Homemade: My First Preserve

Something I'm very passionate about is making food from scratch, at home, preferably with produce grown in the garden. It's just better, you know? It looks better, it tastes better, it's better for you, all that stuff [I've a confession to make here though - I prefer tinned beetroot to fresh... there, I said it]. One thing I've not tried until now, is using up the excess produce by making preserves. It always just seemed too hard, what with sterilising jars and all. A few months ago I gifted myself with a book on making preserves [similar here]. I gave it a go this past weekend, with a Caramelised Onion and Beetroot Relish. And I only broke one jar in the sterilising process.

I started out by harvesting beetroot from the garden [I still grow the stuff, even though I prefer to eat it out of a tin]. I'll be honest here - the hard work is in the scrubbing off of dirt, and peeling and grating of beetroot, and the slicing of onion. I was up to my elbows in the stuff. Beetroot stains. Wear gloves. The actual process of cooking up the preserve was really easy. I sterilised my jars by standing them in low oven for 30 minutes while the preserve was cooking, I'm hoping that was enough to kill off any nasties. 

And the finished product? Well it looks good! But now it has to sit for 3 weeks before opening, so I can't tell you yet how it tastes. I'm quietly confident that it will a] taste amazing and b] have a total lack of mould because my sterilising process was perfect. We shall see. 

I'm slightly concerned about the condensation on the tops of those jars. My recipe did say to seal immediately [while still warm] so I can't see how you wouldn't get condensation. I guess the testing will be in the eating. Have you ever made a preserve or relish? I'd love to get some tips!