Gluten Free

Season: late July to September. This recipe, applying the oven method, can be used for preserving the many members of the Vaccinium family, which include the cultivated blueberry as well as the wild huckleberry. The delicate, lemony nutmeg note of fresh bay complements their gentle flavor beautifully. Serve these fragrant berries for a breakfast treat with thick vanilla yogurt.

Season: January to February. The arrival of the early, forced rhubarb in January deserves a salutation of the greatest magnitude, and I can never wait to savor its fresh, earthy energy. The blushing stalks, with their tart but delicate flavor, are strictly seasonal, so be sure you don’t miss the chance to preserve a jar or two to enjoy later in the year.

Season: Late September to October. The shapely rosehip is the fleshy fruit of the rose. The orange-red berries that appear in the autumn contain a crowd of creamy-white seeds protected by tiny irritant hairs, which is why they should never be eaten raw. Rosehips are rich in vitamins A and C and have long been used for making jams, jellies, wine, tea, and, of course, syrup. This recipe is based on one issued by the British Ministry of Defence during the Second World War when rosehips were gathered by volunteers. The syrup made from the fruit was fed to the nation’s children. Use this rosehip syrup mixed with hot water as a warming winter drink. I also love it drizzled neat over rice pudding or pancakes. Or try this recipe of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s for a refreshing summer cocktail: pour 2 tablespoons of rosehip syrup into a tall glass. Add 1/4 cup of white rum and mix well. Add a few ice cubes and pour in about 2/3 cup of tart apple juice. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve with a straw.

Season: July to August. Historically, sweetened vinegars were valued for their medicinal qualities and were typically used to relieve coughs and treat fevers and colds. During the nineteenth century, raspberry vinegar in particular was recommended as a refreshing tonic to overcome weariness. But fruit vinegars have a multitude of culinary uses too, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be without a bottle or two in the kitchen. Use raspberry vinegar on salads–either neat or blended with olive oil. I also love it trickled over goat’s cheese, crepes, and even ice cream. You’ll also find that a spoonful adds a lovely piquancy to savory sauces. For a revitalizing summer drink, mix a couple of tablespoonfuls of raspberry vinegar with soda or tonic water and add ice. The fruit for a vinegar needs to be gathered on a dry day. If the fruit is wet, it will dilute the vinegar and adversely affect its keeping quality.

Season: Spring and summer. The healing, warming properties of sage have long been recognized, and one traditional way to imbibe them is by means of a liqueur, such as this one. The velvety, gray-green leaves are steeped in eau-de-vie and the resulting elixir should, I’m told, be drunk each day to ensure good health and a long life. I take just a capful (not a cupful) myself each morning and find it very restorative. Of course, this is not the only way to use this soothing herb liqueur–a glassful can be enjoyed as a comforting digestif, or a capful can be diluted with tonic water for an aromatic pick-me-up. Gather the sage on a warm, dry day. As an evergreen, this herb can be picked throughout the year, but it’s at its best during the spring and summer months.

Season: June to July. A shrub is an old-fashioned kind of drink–essentially a delightfully fruity alcoholic cordial. Based on sweetened rum or brandy, it is traditionally flavored with acidic fruit such as Seville oranges, lemons, or red currants. Keep back some of the juice after straining red currants to make jelly (see recipe, p. 54), and you will find this lovely tipple very simple to make. Serve as an aperitif, either on its own or mixed half and half with a dry martini and finished with a splash of fresh orange juice, which is my favorite way.

Season: November to March. A cool glass of homemade lemonade knocks the commercially produced alternative into oblivion. Once tasted, this will become a favorite thirst quencher. Serve this lemon syrup diluted with cold water as a cool summertime refresher, or mix with tonic water and a splash of Angostura bitters for a nonalcoholic cocktail. You can also use oranges as well as lemons.

Season: Late April to early May. The name for this unusual alcoholic cordial is actually the French word for fruit pit. Traditionally, it was made from bitter almonds or peach pits mixed with gin and left to steep in a warm place for several days before being cooked up with sugar, and then filtered through blotting paper. This recipe is from Richard Mabey’s excellent Food for Free. It uses the young, silken leaves of the European beech tree (Fagus sylvatica), to make an exquisite hedgerow version of the liqueur; the leaves first appear toward the end of April.

Season: Autumn to winter. The Italians use fiery-hot mustard oil to add a bit of passion to their classic fruit preserve mostardo di cremona. However, mustard oil is pretty well impossible to purchase in this country, so I have used mustard seeds and powder to pep up the dried figs in my own interpretation of the dish. Serve it with hot or cold meat, with oily fish dishes, or with cheese in sandwiches.

