I like making preserves but...

[TroysMammy]

I hate the prep. It takes me ages to chop, dice, measure out, wash and sterilise jars, write labels only for me to give them away as gifts. I was exhausted after washing 25 jam jars this morning but at least the stirring of the lime curd was therapeutic.

Hello there. I hear ya . I de-stoned 700g of damsons (fiddly buggers) today. I sterilise jars in dishwasher. 700g damsons only filled 2 jam jars though. My newest short cut is making the jam in the bread maker (no more scraping burnt jam off the bottom of the pan .) Sounds like you have an industrial set up. Here's hoping your recipients appreciate your hard work! I usually make chutney as it's more forgiving and if not mushy enough a quick blitz with a stick blender or potato masher helps.

You could do smaller batches. You’re not obliged to make preserves for all your friends and family.

@BlackForestCake I do make smaller batches, I didn't use all the 25 jam jars in one go. I washed and sterilised them because I'm crap at looking at what's in the saucepan and imagining how many jars it will fill. Usually only 5 small jars.

I don't mind making chutney as gifts for work colleagues (10) because I don't want to stress myself out buying some tat for them at Christmas and I've grown most of the produce myself. I just put jars on a table and everyone helps themselves to what they fancy.

The lime curd is for myself and since I bought a micro planer zesting lemons and limes is a doddle.