Welcome to Jartisanal – a website all about preserving food! We’re just getting up and running so please do check back with us! Here’s what to expect in the future:
Here you can learn about all sorts of preservation techniques and create delicious recipes at home. Maybe you grow your own food and want to preserve it for later in the year. Or you picked up a bargain packet of vegetables at the supermarket and want to know what to do with them. Conserving food for yourself is a fantastic way of avoiding food waste, can be much cheaper than buying the same product in the shops and it’s a lot more satisfying. So whether you are crazy for kombucha, joyful about jam or just want to make something to pickle your fancy, dive right in.
Why Jartisanal? Well, the word is a combination of ‘jar’, which is the traditional storage vessel for preserved food, and ‘artisanal’, a food and drink product that is made in a traditional way. This website offers recipes for all sorts of preserves but also encourages you to experiment – to play with your food.
Why Preserve Food?
There are so many great reasons to preserve food. Here are some of the best:
Preserving provides a greater variety of food out of season. Although we are used to eating fresh fruit and vegetables all year, a strawberry grown in January is not a delicious thing. However, if we can pick fruit and vegetables in season and preserve them properly, we can capture the flavour and enjoy the produce all year round.
Preserving avoids food waste – if you have a glut of food, you can preserve some to enjoy at another time. Any gardener will know about seasonal produce where all the fruit and vegetables they have grown are available for just a couple of weeks. Of course, many gardeners give away their excess crops and you may be lucky to receive some delicious home-grown fruit or veg. Sometimes supermarkets will sell off stock that is going out of date soon at greatly reduced prices. The produce is usually absolutely fine to eat in the short term but if you have methods to preserve food, it can last a lot longer.
You can save money. If you’ve ever bought kombucha or kimchi from a shop you’ll know how expensive these products can be. It is much cheaper to buy the ingredients and ferment them yourself.
You have full control over ingredients. Many foods are hyper-processed these days and contain preservatives and flavour enhancers. If you preserve the food yourself you know exactly what has gone into the finished product.
Nutritional retention – many fermented foods have probiotic qualities which are great for your gut health. If you buy fermented food in the shops it may have been pasteurised or treated to ensure a long shelf life, and the nutritional benefits may be lost.
It’s fun! Preserving food can get quite addictive. Once you know the basic principles the sky’s the limit in terms of developing recipes. Think of your kombucha or sourdough as a delicious living tamagotchi.
Latest Recipes
- Brussels Sprout Kimchi Recipe
It is well known that Brussels sprouts are not the greatest vegetable in the world. But our Brussels sprout kimchi recipe makes them utterly delicious! - How To Make Miso Paste
Miso is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine. You can make your own miso which is really tasty. Here’s how to make miso paste. - Making Wine from Grapes
Making wine from grapes is great fun, especially if you have access to a vine. Here’s our method! - Damson Preserve Recipe – Damson Jam
Damson jam is one of the most delicious preserves of autumn. Here’s our easy-peasy damson preserve recipe - Fermented Red Onions Recipe
Red onions are really easy to ferment and they taste delicious – sour and crunchy. Here’s our fermented red onions recipe.