pure joy

[gfrancie]

A friend got a hold of her Grandma's recipe book. I love stuff like this. Recipes like "Joan's Pickled Peaches" and clippings from old issues of Parade magazine for some quick dish and little details that some recipe was someone's favorite. She brought the book over so we could try and make pickled peaches since her Grandma has long retired from canning. It was fun to introduce someone to something like that and make it so they can have a piece of their childhood. I love it when people can have a Proustian moment with a bite of food. She said that the scent of the cloves reminded her immediately of those peaches. I may have freaked her out a bit when I dipped my fingers into some boiling liquid but my fingers have been burned so many times over the years that things have kind of toughened. Or I am just crazy.


Yellow and white peaches simmering in syrup.


The glow of the final product.

I sent my friend home with a jar of pickles and some rhubarb jam. I think I may get her hooked on making pickles next.

Comments

[todayiamadaisy]

Those peaches look gorgeous.

I love those old recipe books too. My grandmother's features a recipe for Elsie Palmer's Auntie Bertha's Plum Pudding. They were honest in their attibutions back then.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Yes! I love seeing that sort of thing on the recipes that belonged to my Grandma and Auntie Fern.

[sahara-harp.livejournal.com]

They are pretty. I can't quite get my head around the concept of pickled peaches, though.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I admit I was a little hesitant. They are spicy and sweet and then you get a hint of sourness which kind of balances out the sweetness.

[scream4noreason.livejournal.com]

thye look delicious but what are they best served with?

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Usually you just eat them as is. A snack or just something to nibble on.

[luciab.livejournal.com]

Ham or turkey-- we had them at traditional meals, mainly. But they are just good!

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

Fun stuff, not least because of the whole fingers in boiling water thing. Clearly you're descended from the Romans who used to condition their hands similarly so they wouldn't have to bother with utensils while eating hot foods at Bacchanals and other festivals.

I'm curious enough to try one that I may just havr to dabble in canning. I don't imagine it's much more involved than homebrewing beer.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Start off by burning yourself on a regular basis at a young age and you too can have hardened skin!

The big thing with canning is being safe and processing things for the right times. (botulism is a downer)

[cutebutpsycho99.livejournal.com]

Man. Now you got me wanting to try pickling. One of our friend's mom's makes great pickled green beans.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

It's fun!
I have a recipe that allows you to make a jar of pickles if you just want to dip your toes into things but not throw down with multiple quarts.

[kyooverse.livejournal.com]

Love this post... and the pictures. If you wanna send some jars my way.... ;)

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I suspect people would fight over these peaches like people do over TVs the day after Thanksgiving.

[anonamys.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to wait to open the first jar (the one that didn't seal) until Raymond gets home. Otherwise I may eat them all before he's here. I am trying to make sure I get to eat some later, too. Although I may just give in and buy more peaches.

[luciab.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering about pickling them in halves instead of whole, so you could get more in a jar. Seems like Mother did that sometimes... I guess you'd have to use freestone peaches, though.

[anonamys.livejournal.com]

We did cut one very large peach (it wouldn't fit into the jar) into quarters. Given the size of most peaches you buy in stores, I was thinking I might cut them all next time.

Clearly, I am a convert as I'm talking about "next time". :)

[luciab.livejournal.com]

I just found the last jar of Mother's pickled peaches in the fridge and they are cut in halves and nested. They are way prettier whole, though!

[kitchenwitch.livejournal.com]

Dangit. I'm all out of peaches now or I'd try something like that.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

You can also do pickled pears. And pear season is beginning. (at least it is here. I don't know about your neck of the woods)

[needlediva.livejournal.com]

i have MY grandma's canning recipes--all in the most spidery handwriting--most of which, as usual, are lists of ingredients, no instructions, and usually an attribution--Helma, Alma, Pearl--it's like a compendium of the most popular names of the 1890s.

[artemis-moon.livejournal.com]

Please share your secrets about making pickles with cukes! My husband is forever trying it and wanting to perfect it.

Also have you ever made pickled eggs?