Preserving for Passover

Fresh produce is finally abundant! There is a super simple way to make everything you can fit for Passover!

We went to visit my husband's grandmother last week and she gifted us with plenty of vintage jars! Some of them I had never seen before.

She had a humongous garden and had used some of these jars for decades to preserve the harvest. It's neat to see the slight variations in shape and design from the modern Ball Mason Jar. Some are quite old (one is dated 1858!) and you can see the imperfections in the glass.

Ball Mason Jars are made in the USA and I love that they have stuck with their original sizes of jars. The new lids still work with the old jars--that is wonderful!

Clockwise from the top left: pickled okra, pickled pattypan squash, roasted cherry tomato salsa, and pickled banana peppers.

As discussed previously, most things pickled are not kosher for Passover. This is because the vinegar used to preserve them is almost always grain vinegar and is therefore chametz, meaning it shouldn't be consumed or used at all during the Feast of Matzah or even in your house.

How can we remedy this? Simply, swap the white distilled vinegar called for in the recipe with apple cider vinegar. Just make sure the apple cider vinegar has the same level of acidity as what's called for in the recipe, typically 5%. I have been using an organic apple cider vinegar from the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value brand, which is reasonably priced.

You can make this substitution in salsa, anything pickled, and any canning recipe that uses vinegar. All of what you see in the above photo is fit for Passover. I'm excited to have salsa that can be eaten during Passover week this year!

Already started canning with white vinegar? No problem, switch to apple cider vinegar for your next batch, and be sure to use the prior batch first. This will give you pickles you can eat during the Feast of Matzah.