Preserving by the Pint by Marisa McClellan

Author:Marisa McClellan [McClellan, Marisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762451807
Publisher: Running Press

Fall

RECIPES

My fondest fall memories revolve around the Bybee-Howell House on Sauvie Island, just outside of Portland, Oregon. The island is mostly an agricultural community and the Bybee-Howell House was built by the island’s earliest settlers. During the years that I was growing up in that area, it was maintained as an attraction for visitors, run by the state historical society. Sadly, budget cuts have since forced it to close. There was an antique apple orchard on the property and several looming pear trees that produced fruit weighing two or three pounds each and that took many months to ripen. We were told this variety was cultivated to ripen this way so they could be taken on long sea voyages.

Each October, there would be a Wintering-In festival on the grounds, to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and to prepare for winter. There would be historical reenactors teaching lessons in candle and soap making, vendors selling handmade pottery, old-fashioned toys, vintage photographs, and plenty of grilled sausages and smoked meats for sale (all made on-site in the old summer kitchen). Local bluegrass bands provided appropriately old-timey music.

My favorite part of the event was making fresh cider using a press that had been at the farm since its earliest days. First thing in the morning, volunteers would go out and harvest the bulk of the apples from the orchard. The freshly picked apples would be washed, forced through a grinder, and loaded into the barrel of the press. The adults would trade off the task of turning the wheel that controlled the press and soon enough, apple cider would come streaming down the angled wooden board. Because we were too little to help with the actual pressing, all the kids would be allowed to hold our cups near spout and catch sips of the sweet, fresh cider.

To me, fall preserving should feel like those Wintering-In festivals; abundant and celebratory. Since most crops of autumn typically keep better and longer than the fleeting fruit of summer, you can approach these recipes with a bit less urgency and more leisure.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.