My late brother-in-law Sylvain grew up in a small village on the Plateau de Langres in eastern France. Whenever we visited his mother and her sister we were usually served bottled vegetables from the garden. Mostly green beans but also peaches and apricots and even mushrooms from the surrounding woods. They had an “industrial” water bath and a cellar filled with bottles. I loved these visits and have fond memories of distilling quinces in the village still to make Eau de Vie. Sylvain’s aunt kept the key and it was her responsibility to look after the still. These visits made me want to bottle fruit and vegetables myself and the surfeit of tomatoes from the allotment this year provided the incentive. I used the water bath method – cooking peeled tomatoes with a little salt and lemon juice in sterilised jars. I am hoping these bottled fruits are an improvement on tinned tomatoes. In any event the bottles look great on the shelves of the store cupboard.
