in a pickle

[gingerjon]

Preserving the past

In days gone by any house wife worth her salt got her self
Into a right pickle and was left to stew in her own juice

Those saying came to me last evening when for super I had a slice of York ham garnished with pickles sounds nice but it was oh so bland
And when I crunched an onion it was nothing more than an electric shock

And that ladies and gentlemen is the reason for that convoluted introduction I am asking you all to close your eyes and come on a journey with me I will escort you all back to my mother’s pantry to the days before super markets fridges and freezers

There you will see her preparing food for hungry bellies that have to be fed in the depths of winter

First you will see her salting the cut joints of meat mostly from the family pig that was fattened up during the summer months
Salt was introduced by the Romans to sustain their marauding soldiers
Salt was a very expensive and a treasured commodity and copious amounts had to be used hence to be worth your salt
But it was an amazing product the raw meat was covered in the salt and left to mature to be savoured in the coming months

They also where responsible for introducing brine this was salt dissolved in water to pickle summer fruits and vegetables giving us the phrase to get your self in a right old pickle

Sugar beat was also a means to preserve summer fruit the beats would be stewed in large cast iron pots and the liquor produced would be added to the soft fruits again it would be left to stew cooled transferred sealed containers and eaten when the fruit trees where bare this giving us the saying to stew in your own juice

In Tudor times salt was imported from the French Atlantic coast this was a far better quality and improved the meat giving it a more succulent flavour the brine had been replaced by malt vinegar for pickling this was made from ale that had been left I the sun to go sour unfortunately the husband drank it before it had time to go off
So the house wife made it from crab apples that she picked and crushed through sacking and Damascus rose petals where added to the juice this making an excellent wine vinegar to make spicy pickle’s and chutney’s all these skills were handed down from mother to daughter unfortunately these precious skills are being lost because it is so much easier to nip down to the super market and fill your trolley with food that is convenient and fast

So what is my point I want you to resurrect your mothers skills in the kitchen and once more enjoy the experience of food that has been prepared with love
when our mothers preserved the past
BoB H the big un

 

[Kandor]

Worth your Salt

If I remember correctly isn't the Latin for Salt, 'Salis'?
Roman Soldiers were also paid part of their wage in Salt...from which we get the word 'Salary'

 

[John Young]

Worth Theirs

8) John H & Kandorian Les

TWo Men well worth Their Salt,,,,,,,,,,,,,, John Y

 

[Rod]

Moms Toffee Apples, famous they were. Kids came from far and wide for them in late summer, much better tan the treacley ones obtained from the greengrocers?

Neck of lamb stew served in a basin at the bottom of which was a bread "doorstep"........ It gained something from standing overnight? and a second helping was far better than a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast?

Liver & Onions? with mash peas and gravy.

Mom made pickles, especially the sunday pickle with slices of onion, cucumber etc soaked in vineger. This was another thing I liked the day after, it developed a bit of a taste?

God I miss my mom :cry:

 

[sylviasayers]

My mom would boil and press a tongue when we were having a family do. She also pickled onions, shallots I think, and also cooked and pickled beetroot, the smell was dreadful while they were cooking, but tasted delicious. I recall we had a party and all the beetroot had been eaten and someone had poured the red vinegar in a glass, one of my aunts thought it was port wine and took a large swig, everyone was laughing except her.

 

[Rod]

I forgot the pressed meat Sylvia........ mom did ours in a bowl, with a saucer and her old flat iron as a weight? I think? I also forgot the pickled Herrings they were smashing except for the bones.

 

[Pomgolian]

We were taught those skills in 'Cookery Class' when I was at school :!: Do they not do that in England these days :?:
They still have the classes here and even the boys take part in the classes these days. 8)
I already have two Grandsons who can make a mean .‚.‘Sponge cake.‚.’ and cook a basic evening meal. 8)
It is also still common for people to .‚.‘Bottle.‚.’ fruit and produce from their gardens, you can.‚.’t beat my real .‚.‘Tomato Sauce.‚.’.
Had a laugh in 2002 when one of my nieces came out from Milton Keynes. She was staying at my daughters for a few days visit and when she saw the kids bring in Carrots and Potatoes from the garden for Angie to cook. She said .‚.“Yak I.‚.’m not eating those they.‚.’re all dirty and look there are still crawlies on some.‚.” Angie told her that they get a good wash before being peeled, but no she would not eat them and went and got herself Mc.‚.’D.‚.’s instead. When my Niece came back to our place she related the story to me, I hadn.‚.’t the heart to tell her that most of the food she had eaten on her first visit in 1999 had come out of our well established .‚.‘Veggie Garden.‚.’ garden and the only reason it was not doing so this time, was because having only been in this house a few months it had been the wrong time of year to plant.
Seems in MK all veggies come from the Supermarket are washed and nice and clean.
(Now I wonder where they grow .‚.‘Clean Veggies.‚.’) :?: .

 

[Di.Poppitt]

We grow a lot of our own veg Chris. Peas,broad and runner beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, onions, cucumbers, tomatos, peppers, strawberries, and one of my favourites - aubergines.

We also pickle shalots, there is always a jar in the cupboard - Mr Wonderful does them for me, cause he doesn't like them.

In the early days of married life I used to salt green vegetables and they lasted the winter. Then came the freezer, so the spare go in there these days, Garden runner beans on Christmas Day, they come out like the real thing if you just 'show them the water'.