Storage methods

Without any treatment at all, there are two ways in which you can store many vegetables and fruits:

• in the ground, leaving them where they are growing

• harvested and stored in a cool, dark room.

For most people, however, the storage method that is most familiar is freezing. To ensure that the produce keeps in top condition when frozen, it should be prepared properly first. This is discussed in this chapter.

Storage methods that involve processing, namely preserving, bottling and drying, are covered in Chapters 8 to 10.

Outdoor storage

There are a few root vegetables, including carrots and beetroot, that can safely be left in the ground until you want to use them, although digging them up during a hard winter might be difficult. To protect them against frost or to stop them rotting in heavy rain, cover them with materials that will trap air, such as wood chips, straw or horticultural fleece. If possible, leave large winter squash to ripen on the vine for as long as possible, but harvest them before the first frosts.

Podded beans such as broad beans and runner beans can be left on the plant to dry out during a dryish autumn (or just pull up the plants and hang the whole stem inside). You can then harvest and use the dried beans in stews and curries, for example, as well as retaining some to plant next year.

Indoor storage

With the weather as unreliable as it is in the UK, a safer option is to bring your produce indoors. You will find that much of it can be stored without any treatment, and far more conveniently, inside – as long as the conditions are right.

Root vegetables

You can store most root vegetables in a cool, dark place such as a basement or garage as long as they are in a perfect, unblemished condition. The ideal temperature is from 0°C (32°F) to 10°C (50°F).

Carrots and beetroot will store particularly well between layers of damp sand or peat, but for most root vegetables you can also brush off any loose earth and pack them, unwashed, in wire or plastic baskets or between layers of sawdust or crumpled newspaper in crates or boxes. (Take care with wooden containers as they may rot in the damp.)

It is a good idea to check your vegetables regularly for any signs of rot and to move them every few weeks so that one spot doesn't stay in contact with the container all the time. It is usually best to choose the larger specimens for storage. If you can, leave an inch or so of stem on the plant to reduce the risk of infection.

Winter squash

Winter squash need to be cured (i.e. left so that their skins have time to harden) for a few weeks and can then be stored on slatted wooden shelves or in baskets. They like slightly warmer and moister conditions than root vegetables so ideally store them at temperatures of 1013°C (50-55°F).

Tomatoes

Tomatoes can store well if picked when green; they should still ripen – slowly – if placed in paper bags, or in drawers or shallow trays covered in newspaper, or in a black bin bag, loosely tied. Some people say you should add a banana or apple to the mix but I haven't found that necessary, as long as you check the fruit regularly and always include at least one tomato that has nearly ripened, to give off the required ethylene gas.

Fruit

Apples need more airflow than vegetables, and it is usual to wrap them individually in newspaper before storing them in crates and baskets, so that one rotten one does not lead to a spread of infection. Personally I find the eating apples we typically grow very difficult to keep for long, but some varieties such as Winston do keep well. Cooking apples are much easier and normally last right through the winter and well into spring. Pears can be stored between layers of shredded newspaper but they tend to be more delicate and bruise more easily than apples. They can be kept in a cool cupboard or room but should be checked more frequently and may not last that long. For this reason, it may be best not to treat them like apples and wrap them in newspaper as you won't be able to spot problems until it is too late.

Freezing

The most important thing about freezing is not to freeze anything you wouldn't want to eat as it already is. So, for example, if your runner beans are stringy or your carrots are woody and shrivelled, they will not be improved by sitting in the freezer for a few months.

Almost all vegetables and fruits can be frozen in some form or other, but if they contain a great deal of water, such as courgettes and cucumbers, you will unfreeze a mushy pulp if you simply put them in bags and then into the freezer. Depending on what you want to do with your produce, you therefore need to choose an appropriate freezing method. It is also a good idea to freeze in portion sizes, so you don't need to defrost your entire stock when cooking for just one or two helpings.

Labelling everything is important; one bag of frozen purée can look very much like another. As well as knowing what is in the bag or box, you should also make a note on the label of when it was frozen, so that you use up food in good time rather than keeping it so long it starts to deteriorate.

One problem with freezing is that it can result in an unpleasant taste and an appearance known as 'freezer burn'. This happens when the pack loses moisture and then dries out and the food reacts with the air. It can be avoided by removing as much air as possible during packing, sealing the freezer packs very carefully, and not keeping the food stored for too long.

Open freezing

For fruit or vegetables to keep their shape when thawing out, it is best to start the process off by spacing them out on trays that you then freeze for about an hour or so. To make them easier to remove once frozen, the trays can be lightly oiled.

Once the individual pieces are solid, pack them together in bags or boxes and they will retain their shape when you use them later. Obviously, if you know you will only want to use the food in a purée or stew, this extra stage is not necessary and you can pack them in bags straight away.

