Why you don't need to be a great cook to preserve food and save excess produce

Got a glut of homegrown produce? Or looking for a Christmas present idea?

Preserving could be the answer.

When you preserve food, you treat it in a way that stops it from rotting — this means it can last for weeks, months or even years without refrigeration.

There are many different ways you can preserve foods including pickling, fermenting, canning or drying.

If you've looked up some of these techniques and think it all sounds too technical, don't be put off.

Melbourne GP and author of Preserving The Italian Way, Pietro Demaio, says people have been doing it for thousands of years and you can do it too.

"Historically they had sun, they had salt, they had vinegar … and they had oil and with those four ingredients, you can literally preserve anything."

Some common preserved items that can be made at home include jams, pickled vegetables, salami, or sauerkraut (fermented cabbage).

Good hygiene + food = a great start

According to Dr Demaio, the key things you need to successfully preserve food are good hygiene, good quality ingredients and the correct ratios of salt, acid and produce.

"You can experiment with your condiments and your additions … for instance you can add chilli, or you can remove chilli," he says.

The reason the ratios of salt and acid are so important, is because they are the preservatives in savoury food.

"What the salt does, it actually 'cooks' the meat or the protein," Dr Demaio says.

"You have acid because acid is a great preservative and antibacterial."

In sweet preserves (like jam or canned fruit) sugar can act as a preservative.

When preserving in a brine or syrup, keeping all the food submerged in the liquid prevents unwanted bacteria getting to your food and spoiling your produce, Dr Demaio says.

A lot of recipes call for kosher salt — Dr Demaio says you don't necessarily need that; however you do need to make sure the salt isn't iodized.

"Because the iodine is an antibacterial, and the bacteria in the food is most often a friendly one … which [you want to keep because it] lowers the pH and acts as a preservative."

In terms of hygiene, Dr Demaio makes sure his hands, utensils and preserving jars are all clean.

Many recipes will call for you to sterilise jars in the oven or in boiling water — while you can do that, Dr Demaio chooses to put his through a hot dishwasher.

To get the best possible preserve, Dr Demaio says it is important to start with the best possible ingredients.

"Put in a really good quality oil, use a good wine vinegar and then you will have a different flavour from the commercial (pickle) that you buy," he says.

What's an easy thing to start with?

If you are new to preserving, food writer Dani Valent suggests starting with lemons.

They are in abundance at the moment, and could be made in time to give as Christmas gifts.

"People could put them in a tagine or slice it up for a rice salad."

So long as the lemons stay submerged in their juice, they can last months or even years in your cupboard, Ms Valent says.

When you build up your confidence you might want to try fermenting cabbage (like sauerkraut or kimchi), pickling vegetables, or even preserving a protein like sardines.

"You can do it really easily of an evening," Dr Demaio says.

"I tell you there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more exciting and satisfying than saying 'I grew these eggplants or green tomatoes, and I would I'd like to share it with you'. 

"Because I guarantee they will never ever have tasted anything like it previously."

This article was based on an interview from ABC Radio Melbourne's Afternoons program.