One of the best things about making preserves is not only getting to enjoy them throughout the winter but also getting to trade with other preservers to round out your pantry. Maybe you only put down fruit preserves this year and have an overwhelming amount of jams and jellies- a preserves swap is a great way to trade some of that sweet surplus for savoury sauces or piquant pickles.

Tonight the team behind the best preserving site we know of, Joel and Dana from WellPreserved.ca, are throwing their annual Preserves Swap at Handlebar in Kensington Market. It starts at 8pm. This is your chance to not only make some great trades but also to see what other preservers are preserving, maybe learn some new techniques in the process.

If you’re on the fence about attending read on.

Maybe you don’t think you have enough to bring to the swap, or maybe you don’t actually have any preserves made yet? Not a problem, Joel and Dana have put together a list of five reasons why you have no excuse not to attend. You can read them and be convinced here.

In the spirit of tonight’s swap here is my favourite quick pickle recipe from Chef Michael Smith. You could even make a few jars of these after work and head down to Handlebar!

If you can’t make it to the swap tonight you can still organize your own. It’s a great way to get people together and you could score a bunch of preserves to use as Christmas gifts. Make a big batch of pickles, swap for some lovely marmalade and you’ve got hostess gifts for the holiday season. The produce aisles are packed with the fall harvest, this is the best time to hop on the preserving train. Think about all the possibilities – you could make jelly with beets or chutney with butternut squash, hot sauce with habaneros and honey, bright pink pickled turnip…

What are you waiting for?