Preparing for Winter

Every summer, I tackle the big job of preserving food from our little garden. We grow tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, and berries. When they are ripe, I get to work turning it all into jams, pickles, and sauces. But it’s no easy task! My least favourite part? The washing, peeling, and chopping. It feels like it goes on forever, and by the time everything is clean, I’m already a bit tired.

Then there’s the mess—my kitchen looks like a battlefield by the end of the day, with bits of herbs and sticky fruit everywhere. When I finally finish sealing up 30 jars of jam or pickled cucumbers, I usually feel like I don’t want to see another jar for a long time.

But then, winter arrives. On a chilly evening, I open the pantry and reach for a jar of my summer tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. All I have to do is heat it up, maybe add a couple of eggs, and it’s ready to go on warm bread. As we sit around the table, eating something that still tastes like summer, I remember exactly why I put in all that work. Even on the coldest days, we have a bit of sunshine on our plates, and that makes it all worth it.

• Which preserved foods are always available at home?
• Who usually makes them?
• Is there a family recipe for pickling or canning that has been passed down?
• What are your favorite foods to eat that have been dried or dehydrated?
• Does anyone in your family ferment foods like yogurt, kimchi, or pickles? How did they learn to do it?
• Have you ever helped to preserve food, like making jam or drying fruit? What was it like?
• Which preserved foods do you buy instead of making at home, and why?
• Do you ever make pickles, jams, or dried snacks for gifts or special occasions?
• What is the longest-lasting preserved food in your family’s pantry, and how often do you use it?
• Are there any foods that you’d like to learn how to preserve yourself?
• Do you notice a difference in taste or quality between homemade and store-bought preserved foods? Which do you prefer?