It's begun! I dusted off the dehydrator and have kicked off this year's preservation bonanza with zucchini and kohl rabi. I really love having jars of dried vegetables for adding to stews and such: it's so handy. I'll probably focus on dehydration as my main preservation method this year.
However, I've also started harvesting my little pickling cucumbers; it's been several years since I've successfully grown more than just a couple, and I've got my fingers crossed they'll continue. Some of the cucs are kind of bitter; an internet search suggests either growing conditions or pollination to be the culprit, and picking off male flowers is meant to be a solution to the second. However, I'm not 100% sure I'll get any cucumbers at all if I do this (not all varieties can produce without pollination); I've started a small batch of brined pickles instead. Soaking them in salt usually works to draw out the bitterness, which is exactly what brined pickles are. Wish me luck.
I've got lots and lots of blackcurrants ready now, but am somewhat at a loss of how to preserve them. We are mainly a low carb family so I rarely make sweet things like jam; that said, I do make a small batch every few years, so maybe it's due again--we don't have any jam in the cupboard at present. Last year I made raspberry wine from that enormous glut so I suppose it could be an option for the blackcurrants too (though I must admit the rasp wine didn't turn out particularly nice).
And I made my first cut of chamomile to dry for tea. It's very fragrant--though not particularly nice tasting--but it does really work to help me sleep when I drink it. I use the leaves, stems and flowers and simply air dry them on a tray in my kitchen. I was surprised to see it growing this spring, not having sown any; I was under the impression it was an annual although perhaps it self seeded (last year's plants were very puny and I only got one small jar off them). Long may it continue.
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