2024 Week 19 - Preserve

             Growing up, my mom and my grandmother did a lot of canning.  Papa and Grandma’s house had an entire room that was the pantry and it was full of canned goods.  Our house also had a pantry that was in the “garage”. 

       Papa had a huge garden and we would go over and help harvest the vegetables and fruit.  I can remember rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries.  I know that there were other items but I can’t remember what they were.

       We also had a huge garden that I had to help weed every day.  We had peas, green beans, corn, potatoes, carrots, chard, lettuce, broccoli, squash, onions, asparagus, and cucumbers. Oh, and beets and tomatoes.

       When the berries were ripe, we would pick them.  They were cleaned and put into freezer containers or bags for use during the winter.  We also used them fresh and to make jam.  The rhubarb was also used in the jam to act as pectin.  We also ate rhubarb fresh – as a sauce or as a cobbler.  Cucumbers were eaten fresh with onions in vinegar as well as pickled – dill pickles, sweet pickles, as well as bread & butter.  The beets were pickled as well.  We blanched the corn, peas, and chard.  The green beans were canned.  Carrots stayed in the ground or kept in a box so we could eat them fresh or they were canned for later use as well.

       We also canned peaches and pears and apricots.  We also cut up apples to freeze for pies.  Oh, cabbage was also grown.  I can remember going over to Papa’s house and we would spend the day chopping up the cabbage and putting it in a stone crockpot to cure into sauerkraut.  Once the kraut was ready, it was then canned into jars.  I miss eating homemade kraut.

       Growing up on a farm, we also raised our own beef.  Had a yearling butchered and the meat wrapped up and stored in our freezer.  It lasted an entire year.  We also had fresh liver, tongue and heart to eat.  I wasn’t crazy about the tongue or heart but my brother loved them.

       We would also get cherries and plums off of trees on our property.  Some were eaten fresh while others were canned for later.

       Did I do any canning?  Yes, I did when I first left home.  My first experience was making applesauce.  I thought it turned out great and it was delicious.  However, whenever I ate it, my mouth turned black.  Discovered that you don’t cook apples in an aluminum pan.  The acid content of the apples interacted with the pan and leached into the sauce which then interacted with the saliva in my mouth.

       Later canning efforts earned purple ribbons and other awards at the local fairs.  I made zucchini relish, pickle relish, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, and apple pie filling.  I haven’t canned in years nor have I grown a garden.

       Now I spend my time preserving family history.  Writing the stories my dad told and documenting family information.  And documenting our travel for future generations.