Mary Tregellas - Preserving the Season: 90 Delicious Recipes for Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Chutneys, Pickles, Curds, Condiments, Canning & Dishes Using Them (IMM Lifestyle Books) What to Make with Your Canned Foods

Preserving the Season

Preserving the Season

90 Delicious Recipes for Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Chutneys, Pickles, Curds, Condiments, Canning & Dishes Using Them

MARY TREGELLAS

Published 2020IMM Lifestyle Books, an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing, 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552, www.FoxChapelPublishing.com

2012, 2020 by Mary Tregellas and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc.

Preserving the Season (2020) was previously published with the title Notes from the Jam Cupboard (2012), by New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishing.

The publishers would like to thank HarperCollins Ltd for the use of the quote from

Paddington at Large by Michael Bond .

Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1962 Michael Bond

Photography by John Davis, except as noted below:

Mary Tregellas:

Geoff Borin:

Shutterstock: akf ffm (bottom )

Print ISBN 978-1-5048-0122-5
eISBN 978-1-6076-5785-9

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IMM Lifestyle Books are distributed in the UK by Grantham Book Service, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ.

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

This has gone beyond a hobby now; this is an obsession, announced my brother, finding me at the jam pan at 7a.m. one Saturday morning. How did it come to this? Why is it that my first thoughts upon waking on a Saturday morning were consumed with what to bottle before breakfast? I suppose it started in childhood. My mother, Renate, was a refugee from Czechoslovakia and would entertain us with stories of hours spent in her grandmothers garden where the trees hung heavy with apricots and redcurrants grew in abundance. She was also especially fond of jamnot the jellied mass of sugar and pectin so prevalent in 1970s Britain, but the kind of preserve where the fruit is the star. Occasionally our village shop would sell cut-price conserves from Poland or Bulgariaher eyes would light up and she would buy as much as we could carry home. For a special occasion, we would visit the delicatessen in the nearby town, which was a world of delights that included jars of delicious morello cherry jam. These were rare treats, however, for money was in short supply.

Back then, nothing went to waste, and if we could grow things in our small garden or gather something for free, so much the better. Dandelion leaves enlivened salads, young nettles were picked for soup, and bunches of herbs were dried to use throughout the year. This was nothing compared to the amount of preserves and bottled fruits that lined the shelves of our German relatives shelves. Nothing Ive made has ever come close to my Aunt Hannes great parfait jars of apricot and strawberry jam. And, of course, my mother would make her ownredcurrant jelly in memory of her grandmothers garden, pear and ginger jam, tomato chutney...

My own adventures with making jam started with an overenthusiastic greengage plum tree and the pleasure of giving my jam-loving mother an endless supply. Then we acquired a plot of land and, with it, further challenges: what to do with a glut of zucchini? (Chutney!) Or tomatoes? (Ketchup!) Add to that my childhood passion for picking wild fruit and the guardianship of my family home in Devon, England (whose small garden still yields the most delicious pears in the world), and the result is a cupboard full of jams, jellies, chutneys, sauces, and other delights to spread on toast, liven up a cheese sandwich, or accompany pies and sausages.

I have come to realize a simple fact: making preserves makes me happy. Chopping up a pile of fruit or vegetables, cooking them up with sugar, spices, and vinegar, and, thereby, transforming them into something both delicious and attractive is intensely pleasing. I view all cookery as a form of alchemy, but perhaps none more so than the art of preserving, when the flavors and aromas of something short-lived are captured in a pot to be savored throughout the coming year. But the preserves themselves are only part of the story. There is matchmaking to be done, too, whether its bringing together the happiest of old couples such as toast and marmalade or cheese and pickle, or forming new introductions. They also come into their own as ingredients in baked puddings, cakes, and savory dishes. I hope that this book will reacquaint you with some old favorites, encourage you to try new things, and inspire you to come up with a few new ideas of your own.

The four sisters (left to right) Tante Jenny, Tante Trude, Tante Betty, and my grandmother Antonie.

My mother (aged 4) with her grandfather, Jarcov, Moravia (Czechoslovakia), 1930.

My mother (aged 4), Beskydy Mountains, Moravia, 1930.

My mother, Tante Betty, and my father (Father), Innsbruck, Austria, 1962.

My brother John, father, mother, and me, 1969.

The Tasting Panelmy familyBen with (left to right) James, Alexander and Edward.

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 Wilders 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!