Open freezing is certainly the perfect method for freezing small berries, such as blackberries and raspberries, where you may want to use the fruit as a garnish for your puddings; otherwise, they will unfreeze in a broken and pippy mess.

Fruits and vegetable fruits such as tomatoes should be washed and picked over before being open frozen whole, quartered or chopped. (Although tomatoes will never be anything but mushy when thawed, so don't expect to serve them in salads.) If the fruits have stones, it is better to stone them before freezing so they can be used in cooking straight from the freezer without further treatment; it is also possible that the stones might taint the flavour over time.

Blanching

Most vegetables, including sliced runner beans, marrow, winter squash, green beans, carrots, spinach and broad beans, should be blanched before freezing. This process sets the colour and destroys enzymes that cause a loss of flavour, vitamins and texture, and which can limit the time that the vegetables can be kept.

Blanching involves adding the vegetables to boiling water, bringing it back to the boil and boiling for a short time – from a few seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on size and water content – before plunging them into cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and pat dry before freezing. To avoid over-blanching, it is best to blanch small vegetables such as peas, as well as spinach and tomatoes, for about 1 minute; sliced vegetables or green varieties including broad and green beans for 2 to 3 minutes; and whole root vegetables, such as small carrots, for a few minutes longer.

Although rhubarb can be frozen without any cooking, it improves the flavour and appearance if it is blanched first. Blanching is also a good method to use if you want to peel tomatoes, damsons or plums before freezing as the skins will slip off easily.

When freezing courgettes, you can keep small specimens whole or slice larger ones and either blanch them quickly (no more than about 10 seconds) or fry them in butter or oil for a few minutes instead. Beetroot should be cooked completely rather than blanched, with the tops left on, so that they don't bleed and lose their colour. After cooking, peel them before freezing either halved, sliced or, if very small, left whole.

Sugar packing

Some fruits will keep better and have a better flavour if frozen with sugar. For gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants that you are going to use for jams or sweet puddings, hull, peel or top and tail, sprinkle with sugar and turn them so they are thoroughly coated. This will draw out some of the juice and keep the fruit firmer. They can then be packed into containers.

For any fruits such as rhubarb that are not so juicy, or for fruit that has been stoned – for example, plums and damsons – layer the fruit in rigid containers covered with a syrup made using 225g (8oz) of sugar dissolved in each 570ml (20fl oz / 1 pint) of water.

Apples are very versatile as you can peel, slice and blanch them and then freeze them unsweetened, coat them in sugar or cover them with sugar syrup. Pears are different as they ripen so fast that it is hard to judge the very best moment to freeze them, so it is probably best to poach them in sugar syrup first before freezing.

Processing

To save space when freezing crops you know you will want to use in drinks, sauces or stews, or if freezing particularly ripe fruit or vegetables, it may be better to process the food first. Extract the juice or prepare a simple purée by liquidizing them with or without sugar. You can also create and freeze a finished sauce, but don't add the final seasoning or spices at this stage.

When ready, pour the juice, purée or sauce into freezer tubs, ice trays (to create frozen ice cubes of purée), boxes or plastic bags.

When filling bags and boxes, it is important to leave room for expansion as the liquid contents freeze, or you may split the container.

Your produce

MAKING THE BEST USE OF YOUR PRODUCE

There are certain crops that gardeners in the UK seem to grow in abundance, and so the recipes and processing advice in this book aim to cover all of these. If you have too many broad beans or pears, for example, refer to the section in this chapter on that vegetable or fruit for ideas on ways to use them in the kitchen.

There are also many dishes throughout the book that can be made just as well with a 'mix'. For example, vegetable soups, salads, omelettes, stews, pies, pickles and wines can all be made with a wide variety of vegetables. And fruit crumbles, sponges, jams or juices will be equally tasty made from a mix of berries, currants or orchard fruits. So if you have too much of one particular crop, there is no need to limit yourself to the produce listed for each recipe. Instead, use up your glut by using a mix of ingredients.

Equally, if you want to use up a particular fruit or vegetable, you should find that substituting your produce for a similar one named in a recipe will be easy and successful.

Vegetables and salads

This section includes numerous ideas for using up a glut of vegetable and salad crops, including some unusual suggestions.

Beetroot

The tops of young beetroot can be used in a similar way to spinach or chard, although in the UK we mainly cook the roots. As they are rather messy and tend to bleed heavily staining purple juice everywhere, some people prefer to leave peeling them until after they are cooked. You should also try to keep some of the stalk on when cooking them whole, so twist these off when harvesting rather than cutting them off completely.

