The Shelf Preservation Society Way

Greetings!
Welcome to the Shelf Preservation Society, where myself and Dr Pessimist Anticant will share our journey into the world of conserving, preserving and fermenting.

Several motives drive this exploration. The enjoyment gleaned from learning new skills plays a large part, as does curiosity about the methods by which different foods are made. Imagining proudly giving friends and family our own produce, being able to experiment with combinations of ingredients and getting creative in the kitchen also feature. We might save a little money in the long run (perhaps), and we might be able to help to keep dying crafts and skills alive. We will be trying to ensure we decrease our food miles, and reuse glass bottles and jars, so the impetus is also an ecological one. We will be able to enjoy asking the advice of friends and family who have learnt these skills, and thanking them with a full jar or bottle.

The key aspects for me, however, are preventing wastage of produce from our kitchen garden, thereby helping us to better sustain ourselves from that homegrown, organic produce, and pursuing a DIY approach to life. Going a little further towards liberating us from the role of consumer, with all its dependencies and vulnerabilities, and increasing our resilience in uncertain times.

To those ends, here in The Society kitchen, we will attempt to produce one new preseve, conserve, pickle, chutney or ferment every month for 2010, and invite you to join us on our journey. Wish us luck!