Counting the Crops - September Harvest Time
by admin on 03/09/10 at 3:58 pm
September heralds the arrival of harvest time where all the hard work planting vegetable crops in the allotment, garden and greenhouse during spring time pays off. Luc de Clapier de Vauvanargues could not have said it better with “The fruit derived from labour is the sweetest of pleasures”. Fruit trees are now laden with an abundance of apples and conference pears and you can also forage for natures bounty such as blackberries and sloes in the hedgerow.
Fruit and vegetables taste delicious when eaten fresh, or can be quick frozen for use during the winter months. When you have filled your freezer, then use your excess produce to make preserves, such as jams, chutneys and pickles or even some fine home brew wine. Here at On The Table we have a selection of useful kitchen items to help in preparation of your herbs and vegetables and a variety of handy containers to store your chutneys, preserves and produce.
Food preparation
Salad Spinners
If you need to rustle up a salad or require a colander to help prepare vegetables for freezing or preserving then the two in one Salad Spinner from Guzzini is definitely the best. The centrifugal salad spinner separates into two useful components. A ‘whizzy’ spinner is attached to the outer bowl making a great salad bowl (with salad servers available to match) whilst the basket will double up as an extra colander for draining your vegetables.
The Salad Spinner is available in bold colours lime green, red and white, and is available for £33.95. The Clear Salad Servers are priced at £5.50 each.
Pestle & Mortar
Joseph Joseph design useful and practical kitchen gadgets. Orb is the new exciting 3 piece pestle and mortar set. The simple, sturdy design provides two receptacles for grinding herbs and spices - prefect for adding to your chutneys. The larger base is great for crushing larger amounts or the smaller lid, when inverted, can be held in the hand for smaller quantities. It is dishwasher safe so you can take a well earned rest after cooking.
It is made from non-absorbent vitrified porcelain, measures 30 x 9 x 6cm and is priced at £29.95.
Joseph Joseph Orb Pestle & Mortar
Oil and Vinegar bottles/drizzler
For storing your oil and vinegar, On The Table recommends 3 great design ideas:
The Chelsea Oil/Vinegar Bottle standing 21.5cms tall and priced at £20.50 or buy a pair for £39.00.
Taste–huile is an unusual oil drizzler from Alessi, shaped like an olive sitting on a leaf. It measures L17.5 x H6.5cm overall and is priced at £38.00.
Alessi Taste-huile
The Oil & Vinegar Drizzler from Define is a highly polished stainless steel set that sits neatly in a wooden plinth making it ideal for use in the kitchen or for carrying to the dining table.
The beautiful set is priced at £27.95.
Define oil vinegar drizzler
Storage items
When it comes to Kitchen storage, On The Table stock a wide range of contemporary Storage Jars from Nigella Lawson and Joseph Joseph, handcrafted Suffolk jars from David Mason Design and retro designs from Wiscombe Art.
View Storage Jars
A set of three contemporary kitchen storage jars from the Joseph Joseph range in colours to match other kitchen items in the range. These storage containers have been specially designed with a transparent base so their contents are visible. Made from durable polycarbonate, each has a silicone airtight seal and is dishwasher safe. Each jar measures 10.5cm diameter x 13cm and holds 0.65 litres.
The storage jars are available in three colours black, red and white and priced at £25.00.
Joseph Joseph view red storage jars
3 L Cream Storage Jar
The 3 litre ceramic cream storage jar from Nigella Lawson’s “living kitchen” range is designed in association with Sebastian Conran. A versatile storage jar, it looks great on a kitchen work top.
The capacity is 3 litres, kept airtight with a rubber clip tight seal and is priced at £20.95.
Nigella Lawson 3l cream storage jar
Suffolk Garlic Jar
Garlic is easy to grow and can be found in vegetable patches across the UK. The stylish Suffolk Garlic Jar is ideal for storing this pungent ingredient, it is part of a new collection of kitchen storage containers designed by David Mason Design. The cleverly designed range is handcrafted from matt black ceramic with a cream interior and will compliment both traditional and contemporary kitchens. The garlic pot looks fantastic, measuring 14.5cms tall and 10cms in diameter at the base and with an unbelievable price of £5.95.
A coffee, tea, sugar and utensil canister completes the set and priced at £8.25 each.
David Mason design Suffolk sugar canister
Retro Grow Your Own Small Tin
The Grow Your Own tin is designed by Martin Wiscombe for ECP designs and is part of a new range reminding us why we love to grow our own vegetables. It will certainly appeal to all the keen gardeners out there.
Available in two sizes, the small tin measures 10.5cm in diameter and 14.5cm in height and is priced at £4.99. The larger rectangular tin measuring 23 x 17 x 8.5cm is available for £10.99 – both are ideal for storing your favourite cookies.
ECP retro grow your own small tin
All the above kitchen tools / gadgets and storage items are available to buy online at On The Table.
