A few days before the exhibition opened at Artspace, Making Time climbed the steps to the Reginald Murphy Activity Club for the first preserving session of this outing. The Juanita Nielsen Community Centre, just behind the gallery in Woolloomooloo, is closed now for renovations, so many of the community activities are taking place up here in this council-run space instead.

Our small group met on this hot Sunday to try out a few things, none of us having any particular preserving expertise. Diego had collected a haul of mulberries on his way in, as well as some native pepperberries, and we’d brought a pile of lemons from yesterday’s farmers market up at Taylor Square. There was lemon myrtle shortbread to keep us going.

Taking the path of least resistance, we set about making a simple batch of preserved lemons, salted and with some pepperberries squeezed in, and a basic mulberry jam, which needed some chia seeds as well as the lemon rind to thicken.

Grant from the community centre tries out the jar tongs.

Jars from Redfern and Finland take a little excursion away from the cart.

NEXT WEEK: The next preserving session is on SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER at 12:30pm, this time with the cart, at the Woolloomooloo Community Gardens. Email if you want to join, details here.