Sibling Assignment # 153: Summer in a Jar

I gave this week's assignment. "Share a memory that revolves around preserving food. It can either be a memory that involved you preserving or the enjoyment of preserved food."

Names of relishes fruit spreads, and pickled foods were household names growing up, especially when the gardens of my grandmothers and other family members were in full harvest. I loved to hear the sounds of picadilly, chow chow, bread and butters, sweet gerkins, and dilly beans. Adding to the list would be conserve, preserves, jam, and jelly. I can still taste mincemeat, applesauce, and Grandma's famous dill pickles and green beans.

Preserving has been a part of me since I was a child. As soon as I moved into my first rented house newly married I started making grape jam. I have continued to preserve the same traditional things for thirty years. I have added some new recipes, honed some old ones, and challenged myself to create my own signature canning recipes such as Christy's Salsa and Pear Mincemeat. As long as Mason makes jars I will continue to pull the dusty, rusty canner off the shelf every summer and put that harvest in a hot water bath. I then can fill my pantry shelves with Summer in a Jar.