The Art of Preserving and Savoring

It wasn’t too long ago, at least it feels that way, I was sitting at the dining table of my parents’ home.  The home belonged to my great grandmother, then my grandparents, and now my parents. So much history and security in that home.  So much of my youth was spent there.  But on this day, I am an adult with children of my own and I have returned home for a visit.  At the table sits my father, my mother, and her mother…my grandmother Annie.  My grandmother Annie was living with my parents as she was in need of constant care.  The same part of the home where she lived is where my great grandmother lived and passed. It’s also the same space I would sleep as a child, on a large brass bed while spending the night with my grandmother.  It’s a familiar, simple, and beautiful space, it felt so good to be there.

Back to the table.  My mother has always set a lovely table.  It’s a gift she has, to make the ordinary beautiful.  The family table is a sacred and constant space for our family. It's forever been that way.  It’s now breakfast time, my father has made his delicious, scrambled eggs, in a cast iron skillet, and while I am sure there was other food, the eggs are the sweet memory.  Alongside those eggs was toast. 

The bread was dense, whole wheat and slathered with butter which had melted.  My grandmother Annie never ate before a prayer was said over the food.  And so, we sat together, prayed together, and began to eat. It was then I announced I had brought some jam from my home in Mexico, that I hoped they would all enjoy.  It was apricot jam I had made with the apricots from our orchard.  Grandma Annie’s eyes got big, “apricot jam is my favorite!” and she began to scoop large spoonsful of jam from the bottle, placing it on the toast, then the spoonful’s fell on everything she was eating.  She was so thrilled with the delicious, sweet jam and so immersed in the memory of her childhood where she learned to love apricot jam. She savored every bite. Ironically, she also lived in Mexico, not far from my current home.

That breakfast, that morning, left its imprint on me.  It is a memory I think of every year when I make Apricot Jam.  I am not sure I have seen anyone enjoy that jam like she did.  It made me happy to make her happy.  My father is now gone and so is my grandmother Annie, but the memory is ingrained in me.

I learned to “preserve” the farm crops when I moved to a farming community, early in my marriage.  It was ritual to store the abundance as soon as the farms and gardens began to bare.  It almost seemed ungrateful to not bottle and freeze all that was available.  It was part of the culture of the community.  When my children were little, I made their baby food from produce I had bottled.  When those children became teenagers they would come home from school, after a very long day, and open a quart of bottled peaches to satisfy their hunger, and it satisfied my mother heart.  Now as adults with their own homes and children, they often request cases of bottled fruits and jams. 

Let’s talk about “preserving.”  First, what does preserving mean, and why preserve?  Second what should we preserve and how? And finally, how to use the food that has been preserved. 

First, what does preserving mean and why preserve?  There are many forms of preserving, you can bottle, some call it canning, you can dry or dehydrate, or you can freeze.  Depending on your shelf space or your freezer space, the format can be chosen.  I find myself doing a bit of both.  The beauty in capturing the bounty of fruits and vegetables in season is, that it can be enjoyed when the season is past and enjoyed through the Winter months.  There is a peace that comes knowing your shelf is full of things to nourish your family.  It can be a way to save money.  It can be a way to help a neighbor and friend through a difficult time.  It is always great to be prepared.  Taking the abundance that comes from a garden or farm and using it fully is rewarding.

Second, what should I preserve?  This is a great question, don’t do the work to store things your family will not eat.  If they love peaches, bottle peaches, if they love jams, preserve jams.  You can really store anything if it is properly processed.  Ask your children and family members what they would enjoy.  It can be a family experience both to work together to preserve and to eat what has been stored.  It’s rewarding for the children too!  Share the work and the delight with them.  My children spent hours playing in the garden while I worked.  As they grew, they helped. Those are some of my most tender memories.  I will share the things that are an easy beginning to the art of preserving.  Some things require special equipment and a great deal of time, but let's start with the basics.

Finally, how do I use what I have stored?  I will share some of my favorite recipes here and tips to make beautiful meals with your preserved items.  You will see quickly it won’t be hard.  It will be a pleasure to use what you have worked hard to store.

Just this past weekend I made a few batches of sweet relish.  Our youngest son loves it.  While going through a hard time in his young life, that relish became a comfort to him.  It was a constant.  He ate it on literally everything.  Even today as a grown man, it’s still something he loves.  He is the reason I make it each year.  Preserving isn’t just about food, in fact it is about something much bigger.  It’s about home and it’s about love.  It's preserving memories and comfort.  Savor the seasons, the seasons with your family and the seasons of growing.  Those sweet experiences along the way will become engrained in you just like the jam was engrained into Grandma Annie.  That is “preserving.”