Winter brings a completely different rhythm to a preserver's kitchen.

I love winter preserving season. In fact, I often say that a preserver’s pantry is built over winter.

Summer preserving can be busy and reactive. Large amounts of fresh produce become available all at once, and because so much of it is perishable, it often needs to be bottled, frozen, dehydrated or fermented quickly.

Winter preserving is different. Many winter crops store for longer, which means preserving can usually fit more easily around the rest of your life. It feels less rushed and more intentional, and allows you the chance to look at what your household actually uses and choose the preserves that will be the most valuable over the months ahead.

For me, winter preserving is about building a pantry that makes mealtimes easier. Yes, there are apples, citrus, kiwifruit and other fruits around, and I do preserve some of those, but my main focus is usually on meal components, soups, broths, basic meats and meals in jars.

Those are the preserves that save us the most time later.

So, if you’re wondering what to preserve in winter, here are some simple ideas to help you make the most of the quieter months and build a pantry that will serve you well.

What can you preserve in winter?

There are plenty of foods you can preserve in winter, especially if you think beyond the classic jars of jam and bottled fruit.

Winter preserving can include:

• Fruit preserves, such as stewed apples, marmalade, curds and dehydrated kiwifruit
• Citrus, including frozen juice and zest, preserved lemons or limes, cordials and chutneys
• Vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, beetroot and leafy greens
• Herbs for drying, freezing or turning into pestos
• Soups, broths, stocks and meal bases
• Beans, chickpeas, meats and ready-to-heat meals in jars
• Freezer meals and baking for busy weeks ahead

Please don't feel like you need to do all of these. A useful winter preserving list should be based on what you have available, what your household actually eats, and what will make life easier in the months ahead.

Winter fruits to preserve

Fruit is often the first thing people think of when they hear the word preserving, and there are lots of fruit preserves that you can make over winter.

Apples, pears, kiwifruit and citrus are some of the most useful winter fruits to preserve. Depending on where you live, you may also have access to persimmons, quince, or warmer-climate fruit such as limes, bananas, pineapple and avocado.

The key is not to preserve fruit just because it’s available. Think about what you'll actually use and move forward from there.

Apples and pears

Winter is a wonderful time to preserve apples and pears, especially when they’re abundant or selling at a good price.

Apples and pears can be stewed and bottled or frozen, dehydrated in slices (seriously addictive), turned into fruit leather, or used in chutneys and relishes. Apples also make a good base for crumbles, cakes and pies that can be popped into the freezer for later.

In our home, dehydrated apple slices disappear very quickly (if you've made them before, you'll know how good they are and how hard it is to stop eating them), so we stew as many as possible so we have available throughout the year for desserts, breakfasts, snacks and baking.

Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit is another good winter fruit to preserve, especially if you have access to a large quantity.

Dehydrated kiwifruit is a favourite in our household (it's even better than dehydrated apple), but kiwifruit can also be used in jams, chutneys and fruit leathers. You can also freeze the pulp for smoothies, baking or future batches of jam.

Citrus

Lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins and grapefruit are common in many winter gardens, especially in parts of New Zealand and Australia. I live in a citrus growing region and there is aways an absolute abundance. I could make thousands of jars of marmalade if I wanted to but tend to limit it to a small amount for gifting at Christmas time, and then focus on bottling lemon and lime juice as well as cordials.

Because citrus is such a useful winter crop, we’ll look at that in more detail next.

Preserving citrus for year-round use

Lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins and grapefruit are always useful in the kitchen so it makes sense to preserve some to have available when it isn't in season.

One of the easiest ways to preserve citrus is to freeze the juice and zest. Zest the fruit first, then juice it and freeze the zest and juice separately in small portions. This is useful for baking, marinades, dressings, sauces, drinks and adding brightness to meals through the year.

You can also freeze citrus whole, halved, quartered or sliced, depending on how you plan to use it later. Slices are great for drinks, while juice cubes are handy when you only need a small amount, say in mayonnaise or guacamole.

For shelf-stable preserves, use citrus to make marmalade, curds, juices, cordials, syrups, chutneys and relishes. Lemon or lime can also be added to other fruit preserves where the flavour works well. We love making a few batches or lemon and lime curd each year – it freezes well and so handy to have for quick desserts.

Another simple option is preserved lemons or preserved limes (same recipe, just use limes). These are lemons or limes packed in salt and left to ferment until the peel softens and the flavour becomes intensely citrusy, savoury and salty. They’re often used in Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and North African cooking, and they’re delicious used with chicken, fish, vegetables and grains, or used in dressings and mayonnaise.

Citrus can also be dehydrated. Dried citrus slices are super pretty in jars and useful for hot drinks, baking, simmer pots or garnishes – they look lovely tied to gifts at Christmas time too. When dehydrating slices, experiment with whether you prefer the rinds left on or removed, and, once dry, try drizzling over your favourite dark chocolate. You can also dry zest to use in seasoning blends, baking and homemade herb and spice blends.

