Pickle & Preserve – FoodWatcher

Preserve the Taste of Summer With These Tips From Epic Gardening

The bland taste of a supermarket tomato is one that Kevin Espiritu manages to avoid year-round. The expert gardener grows all of his own tomatoes—plus five dozen varieties of other fruits and vegetables—from a 7,000-square-foot plot in San Diego, then shares his hard-won growing knowledge with the 2.6 million subscribers of his YouTube video series, Epic Gardening.

This September he branched out with a food-focused series for Food52 (the next episode drops September 29), and we caught up with him as was knee-deep in preserving mode, canning his own salsa. If that feels too advanced for your skillset, there are easier ways to save your homegrown tomatoes, vegetables, and herbs for winter. Below, Kevin shares his tips for making the most of canning and preserving season with the tools you have.

The Best Way To Preserve Summer Produce

Late summer means preserving all the things, whether you grow your own food like I do at Catbird Cottage, or you’re one to fall into reverie, dazzled by the innumerable tables of colorful fruit and veg at the farmers’ market. Right now, my daily goals include preserving this bounty as much as possible. I make quick, vinegar, and fermented pickles, bottle up summer sauce and jams, infuse salt, sugar, oils, and vinegars with tender aromatics, and generally work on overdrive so when days are cold and short, I have the bursting bright flavors from warmer days to keep me company. Here are a few tried-and-true methods to capture the seasons, so when cold winter days hit again, you can reap the benefits and enjoy bottled sunshine.

Pickles

Pickling less-than-ripe peaches is a fun way to carry the season forward. Pair them with rich cheeses or meats, and keep a puckery token of summer close at hand.