I want to make preserves

Pickled vegetables are really tasty and good for you ... and easy to make at home.

There’s no denying the evidence, eating fermented food is hugely beneficial to gut health, restoring the correct balance of bacteria that reside there.

Try to include fermented foods in your diet every day, in the form of yoghurt (homemade is better as it contains more live bacteria), kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, and pickled vegetables. Don’t be daunted by the sauerkraut – give it a go! It tastes wonderful in toasted sandwiches or alongside fish or meat.

Kale sauerkraut

Makes approx 4 mediumsized jars Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: nil

1kg green cabbage 200g kale (I used Cavolo Nero but any kale would be fine) 1 tablespoons salt 1 tablespoon caraway seeds 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 teaspoon juniper berries

Remove the outer leaves from FOOD the cabbage, reserving a whole one to weigh down the sauerkraut once you have packed it into the jar. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core from each piece, then finely shred and place into a large bowl.

Remove the stems and ribs from the kale, finally shred and add to the cabbage. Sprinkle over the salt and using clean hands, massage and mix the mixture until it softens and releases it’s juices. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

Once this has happened, mix in the spices then pack the cabbage mixture and all of its juices into a large glass jar. Push the cabbage down tightly as you go.

Put the reserved cabbage leaf on top of the sauerkraut and on top of this place a clean glass jar either filled with water or containing a heavy weight of some kind (marbles, a rock, etc). You want the sauerkraut to stay submerged and not exposed to the air. Cover with a clean tea towel, place the jar into a large bowl (it can spill excess liquid), and leave in a warm place for at least a week.

Fermentation is complete when the mixture stops bubbling. However, taste the sauerkraut as you go and once you’ve achieved the desired texture/flavour, pack the sauerkraut into smaller sterilised jars and seal with sterilised lids.

Or put the large jar straight into the fridge. If the sauerkraut starts to smell bad during fermentation then throw it away and start again.

Pickled zucchini

Makes approx 7 medium-sized jars Preparation: 25 minutes + 25 minutes resting Cooking: 7 minutes

1.5kg zucchini, trimmed, finely sliced 250g shallots, halved, finely sliced 3 tablespoons salt 3 cups vinegar (I used homebrewed kombucha vinegar, which you can substitute for apple cider vinegar) 1 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons mustard seeds 25g ginger, finely sliced 15g turmeric (fresh), substitute with 1 teaspoons ground turmeric 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 7 sprigs dill

Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius.

Put seven clean jars into the oven and sterilise for 30 minutes. Pour boiling water over the lids and set aside.

Put the zucchini, shallots and salt into a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

Remove the zucchini and shallots from the bowl, place into a colander and let drain for 15 minutes. While the zucchini is draining put the vinegar, sugar and spices into a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce the heat then let simmer for five minutes then remove from the heat.

Put a sprig of dill into each jar then pack in the zucchini, stopping when there is 1cm head space above the vegetables. Pour in the pickling liquid and seal.

Recipes, food styling and photography by Emma Boyd