Preserving food and the family

One of the things I admire most about my Pawpaw is that he knows how to can and preserve foods. Perhaps it seems silly to admire someone for that, but how many people do you know under the age of 60 that know how to do that? Can you? If you can, teach me! Ever since I can remember, I have eaten bread and butter pickles, fig preserves, strawberry jam and preserves, canned pears, mayhaw and quince jelly, and all of it handmade and canned by my Pawpaw. He has an extensive and flourishing personal garden where he harvests beans, cucumbers, and squash, as well as a few fruit trees from which he gets the fruit to make jellies and preserves.

            I love to watch him make pickles. He slices the cucumbers into fat chips and soaks them on one side of the sink before he cans them. I know that he takes many more steps than that to make the pickles, but I do not know all of them. From what I can tell, it is not a quick process; I imagine if it were, I would stand still long enough to watch and learn the whole process. But I do know of the outcome, sweet and vinegar-y pickles that are a perfect match for a grilled cheese sandwich on a chilly day.

            In the church cookbook printed last year, many of my family’s canning and preserving recipes were included. I am a few states removed from my hometown, and I always hesitate to try one of my favorite recipes, because I’m not sure if the end result will be the same as when my Pawpaw makes it. There is something about Pawpaw’s house and the vegetables and fruits that come from his garden that he grew that add to the taste. It might ruin my taste for canned goods and preserves altogether if I mess up something he can make so well. So I am hoping I will get the chance to learn from him how to can and preserve things; I would hate for those family recipes to disappear because no one knows how to do it! Perhaps that will be my New Year’s resolution—I am going to learn to can!