I was shopping today for all sorts of random things in one of those membership only clubs. It's the holiday season, so all sorts of unusual things are out on the tables. I wandered around the book tables and mixed into the cookbooks were several interesting titles. Of the few titles that made the cut for this holiday season, three of them were specifically related to traditional food preservation. Several of the books were titles I've considered purchasing in the past.
I started using a traditional water bath canner 15 years ago when I had an unexpectedly large harvest of tomatoes. No one I knew canned food. As a child, I watched my grandmother process homemade grape jelly. I remember it being long, steamy, hot, and (ultimately) tasty. But children were never involved in the process and it wasn't something that my mother's generation took up. I purchased the necessary components, the Ball Blue Book of Food Preservation, and fumbled my way through things. It was the first of many tomato seasons - and the only grape season. I found out the hard way that processing grapes is long, steamy, hot work and for one person working in the kitchen it's not tasty enough to justify the work.
It's startling to me that food preservation has moved into a level of popularity indicated by inclusion at the membership club seasonal table.
It's also incredibly tempting to increase my book collection.
Looks like it's time to make a run to the library again. Book reviews to follow! I'll be taking a look at books specifically related to food preservation. I've been so deep in gardening books for so long I'm looking forward to the change in subject.
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