Preserve it! Time for a Review  

Before planning this year’s garden or trips to the farmers market, let’s look at your pantry and freezer with a keen eye. Take stock of what you preserved last season and what you have consumed up to this point.  

If, by this time of the year, you have an abundance of a few things you preserved last year (be it frozen green beans or jars of marmalade or pickled beets) or you ran out of some foods half way through the winter (it may have been apple butter or pickled jalapenos or fruit leather), perhaps your shopping list for canning jars or lids, garden seeds or garden plants, and/or plans for trips directly to local growers should be adjusted accordingly. A family’s needs change over time. Your home food preservation plans may need adjustments.

While not preserving enough of a product just means you will need to plant or buy more this next season, having an excess of something means you need to find different ways to use that surplus of home preserved foods. Afterall, a new preservation season full of fresh fruits and vegetables is soon upon us. 

What to do with last year's jars of marmalade and pickled vegetables

Let’s look at some ways to use up any oversupply you discover in your storage.

Jams (or other soft spreads) can be used to make one-of-a-kind dressings for a spring salad. A couple spoonfuls of a jam, a neutral oil, some acid (fresh citrus juice or a special vinegar), along with some fresh herbs can take an ordinary green salad and make it a special part of your meal. Or why not spread some jam or jelly over a roasted chicken or grilled portobello mushroom as a glaze—perhaps add a few dashes of hot sauce to kick up the flavor?

As you fire up the grill to bake a fresh pizza this spring, consider adding some of those pickled vegetables as a topping. Having neighbors over for a BBQ means making a potato salad. Why not take that potato salad to another level of flavor and texture by adding some of those pickled vegetables, as well as some of the pickling juice, to the mix? The creamy texture of the potato paired with a crunch would be divine.

Don’t wait for a special event to create a charcuterie board. Spoon pickled fruit as a topping to some warm brie. Add some tart olives or a pickled vegetable, little rolls of turkey or slices of salami, and some crisp rosemary crackers to the board. Now you have a worthy meal while playing a round of Catan. Finish off that “board” meal with some dehydrated fruit or a bowl of freezer lemon curd for dessert

Scrutinize your home preserved foods with a different eye. Be creative. Come to a Master Food Preserver class and tell us what unique ways you are using up last season’s preserved foods.

The UC Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County are a great resource for answers to your food safety and preserving questions. Ask a Master Food Preserver in El Dorado County by completing our on-line form. 

Ask a Master Food Preserver

This article, written by UC Master Food Preserver Laurie Lewis, originally appeared in the spring 2026 edition of El Dorado County's Around Here magazine.