THE PRESERVERY

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

thepreservery — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:02:05 +0000

There have been a lot of comings and going at The Preservery as of late. First, there were the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, then there was Tanzania, and then Morocco and then Barbados; a wedding and then a big move across the country…all since the last post. So, we apologize for the lag in keeping you informed on where in the world we were and what we’ve been up to. The good news is that after all of this coming and going, we are proud to announce that we have expanded our reality into the beautiful rolling hills of Mulmur in Ontario.

Oh, and if all of that wasn’t enough, we are also about to undergo some changes to our online reality. Our address will stay the same, but things might look a little different the next time you show up. Don’t be alarmed! We’re still the same as always (maybe even a little better for growing) and we do hope that you stay tuned.

(photo credit: Jim U on Flickr)

New Year, New Fun with a Great North American Jam-Out.

thepreservery — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:15:42 +0000

A very Happy New Year to one and to all.

We spent some of the holidays reflecting on 2009, our first year in business, and some time thinking about how to make 2010 filled with more fun and more flavour. So, there are obviously some resolutions at hand, but the challenge that we are probably most excited to take up is our participation in this most excellent ‘Jam-Out’ being hosted by the also excellent Tigress in a Jam.

January’s pick is citrus. Not necessarily so local, but since citrus doesn’t grow in the Great White North and we want in on the fun, we’ll bend our own rules a bit.

The good news is that you can play along (we’ll post our recipes) and watch the seasonal wonders stack up in your cupboards. 2010=Magic!

Cherries really are the Cherry on Top!

thepreservery — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:15:56 +0000

So…after proclaiming sold-out-ed-ness last week we were doing a bit of reorganizing and uncovered 7 cases of organic cherry based products from Leberoff Farms.

So, we’re back in business until these 84 jars disappear.

Here are the flavours–write to us at thepreservery@gmail.com if you’d like to place an order and arrange for delivery or pick up:

Organic Cherries in Light Syrup
Moroccan Spiced Organic Cherries in a Light Syrup
Organic Cherry Jam
Moroccan Spiced Organic Cherry Jam

Back to the Land-And The Pursuit of Happiness

thepreservery — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:59:42 +0000

If you’ve never seen one of Maira Kalman’s beautiful visual articles from the New York Times today is the day to click through and enjoy something special. In honour of American Thanksgiving, she has produced a truly inspiring visual article/short story that helps illuminate some of the opportunity that exists in our world to reclaim our food systems by applying educational support and democratic will.

We loved the line ‘It is bringing elemental things to the present time with optimism and commerce’ because that is very closely associated with what The Preservery is trying to do. Elemental things+Present time+Optimism+Commerce. A little more of this equation in our world probably would result in a more satisfied population.

Feast on this article and when full, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, please pass it on.

Thank You we are Sold Out…For Now

thepreservery — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:20:08 +0000

Thanks to everyone who purchased goods from us before, at and after the Eastside Culture Crawl. Sales were fast and furious and it is with great excitement that we can say that we’re actually out of stock. Not to worry, however we are back in the kitchen and you can expect more Pumpkin Marmalade, and a series of apple and crab apple jellies to be hitting the shelves before Christmas.

As you know, if you know us, all of our products are sourced seasonally from producers as close to our kitchens as possible. This means that our winter production is about to be pretty limited as farms everywhere take a winter breath. But, resting farms won’t make us stop! We’ll keep busy this winter with a few other projects that incorporate the same philosophies in production, so stay tuned and keep visiting for new Preservery products. They just may not be edible…other than that, our lips are sealed.

The Eastside Culture Crawl in the Globe and Mail.

thepreservery — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:04:50 +0000

The Globe and Mail has caused quite a stir in today’s travel section by writing about our neighbourhood and featuring a photo lovely photo of The Wilder Snail (purveyors of all things good). We were thrilled to see such a comprehensive article giving Strathcona the love that it deserves. Come by this weekend for the Eastside Culture Crawl. We’ll be selling our preserves on Union between Heatley and Princess.

Porcelain meets Glass

thepreservery — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:11:29 +0000

How much do we love these vintage-made-modern jars? A lot.

Vancouver based artist Claire Madill, owner of Heyday Designs is taking found vintage jars and re-imagining them out of porcelain. Quite splendid indeed. You can find them here in Vancouver at the Gallery of BC Ceramics (on Granville Island) and Walrus; in Toronto at Made and Distill and in Berkeley at Lola.

Open for business!

thepreservery — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:23:03 +0000

The day has arrived and we are finally able to publish our sales kits. Take a look below and place your orders. Best to email them in and we’ll ensure prompt delivery anywhere in Vancouver, or for pick up next weekend during the Eastside Culture Crawl. Order with friends or for friends!

The East Side Culture Crawl

thepreservery — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:42:01 +0000

Friends! The East Side Culture Crawl is about to erupt on the East Side of Vancouver. We won’t exactly have a studio opening, but we will be out on Union Street between Princess and Heatley next Saturday and Sunday, peddling our wares. Please come on by and take a look. With only 40 days until Christmas, the season is upon us and preserves make better hostess gifts than wine!

We’ll have the following jars in stock and for sale:

Come by for a hot tea and a taste. We’ll look forward to seeing you then!

When a Pumpkin Fulfills Its Destiny

thepreservery — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:10:46 +0000

When the ghouls have gone to sleep and the candles inside of pumpkins everywhere have been blown out tomorrow night, there will be millions of pumpkins that have fulfilled their destinies.

Well Halloween won’t be the end of the road for our pumpkins, that is for sure.

Here’s a nice, seasonal recipe adapted from Mary Anne Dragan’s Well Preservered that was featured over at Tigress in a Jam that we’ll be digging into this weekend.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN MARMALADE

1 small pumpkin or winter squash (about 3 lbs)
2 lemons (preferably organic)
1 orange (preferably organic)
4 cups sugar (preferably raw)

Yields Approximately 1 1/2 pints1. Slice the orange and lemons in half lengthwise, take the pits out and save to the side. Place cut side down on counter and cut off the tip of each citrus end. discard ends.2. Very thinly slice the the oranges and lemons. Then cut each slice in 3 or 4 pieces and then cut the stacks in 3 to 4 pieces. Ensure that the peel pieces are small and thin.

3. Place the pits in a little piece of cheese cloth & tie with twine.

4. Add cut & sliced citrus pieces, seeds in cloth, and 3 cups water to a non-reactive pan (no iron or aluminum) and bring to a boil. Once boiled turn it down to a low simmer and cover. simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the peels get soft.

5. While the citrus is simmering, peel and chop pumpkin into 1/2 inch squares about 1/8 of an inch thick. You want about 8 cups/2 liters pumpkin once it is chopped.

6. When the citrus peel is soft remove the pit bag and squeeze out any excess juice into pan. Keep the heat low, add the 4 cups sugar and let it dissolve slowly. this will take about 5 minutes.

7. Add the pumpkin and turn up the heat to come to a rapid boil. it will take about 30 minutes to gel. After about 15 minutes you will want to turn the heat down a bit and to stir often to prevent sticking.

Hot water process and it is Halloween in a bottle for the rest of the year.