Читать книгу Preserving the Season - Mary Tregellas - Страница 7

Last year, our refrigerator died. While the insurance claim was underway, we lived for several weeks with a small borrowed fridge that just fit the everyday essentials. Such a seemingly small change to our kitchen had a huge impact on our shopping and eating habits. We reverted to buying small quantities daily, and nothing was bought without considering how to store and cook it. I rather enjoyed the challenge.

My favorite childhood book was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods; I loved her stories of stocking up for times ahead. She describes a whole range of preserving techniques and skills that are part of a centuries-old way of life: smoking, freezing, cheesemaking, collecting sap to make into maple syrup, storing the fruits and vegetables that keep, and preserving the rest in jams and pickles. Skip forward 140 years and how things have changed!

With most produce available year round, and ever larger fridges and freezers in which to store them, the seasons have become blurred. Nowadays, however, things are beginning to change. People are becoming more concerned about reducing their carbon footprints by buying from their local produce growers. There is also a larger appreciation for clean, simple food. This is helping to put the emphasis back on fresh, local, seasonal produce, and now we are rediscovering some of the old ways. We may no longer need to bake our own bread, to pick wild berries, or to make jam, but we can have a lot of fun doing it.

Let the seasons be your guide: January and February are marmalade months, with wonderful, bitter Seville oranges in season; spring and early summer see the appearance of rhubarb and gooseberries, while creamy elderflowers cry out to be made into cordials. Then come the first strawberries, heralding the summer’s mad whirl of berries, stone fruit, and vegetables. In early autumn, apples and pears take center stage, and there are still plenty of hedgerow goodies to be foraged. By late autumn, things are slowing down; the shelves groaning with jars and bottles of beautiful homemade preserves to enjoy throughout the year ahead. Grab your wooden spoon: preserving is back in town!

Stocking your pantry with preserves is a wonderful way to eat homemade food all year round.

Though making preserves only requires a couple of tools, there are many others available that will help you get the job done.