Saturday, October 11, 2008

Jams and Preserves

I grew up on a 10 acre block. That meant one thing - fruit trees. Many of my friends, or my parent's friends were in the same position.

And if you have mega-heaps of fruit, and it is free fruit at that, it means that every now and then, when the various crops ripen, Mum pulled out the Fowlers Vacola (the orange set - none of this modern fancy stuff) and she started cooking.

Now if you were a kid and you were smart it was a good time to go and play outside - way outside, or find some homework, or, well do anything to get out of helping pick, peel and pip.

Nonetheless through the year we had apricots, chinese gooseberries, apples, nectarines and plums jammed, fresh, bottled or stewed. And then there were the bonus crops that were swapped with a friend - or they simply had more than they could handle and shared the surplus. That meant blackberries, mulberries, pears, strawberries - well just about anything really. Oh and I can't forget the various marmalades made by all and swapped freely.

I think I have worked out why the tradition is dying - and it isn't that the preserving is hard, or that tinned fruit is so plentiful, it is more a case of buying fruit negates the purpose of preserving it to a large extent. And with smaller land parcels, and busier lives, few of us have the orchard in the back yard so access to "free" fruit is virtually eliminated.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

...does that mean you can teach me? might need to sell them to suppliment my income!

Anonymous said...

Lol, baby girl, you are so gifted Miss K, as we all are ... perhaps we need a cooking, beading, scrapping, decoupage, art, dog wash/training type shop going...

I can feel one of Pitas songs coming on...along the lines of 'Take this job and ...I crack myself up...

ah but to your preserves (funny word that)... when I married the Italian and we went all self sufficent (read poor) and I preserved everything... one day he bought me basket of Zuccinni and I had enough and threw them one by one at him!

but I digress... gran was always cranking out some kind of pickled mash...but blowedif I can eat them now... but I did so love the smell of them cooking...great post chick

Unknown said...

Of course Miss Kylie :-)

Somehow I can imagine you throwing zucchini Miss Abbey rofl

Anonymous said...

My grandmother used to make all sorts of jams etc. It is something I never learned to do, and now do not have the access to fruit (I live in the city) nor time :(