High food prices reshape Moldova's preserving season
Across Moldova, families have begun preparing homemade preserves for the winter, continuing a long-standing seasonal tradition. While rural households rely on fruit and vegetables from their own gardens, many urban families say soaring produce prices are forcing them to abandon home preservation.
The Munteanu family from the village of Alexandru cel Bun in Soroca District is among those keeping the tradition alive. This year, Svetlana Munteanu is helping her mother prepare hundreds of jars of jam and fruit compote for their extended family.
"We make between 120 and 150 jars of fruit compote and up to 50 kilograms of jam every year," Svetlana says. "Even when family members return home after being away, we prefer homemade drinks and preserves to store-bought products. It's a tradition passed down by our parents and grandparents, and we're determined to keep it alive."
The family's preservation work is led by Svetlana's mother, Nina Belous, who is already preparing fruit fillings for winter pies.
"We remove the pits, cook the fruit and seal it in jars," she explains. "It keeps its fresh flavour throughout the winter, so when we bake pies, we can use the preserved white cherries as if they had just been picked."
In Moldova's cities, however, home preservation is becoming less common as food prices continue to rise. Some shoppers say they have limited themselves to a few batches of strawberry jam, cherries in their own juice or pickled cucumbers, while others have skipped preserving altogether because fresh produce has become too expensive.
At Chișinău's Central Market, cherries sell for 20 Moldovan lei per kilogram, currants for 50 lei, cucumbers for 20 lei and tomatoes for 30 lei per kilogram. These prices have made the traditional preserving season increasingly difficult for many households.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
