Fruits, Vegetables and preserving
Hello, everyone!
My name is Colin, and this year I took the plunge and started a semester abroad in Volda, Norway. As a media student, I deal with the sender, the medium and the receiver and have to learn about many different media. This blog shows you how to use my recipes (sender) and your stove (medium) to make food that will make your taste buds (receiver) explode.
This semester, I am currently taking the module ‘Norwegian Food Culture’, in which I am gaining practical experience in Norwegian cuisine. In the first practical exercise, we dealt with fruits, vegetables and how to preserve them.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 20% of food is thrown away every year because it spoils. (Brown, 2019, p. 540) You and I are going to combat this today by showing you how to pickle plums and make delicious gherkins in this first article of my blog. Let's get started!
Canned plums
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| Canned Plums Photo: Colin |
Ingredients (for 3 jars):
900g plums (halved)
900g water
300g sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Directions
(0. Place the jars you want to use in the oven at 100 degrees and put the lids in boiling water. This will create a disinfected environment for your plums and prevent any bacteria.)
1. Halve and pit your plums.
2. Mix the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat it up. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
3. Add cinnamon to taste and stir.
4. Remove the jars from the oven and place the plums inside.
5. Fill the prepared jars to the brim with the sugar water and then seal them. After sealing the jars, turn them upside down to cool. This additionally heats the seal, which prevents bacteria from entering. If the lid is warped after cooling, you've done it right!
Colin's fun fact:
The discovery of food preservation was accelerated by Napoleon. He needed safe and durable food for his troops, so he offered a prize to anyone who could come up with a new method of preserving food. The prize ultimately went to Nicolas Appert, who invented this method of preservation in the late 1790s. Honour where honour is due! (Brown, 2019, pp. 542+545)
Pickled cucumber
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| Pickled Cucumber Photo: Colin |
Ingredients (for 2 jars):
1 cucumber
½ onion
600 ml water
300 ml vinegar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp green pepper
2 bay leaves
Pinch of dill
Directions
(0. Place the jars you want to use in the oven at 100 degrees and put the lids in boiling water. This will create a disinfected environment for your gherkins and prevent any bacteria from growing.)
1. Cut the cucumber (into sticks) and half the onion (into rings).
2. For the vinegar brine, bring the water, vinegar and salt to the boil, stirring until the salt has dissolved.
Quick fact: The salt is not just a flavouring agent; it also draws water out of the cucumbers, preventing bacterial growth and making them more receptive to the spices. (Brown, 2019, p. 544)
3. Remove the jars from the oven and distribute the spices evenly.
4. Divide the sliced cucumber and onion evenly among the jars.
5. Fill the jars to the brim with the vinegar brine and then seal them.
After sealing the jars, place them upside down to cool. This additionally heats the seal, which prevents bacteria from entering. If the lid is warped after cooling, you've done it right!
That's it for today, feel free to check back next time and make your culinary brain a little smarter.
In Germany, we say ‘Mahlzeit’ and ‘Bis bald!’ (Enjoy your meal and see you soon!)
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Gurken einlegen | Gewürzgurken-Rezept zum Selbstmachen. (o. J.). Koch-Mit. Accessed: 30. August 2025, from https://www.koch-mit.de/kueche/gurken-einlegen/
C. Brown, A. (2019). Food Preservation. In Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation (6th ed.). Cengage.
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