An Example from Food that Really Schmecks, by Edna Staebler
Green Tomato Relish
“I wouldn’t want to be without this relish; I like it very much. It is rather dark greenish brown, not too sour, delicious with cold meat or fried potatoes.”
6quarts of green tomatoes (cut out the stem but leave the skin)
1 quart of white or cider vinegar
21/2 pounds brown sugar
3 teaspoons of ground clove
4-5 onions sliced
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
Into a large preserving kettle (pot) put the tomatoes, cut into quarters or eights. Pour in vinegar and add all the rest. Boil till the relish is thick enough to plop off the spoon. Don’t boil too quickly--pull up a chair and sit there, stirring very often--almost continuously until it becomes really thick and a bit spitty. Remember while you’re doing it that you’ll enjoy it all winter. Ladle into sterilized jars; it keeps for years.
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Food that Really Schmeks is a Mennonite cook book from Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The book is a wealth of classical information on food preparation and preservation. Mennonites, like Amish, are a thrifty and highly self-reliant bunch. They live simply off of their land, selling some products to earn cash, and they don’t pay taxes. They have the practical skills to weather any financial storm. Though they live simply by most western standards, their culture is ripe with tradition and of course excellent food:
“Like most Waterloo County mothers, mine made sure her three daughters would not be helpless in the kitchen. She told us what to do and we did it. Mother cooked as her grandmother did and when we three were married we cooked the same way. Our husbands seemed to think it was fine – thrifty, appetizing and plentiful…Towards the end of summer, wherever you go in Waterloo County there is a pungent aroma of vinegar and spices as thousands of housewives stir long-boiling relishes and prepare crocks of pickles and jars of fruit to last through the seasons till canning time comes again. No Mennonite meal is served without some kind of sour and sweet on the table – and when company comes there are traditionally seven of each.”
Fruit Relish
“Every fall for years and years I have made this local specialty for visiting friends and relations who can’t seem to get through a meal without it.
20 ripe tomatoes
8 pears
8 peaches
6 large onions
2 red sweet peppers
4 cups white vinegar
1 quart vinegar
2 Tablespoons salt
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
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Peel the tomatoes, pears, peaches, onions. Cut the tomatoes in pieces, slice the fruit about ¼ inch thick, the onions more finely. Put everything into a large kettle, boil and stir the mixture till it’s thick enough not to have any watery liquid – about 2 hours. Ladle the relish into sterilized jars and it will keep for years if you don’t put it on your table every day as most Kitchener Waterloo natives do.”
Food for Thought:
Personally, I’m inspired when reading the book Food that Really Schmecks. After air and water, food is your number one necessity, so in my opinion ignorance of food and food preparation is really very stupid. Learning to perform these techniques and becoming more self-reliant is very, very smart. It’s also thrifty!
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