Orange slices, glazed with spiced honey are delicious served over ice cream, yogurt, and pound cake.  The rinds, which are also edible, soften over time and absorb the spiced syrup.

Use the syrup to sweeten beverages, or make a tasty glaze for pork, chicken, and shrimp.

It’s extremely satisfying to make your own soft spreads.  Who doesn't love a luscious strawberry jam, or fresh oranges transformed into marmalade?

Soft spreads refer to jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves, conserves, and butters.  They differ in consistency, but they all have four common ingredients:  fruit, sugar, pectin, and acid.  The trick to successful jelling is using the right amount of each ingredient.

Brimming with rich flavor and texture, this conserve will brighten your breakfast table.  Plentiful pieces of apricots and walnuts make this thick, sweet spread taste heavenly slathered over muffins, waffles, and pancakes.

This crunchy conserve also enhances desserts.

Serve up some hospitality with homemade pineapple jam.

Welcome your family and friends by serving this delicious jam on biscuits, toast, ice cream, or pound cake. 

With it’s vibrant tropical flavor, it’s sure to be a favorite.

Capture the rich flavor of sweet cherries with this old-fashioned chutney.  

A combination of cherries, apples, onions, sugar, and spices, this chutney pairs wonderfully with roasted meats.

It's also delicious on homemade biscuits.

Preserve summer and fall flavors in a bottle by infusing fruit in vinegar. 
Berries and stone fruits work the best, and make complex - sweet and tart vinegars.

This is a great way of preserving the delicious flavors of many fruits that are harvested throughout the whole season.

You are off to the farmers market or a pick-your-own farm.  Are you wondering how much you will need for canning or freezing?  

How much apple butter will a bushel make?  How much peach jam will two pounds make?  The following tables will help you determine just that.

You can also visit Puget Sound Fresh to see what's in season right now.

This pepper mix packs a wallop of great flavor.  Pile them up on sub sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, or spread them on top of your favorite pizza.

You can use any variety of peppers that you prefer as long as they are fresh.  This is very important; if you’re not growing peppers then pick some up at your local farmer’s market.  Visit Local Harvest to find the freshest organic produce grown closest to you.

And… unless you're a fan of extremely hot peppers, take caution when adding red hot chili peppers to the mix; they will make this recipe fiery hot.

Peach pickles infused with spices and brandy are a real treat!  I used yellow clingstone peaches, which are sweet and tangy, and wonderful when preserved.  

They are delicious with cheese and bread, ham, roasted pork and chicken, in salsa and chutney, and topping vanilla ice cream.  

Preserved limes have a sour and salty taste which lends a great tangy flavor to ethnic dishes, seafoods, meats, soups, and stews.  

You can use this condiment in the same way you would use regular limes.  Just rinse the salt off first and use sparingly because the flavor is very intense.  It only takes about one quarter of a lime for soups and stews.

This recipe is so easy.  Just grab some fresh organic limes and pure salt.