Practical Preserving Tips for Your Daily Life – How Modern Food Preservation Works

Whether it's the height of summer, a cool autumn, or planning provisions for the new year – preserving is more than a seasonal trend. It's a sustainable and creative method to make food last all year round, create variety, and simplify everyday life. Especially in combination with batch cooking or meal prep, preserved foods become an everyday hero – flexible, delicious, and always at hand.

In this post, you'll learn everything you need to know about preserving. If you're wondering how to preserve the flavors of summer, which foods are best for preserving, and how to properly sterilize jars, you've come to the right place.

• Canning is the umbrella term for all methods of bottling and preserving food – with vinegar, sugar, salt, or by heating.

• Preserving means sealing jars airtight and then heating them in a water bath or oven – ideal for sauces, compotes, or chutneys.

• Fermenting is done without heat – salt and natural lactic acid bacteria create probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, or fermented carrots. Good for your gut health and immune system. If you want to know more about fermenting, read our helpful blog article on the topic.

Usable all year round: Whether it's the autumn harvest, winter roots, spring vegetables, or summer fruits – by preserving, you can use regional ingredients all year round. Frozen or supermarket goods are also excellent.

Meal Prep & Batch Cooking made easy: Instead of cooking fresh every day, you have ready-made basics in stock – perfect for salads, bowls, sandwiches, or quick dinners.

Save food: You use what would otherwise spoil quickly – from leftover spinach to half a mango.

More flavor & variety: Flavors can be intensified with herbs, spices, oil, or vinegar – ideal as a side dish or topping.

Space-saving & beautiful: In your favorite jar, your provisions and preserves not only look pretty – they are also organized, stackable & reusable.

1. Use sterile jars
   Mason Jars with two-piece lids are ideal. Rinse with hot water or boil before filling – for extra freshness, also seal with our vacuum pump.

2. Fill correctly
   Always leave approx. 1–2 cm of headspace. For fermented foods like kimchi or red cabbage, you also need a weight to keep everything submerged in the liquid.

3. Cleverly combine ingredients
   Focus on ingredients that can be reused in various ways: e.g., pickled onions, oven-roasted tomatoes, cashew cream, or flavored oils.

4. Refrigerate or preserve by canning?
   Anything not cooked (e.g., fermented vegetables or dips) belongs in the refrigerator. Preserved foods stored cool and dark will last several months.

5. Don't forget labels
   Label your jars with contents & date – for an overview in the pantry.

6. Optimal complement to batch cooking
   Combine pre-cooking & preserving: e.g., cashew cream for 3 dishes, pickled radishes as a topping, pre-cooked quinoa in a salad. This saves you time every day!

Proper sterilization of jars is crucial to ensure your preserved foods are free from harmful bacteria and have a longer shelf life. Here are the steps to properly sterilize jars before preserving:

What you need

• Jars with lids, e.g., our Mason Jars or our Preserving Starter Set
• Large pot 
• Water
• Tongs or gripping tool

Here's how to do it

1. Clean: Thoroughly rinse jars, lids, and rubber rings in warm, soapy water to remove any dirt and dust.

2. Check for damage: Make sure the jars and lids are free from cracks, chips, or other damage that could affect the seal.

3. Sterilization in the pot: Place a kitchen towel at the bottom of the pot to prevent direct contact between the jars and the pot bottom. Place the jars in the pot and fill it with water until the jars are completely covered. Bring the water to a boil and let the jars sit in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Use tongs or a gripping tool to carefully remove the jars from the water and let them drain on a clean towel.

4. Lids: While the jars are sterilizing, you can lightly heat the lids separately in a small pot with hot water. This helps activate the seal.

5. Fill the jars: Once the jars are sterilized, carefully fill them with the prepared food, making sure to keep the rims clean.

6. Seal the jars: Place the lids on the jars and seal them tightly. The heat from the food creates a vacuum that pulls the lids down as they cool, creating an airtight seal.