Beetroot are very quick to cook in a microwave, so you shouldn't think of them as only being ready after hours of long, slow boiling, and although often overlooked as a raw ingredient, they are excellent as a very attractive alternative or addition to cabbage or carrot in salads. They also produce a healthy and colourful vegetable juice and combine well with horseradish sauce, if you enjoy a slightly hotter dish.

Like carrots, courgettes and winter squash, the sweetness of beetroot means that these vegetables can be included in cake recipes as well as savoury dishes. They are also far too nice to be swamped in sharp vinegar.

Specific recipes include:

• Baked vegetable crisps

• Beetroot and apple chutney

• Beetroot and bean salad

• Beetroot and carrot juice

• Beetroot and cheese topping

• Beetroot and chocolate cake

• Beetroot and horseradish

• Beetroot pâté

• Beetroot purée

• Beetroot relish

• Borscht (beetroot soup)

• Corned beef and beetroot hash

• Hot beetroot and cream

• Pickled beetroot

• 'Pink mash (see Mash)

• 'Red slaw' (see Coleslaw)

You can also use beetroot for terrines and savoury muffins; have it marinated a la Grecque, fried in rösti, roasted or dried, in bubble and squeak; in pies, tarts, curries, potato bake, casseroles, risotto, pilaf, pancakes, omelettes, frittata or fritters; or use it to make wine.

Broad beans

Sadly many people do not like broad beans, but that is often because they have only eaten them when they are well past their best and have acquired a rather unpleasant grey-green tinge and bitter aftertaste. Young broad beans can make a wonderful ingredient in many dishes, and if you go to the Middle East you will find that they are a staple vegetable on most menus – usually in the form of fried vegetable cakes, purées or as the main vegetable constituent of meat stews. (In countries such as Egypt they are known as fava beans.)

Young broad beans, or larger beans after skinning, make an attractive salad addition and they can also be included in a surprising number of other dishes.

Specific recipes include:

• Broad bean and bulgur wheat

• Broad bean and pea soup

• Broad bean falafel

• Broad bean purée

• Deep vegetable pie

• Pasta with broad beans

• Potato bake

• Spicy broad bean pâté

• Stir fries

• Vegetable curry

• Vegetable gratin

• Vegetable risotto

• Vegetable sauce for pasta

You can also use broad beans for terrines and savoury muffins; or have them in salads, rösti, bubble and squeak, fritters, pancakes, omelettes, vegetable burgers, casseroles or piccalilli, or marinated.

Carrots

You need the right soil to grow large carrots, but they are a very British vegetable and are always welcome as one of our main root crops. They store well so are available all year round and they can be eaten raw or cooked.

We are all used to serving carrots in soups, grated in salads, added to meat stews or as a vegetable side dish, but they are an extremely versatile vegetable and, like beetroot or winter squash, can also be used in cakes, breads and even ice cream. They form a good base for many pickles and relishes, and are a healthy alternative to potatoes when mashed or sliced for crisps. They can even be used as a meat substitute – for example, in shepherd's pie or bolognese sauce – if you mix them with filling ingredients such as lentils and/or mushrooms. You can also drink them as a juice.

Specific recipes include:

• Baked vegetable crisps

• Beef, tomatoes and green/runner beans

• Beetroot and carrot juice

• Bolognese

• Bubble and squeak

• Carrot and apple salad

• Carrot and celeriac salad

• Carrot and cheese muffins

• Carrot and coriander soup

• Carrot and courgette terrine

• Carrot and fruit juice

• Carrot and pea fritters

• Carrot and raisin loaf

• Carrot cake

• Carrot ice cream

• Carrot salsa

• Carrot, orange and radish salad

• Cheese pastry flan

• Coleslaw

• Corned beef and beetroot hash

• Crudités

• Deep vegetable pie

• Indian carrot pudding

• Mixed vegetable burgers

• Potato bake

• Quick flan or quiche

• Roast carrots

• Roasted carrot pâté

• Rösti

• Shepherd's pie with carrots

• Stir fries

• Sugared carrots

• Tortilla (Spanish omelette)

• Vegetable gratin

• Vegetable samosas

• Vegetables â la Grecque

You can also use carrots for curries, risotto, pilaf, pancakes, frittata or casseroles.

Courgettes and marrows

Marrows are simply overgrown courgettes: they have a tougher skin, can be watery and need more time to cook. It doesn't take long for a small courgette to grow into a huge marrow if the weather is right, and so, unless you are aiming for large specimen plants, you need to watch very carefully and pick them as soon as they are a usable size. In some gardening books you will see them labelled as 'summer squash", to distinguish them from other plants in the same family known as 'winter squashes' (e.g. butternut and acorn squash).