this is not just about preserves it is about a good stock in ingredients available in the Pantry as well.  Ingredients for the Pantry shelf in their own right are extremely useful and can mean the difference to being able to make something on the spur of the moment, without having to go to the shop.  It means that you can be spontaneous with your cooking and can then go on to make something with said ingredients, such as baking items to make cakes, pastries, gateau, sweetmeats, sweeties to name just a few potential uses. 

Flour and Bread flour come under the category useful ingredients, in this case so that I can make my own bread.  I want to improve my breadmaking skills across the board and plan for next month to buy in a new bulk flour purchase. I have fresh yeast on order that will be kept in the fridge and intend to make my bread and also offer more variation on bread products to the household.  I have a heat pad and a new poly box which I intend to put a raised cake cooling rack in, and make a proving box to raise the bread.  This is important here because the house is a cold one, especially in winter and I need the bread to prove and rise rather than no rise and be rock hard. The homemade proving box will be instrumental in this.

Coupled with homemade cheese, yogurt, jams, preserves such as jam and conserves, bottled fruit, fruit for adding to yogurt for breakfast.  Blackberry jam or jelly for toast or Croissant or Pain au Chocolat.  Marmalade for thick cut toast.  Apple sauce for filling pastries, or adding as a sauce to home roasted pork joints or for adding to cold sliced pork in a sandwich or indeed to use as a replacement for egg in a cake mix. Then there are the pickles and chutneys, homemade wines, liqueurs and Mead as well as Cider, Perry, Beer, and Lager as well as other drinks.

Therefore this week's projects are:

Tuesday 22 July 2026

Today I picked up 8 x 320g packs of Gooseberries.  Gooseberries are G's favourite fruit.  I am going to cook the fruit gently first in a light syrup, then WB for 15 minutes.  I may have to go back and get a few more to see him through the Winter months.

Halt - Slight hiccup - however saved the Gooseberries

I did not have time to process the Gooseberries, and was going to process them on the 23 July.  When I looked at them though, they were starting to turn and so I prepared them all by topping and tailing and I have frozen them in readiness for making Gooseberry jam which is a favourite of mine. There are two kilos of Gooseberries.

If possible I would also like to make Gooseberry and Strawberry jam as well.

Therefore to save the Gooseberries I just reversed the timing of what I was going to make when.

I will buy more Gooseberries probably next Tuesday when G goes fishing again or alternatively on Thursday.  I will need to purchase more jars as well for the Gooseberries as I intend to process a double batch of Gooseberries.

I paid £2 a punnet and £4 for two punnets and bought 8 punnets in all = £16.

I have picked up Cooking Apples today as well (Bramleys).  I intend to turn these into Blackberry and Apple jelly with all the Blackberries have collected from the garden.

I also have a marvellous crop of Rosemary and intend to make some Rosemary and Apple jelly and some Rosemary salt specifically for adding to homemade chips.  So much more flavour with this on them.  I also plan on starting this next Tuesday.

There is also Chilli jam, and Chilli jelly to make as well as Chilli oil and Chilli sauce, and Sweet and Sour Chilli sauce. I have plenty of Sweet Red peppers and Chillies to deal with these.

There are Cranberries, Raspberries and Mixed frozen berries in the Freezer.  Cranberry and Apple jelly and Jumbleberry jam to be made from these and of course Raspberry jam.

I need to get Strawberries still and Cherries.  May have a look later in the week at what I can find on this front.  Too much to do this week.  Must leave some for next week.

There are also Lemons to use up to make Lemon Curd.

I think that this is more than enough to do this week.  Next week I will see what I come across and make the most of what is around me.  I am keen to get a load of Tomatoes processed (not necessarily home grown) but also from the store.

As an aside, I have also located 3 Nasturtium flowers and I have started off a salad oil with them.  I will add more flowers as they become available.

I also have plans for making Mint Vinegar, Chive Vinegar, another Sourdough Starter, another Batch of Fermented Lemon and Honey and some Lemon Cleaning vinegar.

I do in any event have Lemons for making Lemon Curd.

There is lots for me to do as usual, and I should be able to play from Tuesday of next week.

Wish me luck!

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x

PS  Please also have a look at comments where there is an update on the Nasturtium oil and safety issues.  Oil can attract Botulism or mould, so it is preferable (as I understand it) to use a dried ingredient if at all  possible.

I have never tried this oil myself and am very much playing and have just shared what I have been up to.  There are further posts to come as I  am going to try and do a few preserves or short term preserves moving forward where I can.  There are a stack of ingredients all lined up!