Just Like Grandma Used To Make

Pickled beets make me smile.  Peaches in light syrup can bring me to tears. Not necessarily out of sadness, but of sweet childhood memories of my Grandmother. You see, she always had the best preserves. Jars lined up in the basement cold cellar just waiting to be eaten.  The end of meals quite often brought the arrival of her canned fruit as dessert.  They always seemed to be the perfect way to cleanse the palette and appease my overactive sweet tooth.  Never mushy, they had just the right amount of firmness as they sat in a glistening pool of syrup.  In the past, I found myself consumed with insatiable cravings for her preserves.  My sad attempts to quell them left me with store-bought cans of gelatanous peaches in syrup so sweet I would have been better off with a bowl of sugar and a spoon. I never thought that I could have just made them myself.

This past summer I decided to try my hand at canning for the first time.  I was pleased that one of my elective options at school was a class dedicated to all things preserved. The instructor was a quirky Italian lady that you couldn't help but get excited with over even the simplest of things. We made tomato sauce, jam, vegetables, chocolate syrup and even flavoured salts. I loved every minute of it.  

I think I picked the course, not just for the knowledge or skills, but as a way to connect with my grandmother.  Even though she is not with me, I think of her every time a batch of jars get plunged into boiling water or the kitchen is filled with the satisfying 'pings' heard as lids are sealed.  She definately had to be watching as my mother and I worked our way through ten pounds of beets, holding up our stained hands and making 'red rum' jokes.  I was proud to be able to gift Bertie's Beets to my family and friends over Christmas.  I'm even lucky enough to have the recipe, safely tucked away in an old recipe box, on a small piece of paper in her handwriting.  This is one recipe that is staying in the family.

G.