How to make budget-friendly preserves this summer: Cost-saving tips from an expert canner

There's nothing more satisfying than filling cupboards with homemade jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys to see you through the winter months, each jar packed with the invigorating tastes of summer. And if you're lucky enough to have a big garden, preserving is a fantastic way to make use of excess produce. 

But if you're buying your fruits and vegetables — and especially if you're making fancy recipes like kumquats in brandy or strawberry-kiwi jam — homemade versions can be more expensive than buying ready-made.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to make cost-friendly preserves. Here's how to save the best of the season for the months ahead — and save money!

Remember that seasonality is key

My biggest tip for making preserves on a budget is actually my biggest tip for preserving in general: use what's in season. You'll also get higher-quality produce if it's growing near you, since a shorter distance to travel means fresher fare, so be sure to head to your local farmers' market to see what's growing right now.

I recommend signing up for newsletters from your favourite farmers, since they often offer pre-orders for cases of things like strawberries or tomatoes. Alternatively, you can just talk to them about what you need! 

Live in an urban centre? I love my local farmers' markets in Toronto, but they're definitely geared toward customers buying in smaller quantities and the prices are often on the higher side. When I'm buying fresh produce to preserve, I like to head to markets outside the city because they seem to have more of a culture around preserving, often offering low prices on bushels and "seconds" (less esthetically perfect produce that's absolutely fine to eat).

Scale down to cut costs

That said, you certainly don't need to be buying bushels of cucumbers to pickle. Instead, make smaller batches based on what you'll actually eat and you'll also avoid food waste. Most recipes can easily be halved or reduced even more dramatically.

I suggest checking out cookbooks geared toward small-batch canning, such as Marisa McClellan's Preserving by the Pint, which is full of recipes that yield two or three jars each. 

Tap in to community

Consider planning a few days of canning with friends or family over the summer. Everyone can chip in on costs, divvy up the equipment list, do the work together and split the spoils. Remember to reuse those Mason jars (but not the lids — they're single-use!).

When canning collectively, you can also take advantage of one of those low-cost bushels at the farmers' market without worrying about waste. Or maybe one of your friends has a big garden or a fruit tree they can't reckon with alone — that's free food! The occupants of many houses with said trees never actually consume the harvest. Getting involved with an organization like Not Far from the Tree in Toronto is another great way to take advantage of free fruit, as they supply the harvest to the homeowners, the picking volunteers and food banks.

Often, if I spot a red currant bush or apricot tree that seems like it's not being harvested, I just leave a note to ask if I can pick from the owner's crop. An offer of a jar of jam from the harvest is a great trade, but people are usually just thrilled that the fruit is being used — especially since it would otherwise end up rotting on the vine or their lawn.

Pick your own vegetables

That said, some deals are too good to be true. One of the biggest preserving mistakes I see people making is using overripe produce for pickling. If you want crunchy pickles, you need to enlist the freshest vegetables you can get your hands on! The classic saying is "24 hours from vine to brine," though that can sometimes be a challenge.

Pick-your-own vegetable and berry patches and orchards are a fun and more affordable way to buy super-fresh produce, since you're doing all the labour. If you don't have a garden but do have a car, I highly recommend a road trip to a pick-your-own at least once this summer. 

Make use of overripe fruit — but not for jam

If you're making jam, avoid buying overripe fruit labelled "jam fruit." Unless you're using added commercial pectin (which I don't tend to), it's the worst kind you can choose because it makes it really hard to get a good set. Pectin is what makes jam gel, and the riper fruit gets, the less naturally occurring pectin it contains — meaning a much looser jam. I believe the ideal mix of fruit is actually 75 per cent perfectly ripe and 25 per cent slightly underripe. 

If you do find a great deal on past-their-prime berries — or you accidentally let berries get too old — use them to make compote, syrup or chutney. Pectin isn't a concern for any of these, and it's nice to diversify your pantry with different types of preserves.

Practise 'nose-to-tail' preserving

Many fruit and vegetable trimmings are often discarded when they could be put to good use. I like to turn the ones from rhubarb into syrup and the strained solids into fruit leather, much to the delight of my toddler. 

Strawberry tops and mango pits and skins make great syrup too, while apple peels and cores, as well as tomato skins, can be turned into vinegar — though keep in mind that homemade vinegar isn't safe for pickling.

If you're ready to start preserving, here's an overview of what I like to make as the season unfolds. 

June

• Strawberry jam
• Strawberry–rhubarb compote
• Strawberry-top syrup
• Haskap jam
• Pickled garlic scapes

July

• Apricot jam
• Apricot compote
• Plum jam
• Raspberry jam
• Peach compote
• Pickled peppers
• Dill pickles
• Relish

August

• Canned tomatoes
• Tomato chutney
• Pickled beets
• Cherries in syrup
• Grape jelly
• Canned peaches
• Canned pears

September

• Cranberry sauce
• Crab apple jelly
• Pickled brussels sprouts
• Zucchini relish