Preserves
Drill Hall Cafe Preserves
We make small batch jams, pickles and chutneys from rescued food using time-honoured methods and traditional recipes.
Over ripe fruit and slightly bruised vegetables are collected, sorted, peeled and boiled in sugar or spiced vinegar to make use of the too-good-to-waste near sell by date food that supermarkets & wholesalers reject and Fareshare redistribute. Our aim is to convert two tons of potential food waste into delicious preserved products.
The Drill Hall Cafe started making preserves during the lockdown in 2020 when we were left with odds and ends of surplus food after cooking our weekly batches of community meals with Scran Academy & partners. As we have never been the kind of place that likes to throw anything away, we got the sugar thermometer and preserving pan out from the back of the store cupboard.
In spite of huge demand on FareShare and their food redistribution there are still times when a bag of beetroot or a box of plums remain unwanted. We relish this produce and love making new and exciting combinations of jams and chutneys which gives the unwanted food a second shelf life. So far we have diverted almost a ton of potential food waste from the bin.
Where to find our preserves
You will find our lovely preserves on sale at the Drill Hall or served with your toast, cheese sandwich or inside your slice of home-made Victoria Sponge in the Drill Hall Cafe.
Jar Deposit Scheme
We are also offering a Jar Deposit Scheme here at the Drill Hall. Just drop off 10 clean jars with metal lids in exchange for a full jar from our shelves.
Current stock:
- Strawberry Jam – lots of this season’s strawberries, boiled up with sugar and a bit of lemon juice. Made with ½ the amount of sugar as traditional jam.
- Pear & Lemon Chutney – Fruity and spicy – this chutney recipe is adapted from the Good Housekeeping Complete Book of Preserving using conference pears from Fareshare and whole lemons – perfect with smoked fish.
- Tomato & Apple Chutney – spice up your cheese board or cheddar sarnie with this sharp, a little spicy and not too sweet chutney.
We also welcome small community groups who would like to learn some traditional preserving techniques or who could benefit from the use of our kitchen and equipment. As we are a working cafe these sessions can be held in evenings or most Sundays. Please get in touch with our Cafe Training and Development Manager Stephanie if you would like to find out more or are interested in volunteering opportunities in the cafe.
Funded by The Gannochy Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund
Suppliers of rescued food are FareShare
