Subj : Re: Towing the Line
To : Ruth Haffly
From : Dave Drum
Date : Mon Jul 29 2024 07:17:13
-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-
DD> My grandparents had apple, cherry, apricot, paw-pae and crabapple
DD> trees in the back yard of their town home. And a regular orchard at
DD> the farm with more apples, peaches, cherries, pears and blackberry
DD> brambles as well as raspberries on the other side of the orhard.
DD> Gooseberies and May apples were available in the woods.
RH> So putting up was a big production in the summer. Steve had a bowl full
RH> (about 2 1/2 quarts) in the fridge so yesterday he pulled out the
RH> dehydrator. Dried them down to maybe about 2 cups. We'll probably do
RH> another batch or 2 in the dehydrator before the tree ends production,
RH> in probably early September.
My grandmother had bonanza amounts of fruits preserves, jams, jellies
and both peach and apple "butters". But the big production was pickling
the cucumbers. She made Virginia Chunk, Bread & Butter, Dill, and with
the little guyus - Senf Gherkins. When she closed the house to move to
assisted living I had an antique dealer drop by and make a bid on her
stoneware crocks (up to 10 gallons) glass jars, etc. As well as the old
laundry stove in the basement. He added almost 10K to her bank account
and amazed her. She had no idea "that old junk" was worth anythng. Bv)=
8<----- HACK ----->8
DD> Probably because the fig trees do not do well in the Northern climate
DD> zones. I did some readig on what it takes to have a successful fig
DD> crop in my area. YIKES!!! I'll buy figs that have been shipped in,
DD> Thenkew veddy much. Bv)=
RH> That's OK. If we ever get out that way, I can drop off either some
RH> dried figs or preserves in the off season, fresh figs in July/August.
That's a wonderful offer.
DD> I had a cherry tree in my front yard until the derecho winds hit last
DD> July.
RH> My parents had one for years, until a storm did it in. It happened just
RH> before we came up for a visit so Steve saved some of the wood for his
RH> smoker.
DD> My tree service guy salvaged all the wood except the small branches
DD> for his son's smoker. AFAIK I've never had cherry smoked anything. I
DD> have, however, used grapevine cutting to smoke a chuck roast very
DD> successfully.
RH> Other than things smoked tasting good, I don't recall anything specific
RH> about it. IIRC,the wood was probably used to smoke turkeys and Boston
RH> butts.
I nearly bought a smoker - but, the "reality" side of my brain said,
"You'll buy. Set it up. Use it once or twice than spend the rest of
you life dusting it and working around it." So, I passed. I do have a
charcoal grill w/offset fire box that I can use to smoke stuff if I care
to. I find, though, that the older I get the less time I spend in my
tiny kitchen.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Senf Gherkins
Categories: Squash, Preserving, Pickles
Yield: 7 Pints
5 qt Cucumbers or Gherkins; 1 1/2
- to 3 inches length
1/2 c Salt
8 c Sugar
6 c Vinegar
3/4 ts Turmeric
2 ts Celery seed
2 ts Whole mixed pickling spices
8 (1") sticks cinnamon
1/2 ts Fennel; opt
2 ts Vanilla; opt
1st Day: MORNING - wash cucumbers thoroughly, scrubbing
with vegetable brush. Stem ends may be left on if desired.
Drain cucumbers, place in large container and cover with
boiling water.
AFTERNOON - (6-8 hours) drain; cover with fresh boiling
water.
2nd Day: MORNING - drain; cover with fresh boiling water.
AFTERNOON - drain; add salt; cover with fresh boiling
water.
3rd Day: MORNING - drain; prick cucumbers in several
places with table fork. Make syrup of 3 cups of sugar
and 3 cups vinegar; add turmeric and spices. Heat to
boiling and pour over cucumbers. Cucumbers will be
partially covered at this point.
AFTERNOON - drain syrup into pan. Add 2 cups of the
sugar and 2 cups vinegar to syrup. Heat to boiling and
pour over pickles.
4th Day: MORNING - drain syrup into pan; add 2 cups
sugar and 1 cup vinegar to syrup. Heat to boiling and
pour over pickles.
AFTERNOON - drain syrup into pan; add remaining 1 cup
sugar and the vanilla, if desired, to syrup; heat to
boiling. Pack pickles into pint jars and cover with
boiling syrup to 1/2" of top of jar. Adjust jar lids.
Process for 5 minutes in boiling water (start counting
the processing time when water returns to boil). Remove
jars and complete seals as necessary. Set jars upright
several inches apart.
Yields 7-8 pints.
FROM: Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes
From:
http://hungrybrowser.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
... Safe sex used to mean to put the car in "Park"
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)
