Preserves

 The prompt for this week is "preserve". It can have many meanings, but the one my sister and I thought of is to preserve food. Canning. Before modern marvels like freezing vegetables and fruit immediately after being picked or being able to buy canned food at the local supermarket, our ancestors had to can and preserve their own food. Making preserves allowed them to be able to eat fruits, vegetables, and meat through the harsh, long winters. It also saved all the fresh fruit and veggies that couldn't be eaten at harvest time. Our ancestors were lucky as since they lived on farms they could grow, harvest, and can their own preserves. They didn't have to buy from a grocer. They had a ready supply of fresh food that people who lived in big cities didn't always have access to. 

I asked my dad if he remembered his own mother (Lois Ashley Thompson) canning, and he said she wasn't really into canning. He remembered her doing some canning, but not a lot. He remembered his grandmother Ashley (Emily Dobbratz Ashley) was very big into canning. When she passed away, he remembered cleaning out the cellar with many jars of fruit preserves. The Ashleys lived on a big farm and had lots of different crops. 

I also asked my mom if she remembered her mother canning preserves. Interestingly, she and my dad both remembered grandma Henrickson (Viola Strand Henrickson) making canned beef that tasted delicious. When Ray Henrickson would slaughter a steer, Viola would cut up the beef and can it. Later during the winter, Viola would make beef and gravy and mashed potatoes. She'd use the canned beef in the gravy. Poured over the mashed potatoes. Both my parents remembered this dish fondly. :)

Viola would also get help from her mother, Mildred Bellinger Strand. Mildred would come to Viola's kitchen and the two of them would can peaches and make strawberry preserves. They would be stored down in the cellar, which kept the items cool. I remember going down there with grandma one day in the cellar. It was one of the scariest places I'd been. lol. Very dark, and definitely cooler than the upstairs.

The only memory I have of preserving food is one summer I was visiting Ray and Viola and grandma was making homemade pickles. She told me she was using special cucumbers to pickle. I tasted one and decided it was much better than any pickle I had eaten up to that point from a jar. It was so crisp and tasty.

Mom remembered that Viola and Mildred would use wax over the preserves and the jars would make a popping sound when they were set. She also remembered them canning tomatoes. They would all be eaten during the winter months. Everything tasted good.

Do you have any memories of eating homemade canned food, or helping to can? Leave them down below in the comments, please. That's all for this week.