Season: November to March. Preserved lemons have a strong association with Middle Eastern and North African cuisines, and their unique zesty, salty yet mellow flavor permeates many of the traditional meat and couscous dishes of those regions. Strips of preserved lemon can also be added to salads, soups, and dressings, or mixed with olives and other appetizers. They are exceptionally easy to prepare, and I like to make them around the turn of the year when the new season’s lemons from Spain and Italy are in the shops.

Season: October to January. Spices, onions, and a traditional malty ale give this robust, pub-style chutney plenty of character, while the natural sugars in the root vegetables help sweeten it. It is delicious served with farmhouse Cheddar, crusty bread, and a pint or two.

Season: winter. Onions are one of the most versatile ingredients in the culinary world, but they are not often given the chance to be the star of their own show. A recipe like this puts that right. Long, slow cooking turns a panful of red, white, or yellow onions into a fantastic rich sauce-cum-jam that’s brilliant served with sausages and mashed potatoes, and a heap of other dishes too. Try it with cheese on toast or with cold meat in sandwiches, or stir a spoonful into a creamy pumpkin soup.

Season: September to November: A good pickled onion is perhaps the doyen of the preserves cupboard–but how do you like yours? Crisp or soft, sweet or sour, mildly spiced or chile hot? The beauty of this recipe is that it can be used to make your onions (or shallots) just the way you like them. I like mine sweet, so I use honey in this recipe, but you could dispense with honey or sugar altogether if you like a really sharp pickle. I also go for cider vinegar, rather than the more traditional malt, because the flavor is less aggressive. The blend of spices used here suits me nicely, but you could also use coriander, cumin, or celery seeds–or any other spice you fancy. If you want crisp onions, use cold vinegar; if you like them soft, heat the vinegar first.

Season: Late August to September. Dark-skinned with a bluish bloom, small oval damson plums are very tart and well flavored, which makes them wonderful for preserving. This is a straightforward recipe that keeps the fruit whole and tender. I love warming cinnamon and allspice in the mix, but you can use any spices you fancy, or even a good tablespoonful of ready-made pickling spice (see p. 89). These sweet spiced damsons are a lovely addition to any buffet table and splendid with cold poultry.

Season: August to September. Runner beans are a bit of a love-or-hate vegetable and are often scorned in favor of other green beans. I do sympathize with those who don’t eat them – we’ve all been served rubbery, graying old runners at some time or another and they’re no fun at all. However, young tender green runner beans are altogether different, and this recipe is just perfect for these guys. It has been eaten and enjoyed by nearly everyone who has walked into my kitchen, so I hope that reproducing it here will convert a few more bean haters. I think pickled beans are great alongside cold meats and salads. Use a couple of jars that are at least 5 inches high – taller, if possible – so that the beans can show off their length.

Season: August to December. I love pickled fruits and always look forward to opening a jar to serve with cold poultry and ham. Small, hard pears are ideal for use in this recipe, and it’s a very good way to deal with a barrel-load of them. If you stick with the basic quantities of sugar and vinegar, this recipe can easily be adapted for use with other fruits and different spices (see the variations below).

Season: August. This traditional sweet vegetable pickle, Indian in origin, is the ultimate August preserve for me. The time to make it is when garden produce is at its peak and there is ample to spare. You can use almost any vegetable in the mix, but make sure you include plenty of things that are green and crisp. The secret of a really successful piccalilli is to use very fresh vegetables and to take the time to cut them into small, similar-sized pieces. The recipe first treats the vegetables to a dry-brining, which helps to keep them really firm and crunchy, then bathes them in a smooth, hot mustard sauce.

Season: July to September. This is a wonderful way to use up an abundance of cucumbers, be they long and uniform green, or the short, knobbly-skinned type. It’s also very quick and easy to make if you use a food processor. This is not a true preserve, as the cucumbers are not brined and the pickle is very light, but it will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks in a sealed container. I love this sweet condiment with all manner of salads and in sandwiches, but it’s especially delectable with hot-smoked trout or salmon.

Season: June to October. This is essentially Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s classic Glutney, or River Cottage chutney, which first appeared in The River Cottage Cookbook. The fruit and vegetable chopping is time-consuming, but important. Whizzing everything up in a food processor would give a very different, sloppy-textured result.

Season: Late July to September. After the vibrant trumpets of nasturtium flowers fade, you’ll find underneath the foliage the knobbly green seed pods of the plant. They have a hot, peppery flavor and, when pickled, develop a taste very similar to that of true capers (the pickled flower buds of the Mediterranean Capparis plant). Collect the seed pods on a warm, dry day when all the flowers have wilted away. Gather only the green ones (sometimes they are red-blushed) and avoid any that are yellowing, as these will be dull and dry. The pods can also be used fresh to spice up salads or as an ingredient in piccalilli (see p. 106). These feisty little pickled nasturtium seed pods are great in fish dishes and in herby, garlicky sauces. Try them in tartar sauce or add them to salads, especially with tomatoes. In fact, use them just as you would capers.