Winter jams, curds and fruit preserves

Winter may not have the same berry abundance as summer, but there are still plenty of lovely jams, curds and fruit preserves to make.

Marmalade is the obvious winter preserve, especially if you have oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit or mandarins available. You can keep it classic with orange marmalade, or use a mix of citrus depending on what you have – mandarins work well in marmalade too.

Apples and pears are also useful in winter preserves. Apple jelly, pear and ginger jam, apple-based chutneys and pear chutneys are all good options.

Kiwifruit can be used for jam, chutney or fruit leather, and it pairs well with citrus flavours such as lime or lemon. Quince, if you have access to it, can be made into quince jelly or quince paste, or simply bottled in a light syrup for desserts.

Curds are another delicious way to preserve winter citrus. Lemon curd and lime curd can be kept in the fridge for short-term use, frozen for a longer shelf life (up to about 1 year), or made shelf-stable (although the shelf life is quite short).

Check your freezer at this time for any fruit you may have frozen over summer. And, if you don't actually have much fruit available but are wanting to make your own jam, there's nothing wrong with grabbing some bags of frozen berries from the supermarket and making a reduced-sugar mixed berry jam.

Winter vegetables to preserve

Winter vegetables are useful to preserve, especially if you grow your own or find good seasonal prices.

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, carrots, leafy greens and stored vegetables such as pumpkin and potatoes can all be preserved in different ways. Some are best frozen or dehydrated, while others are suited to fermenting, pickling, pressure canning or turning into soups and meal bases.

Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage

If you have an abundance of broccoli or cauliflower, both can be blanched and frozen (don't skip the blanching part). They can also be dehydrated and added later to soups, stews, casseroles or other cooked meals.

Cauliflower can also be riced and frozen in suitable portion sizes. If you freeze riced cauliflower without blanching it first, it will generally have a shorter freezer life (4-6 months compared to 10-12 months), so use those portions sooner.

Cabbage is another useful winter vegetable to preserve. It can be blanched and frozen, dehydrated, or turned into sauerkraut or another ferment. Fermenting cabbage is a good option if you want a preserve that doesn’t take up freezer space.

Leafy greens

If you grow your own, there's likely lots of silverbeet, kale and other leafy greens in your garden.

These can be blanched and frozen, pressure canned or dehydrated. Dehydrated greens can be stored as they are, or blended into a greens powder to add to smoothies, soups, sauces or meals.

Beetroot, carrots and other winter vegetables

Beetroot and carrots are both useful winter vegetables to preserve. Beetroot can be pickled, turned into relish, pressure canned, or frozen. Carrots can be frozen, dehydrated, pressure canned, or added to soups, stocks and meal bases.

This is also a good time to check stored vegetables such as onions, potatoes, pumpkin and squash. If anything is starting to soften or show signs that it won’t store much longer, look for another way to preserve it before it is wasted. Our balsamic onion chutney recipe is highly rated!

Pumpkin and potatoes can be frozen or pressure canned, or cooked into soups and meals for the freezer. Pumpkin soup cannot be pressure canned, see the note below for further guidance.

Soups, broths and stocks

Winter is the perfect time to make soups, broths and stocks – warm, cosy and just what you need on a cold day.

These are some of the most useful preserves to have on hand because they can be quick lunches or form the base of so many future meals. A jar of chicken stock, beef stock, vegetable stock or bone broth can be used for soups, risotto, casseroles, sauces, gravies, slow cooker meals and quick weeknight dinners.

If you pressure can, stocks and broths are a great way to make something else from kitchen scraps. Be sure to save up bones, peels and other leftover bits in the freezer to make up a stock later. They are simple to make and, if you don't have a pressure canner, you can also freeze them in portions if that suits your kitchen better.

Soups are another good winter preserving project. Some soups can be pressure canned, while others are better made for the freezer. Either way, having soup ready to heat and serve is one of those simple things that future-you will be grateful for.

Please note that blended pumpkin soup is NOT suitable for pressure canning. This question comes up every winter and it's not a suitable option. So what can you do instead? Pressure can a pumpkin soup mix instead, one that hasn't been blended, then blend it when it comes time to eat it.

Meals in jars and meal components

This is where much of my winter preserving focus goes and I'm grateful for this way of life on every single busy evening.

Fruit preserves are great, and I do make them too, but meals in jars and meal components are the preserves we tend to value the most in our home. They make it easier to cook from scratch and get dinner ready quickly without reaching for takeaways or convenience items.

If you pressure can, winter is a good time to replenish the basics. Plain chicken, beef, lamb, beans, chickpeas, chilli beans, baked beans, soups, stews and meal bases can all become incredibly useful pantry staples.

I like having jars that can become meals with very little extra work. A jar of pressure canned meat can be turned into soup, curry, pie filling, nachos, tacos, wraps, fried rice or a quick meal with potatoes, rice, pasta or vegetables. Beans can become chilli, soup, salads, nachos, burritos or simple side dishes.

