The Modern Preserver: A mindful cookbook packed with seasonal appeal

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Preserving is an ancient technique which speaks to a modern sensibility. It puts you in step with the seasons, you can use up leftovers, and it helps you rediscover a timeless kitchen craftsmanship – all aspirations of the thoughtful modern cook. The first preserve I ever made was a tomato and apple chutney, my adaption of a recipe from The Edmonds Cookbook, a New Zealand iconic cookery book dated 1908. Every New Zealand household owns a copy and it remains cookery bible (even though the recipes are super dated), with a world of traditional Kiwiana culinary staples. We continue to produce this chutney in our Newton & Pott range for its sentimental origins. After two batches you are twice as experienced as after the first batch. After four you are twice as experienced again! Finely chop the chilli and put in a medium stainless-steel saucepan with the lime zest and juice, vinegar, sugar, juniper berries and1½ teaspoons of sea salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, dissolving the sugar and infusing the flavours for around five minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool while you prepare the other ingredients. Newton details the craft involved and the equipment needed with pith and understated elegance" ( Guardian)

Gin-pickled Cucumber - The Happy Foodie Gin-pickled Cucumber - The Happy Foodie

While you are learning, things will go wrong at least once! If a small batch goes wrong, it’s less of a disaster. If you let the jam catch on the bottom of the pan, you might waste a pound’s worth of fruit and it’s not the end of the world. I’ve not got the space to store that, and although preserves can last for years (and maturing over time can be a magic ingredient), they can also dry out or spoil which is a waste! It’s fast – jam in 40 minutes! All of this makes it a lot easier to make small batch preserves more frequently. It’s a lot easier on the home cook than boiling up a year’s supply in one great binge.Add the lemon juice and jam sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar while bringing the mixture to the boil. Continue to boil steadily at around 104°C, stirring intermittently, for another 20–25 minutes. Marmalade! I don’t generally eat it, but Ed does and I know we need about 20 good sized jars a year for his toast at breakfast and a few spare to give to friends. Seville oranges are seasonal and out of season you simply cannot get hold of them. This is a fabulous and well planned book celebrating the timeless art of preserving, updating some oldies and introducing exciting new ideas, whether it be kimchi, orange or vanilla marmalade, or tamarillo chutney. It’s a new favourite in my kitchen" (Peter Gordon)

The Modern Preserver - Penguin Books UK

It is no wonder that as soon as I had my own home and kitchen, I started preserving. It is fun, makes you feel like a domestic goddess and is frankly addictive. Newton has brought the art of preserving bang up to date... This book is for anyone who wants to dabble in home preserves." ( Sunday Times)

Fill the jars with the vinegar brine, distributing the remaining spices (in the brine) evenly between them and gently pushing down on the contents to let out the air bubbles. Tap the jars gently on a hard surface to remove any more bubbles, add more brine if necessary to completely cover the vegetables, then seal. You will learn more making 10 batches of 3 jars, rather than 2 batches of 15 jars – it’s still 30 jars in the end but 5 times the experience. Jam making should be fun and relaxing. Small batch preserving makes it easy to whip up a jam after a stressful day at work to unwind. You can easily make a few jars on Saturday morning between the shopping and lunch. Less waste when things go wrong! Small batch is the way to go. Sometimes you’ll reach setting point before you have had time to drink a mug of tea! I used to make traditional big batches of jam, but one day I realised that the jars were taking over. It got to the point where I had too many jars, and I was in danger of turning something fun into a chore.