Part of any great blog is the 2 way conversation that comes with it. To inspire more conversation Knickerbocker Glory will host a blog series called “Food Moments and Other Take Out”. This series will include stories from our readers and other contributors.
The following post was written by Catherine F. She lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands with her husband and son.
Juicing Tomatoes – A Food Memory
My food memory dates back to when I was about 12 and my sister about 16. It was in the heat of August in Southern Ohio in a house with no air conditioning when my sister and I learned to can tomato juice.
Growing up in Southern Ohio in the farmland meant that we had very large garden, which ultimately meant that my Mother canned, pickled and froze what we picked from the garden for the better part of August. This particular summer, the garden was producing a very large amount of tomatoes, meaning that there would be plenty of tomato juice for us during the winter.
During one particularly heavy week, my Mother came down with the flu. The canning of tomato juice, therefore, became the responsibility of my sister and me. So, with chairs set before the stove and instructions being given by my Mom from her bedroom, my sister and I set about grinding the tomatoes into juice, sterilizing jars, dispensing the juice into the jars and finally, placing the jars in the pressure canner for the final step.
It was hot and we were nervous, but we learned not only the mechanics of canning tomato juice, but also the importance of food safety and of food preservation. That winter, I enjoyed the tomato juice more than usual, remembering fondly and with pride the work my sister and I did that hot August week! In our adulthood, my sister and I have both had gardens and have both canned and preserved the produce from our garden.
Thanks Mom – both for the memory and the gift of food preservation!
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