But, for me, meals in jars are hard to beat. We're talking Thai chicken curry, Vietnamese beef curry, beef bourguignon, Chicken pie filling, beef stroganoff... all ready to go straight from the shelf, just needing heating and sometimes something extra like cream or coconut cream added. We love these as the meals are tasty and dinner is ready in the time it takes to boil a pot of potatoes, rice or pasta. Honestly, it could not get any better (maybe a personal chef would top this) and I wish this for everyone.

Not everything needs to go in a jar

Preserving food does not always mean putting it into jars.

Freezing, dehydrating, fermenting and simple make-ahead cooking all count, and different foods are best suited to different preserving methods.

Winter is a good time to look through the freezer and see what still needs to be used. If you have fruit, tomatoes, vegetables, herbs or other produce tucked away from summer, now is a good time to turn some of that into preserves or meals. You’ll likely be needing that freezer space again soon.

Check your gardens for excess herbs. I find my parsley and rosemary to always be amazing at this time of year and mint is starting to take off now too. Dehydrating is a great option for herbs but you can also consider freezing them in oil too. My favourite option for parsley is to make a pesto and freeze it – pesto recipe here.

Some of the most useful winter preserving projects are very simple: freezing citrus juice and zest, making extra soups for the freezer, stewing apples, freezing crumbles or cakes, dehydrating herbs, or cooking double batches of meals your household already enjoys.

This is also a good season to make the most of quieter evenings. A small batch here and there may not feel like much at the time, but those small batches add up across the winter months.

Simple winter preserving ideas

If you’re not sure where to start, choose one small project that suits the produce you have and the way your household eats.

Here are some simple winter preserving ideas:

• Freeze lemon or lime juice in cubes
• Freeze citrus zest for baking, marinades and dressings
• Preserved lemons or preserved limes
• Marmalade
• Lemon or lime curd
• Bottle, freeze or stew apples and pears
• Dehydrate apple, pear or kiwifruit slices
• Make apple or pear crumble for the freezer
• Beetroot relish or pickled beetroot
• Sauerkraut or kimchi
• Blanch and freeze broccoli, cauliflower or leafy greens
• Dehydrate greens for soups, sauces or greens powder
• Dry herbs such as parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano or bay leaves
• Make parsley pesto for the freezer
• Pressure can beans, chickpeas, chilli beans or baked beans
• Pressure can or freeze chicken, beef or vegetable stock
• Pressure can meat or meals in jars
• Make soups, broths or meal bases
• Cook extra dinners for the freezer

There are lots of ideas above, just pick a couple and move forward with building your pantry or filling your freezer. One of the easiest options is making double batches of meals and freezing one.

How to choose what’s worth preserving

A long list of winter preserving ideas can be inspiring, but it can also become overwhelming if you feel like you should be doing everything.

You don’t need to and you shouldn't.

Honestly, there's nothing worse than shelves filled with jars of jam when you only eat a few jars each year. It's a waste of jars and shelf space.

The most useful preserves are the ones that make sense for your household. Before you start, please consider:

• What do we actually eat?
• What would make meals easier over the next few months? (This is a big reason why I preserve food so is always the number one consideration.)
• What produce is abundant, affordable or already sitting in the garden, pantry or freezer?
• What did we run out of last year?
• What do we keep buying that we could make ourselves?
• What skills would I like to practise before the busier summer preserving season arrives?

For one household, the best winter preserving project might be marmalade, stewed apples or dehydrated kiwifruit. For another, it might be chicken stock, beans, soups, pressure canned meat or freezer meals.

There’s no prize for having the fullest pantry shelves. The goal is to build a pantry that supports the way you actually cook and eat. It's important that you're actually eating the food, not stockpiling.

Final thoughts

Winter preserving doesn’t need to be rushed or complicated, and it shouldn't be. Take this time to practice new skills and find a rhythm for your preserving that works for your life.

This is a season where small batches can make a real difference, especially when it's things you'll actually use. A few jars of stock, some meals in jars, frozen citrus juice, stewed apples, dried herbs, or a tray of dehydrated fruit may not feel like much on their own, but together they help build a pantry that supports your household over time.

I always find winter to be the best season to learn, practise and restock where you have gaps. There is less pressure than summer, when produce can arrive all at once and need preserving quickly, and more space to think about what will genuinely be useful.

A preserver’s pantry is built jar by jar, batch by batch, season by season. So choose one winter preserving project that makes sense for your home, start there, and let it build slowly. 

I hope this helps you to take advantage of these slower winter months to fill your shelves. Small batches of preserves done from time to time add up and make a big difference across 3, 6 or 12 months.

If you are preserving over these winter months, be sure to share with me as I always love seeing what you're making. The best place to share with me is over on Instagram @patch_to_pantry, inside The Preserver's Kitchen community, or send me an email.