When I was a kid in the 1940s, whenever we visited friends and relatives, the lady of the household would give my Mother a jar of preserves which she put up herself. This was a simple act of friendship. Nobody does this anymore. Hal
Hal..........wrong. My SIL still cans and does preserves. But, then again, her and my 1/2 brother still believe in the "old ways". He will still read a local newspaper while sitting on his Throne (toilet) in the morning. They don't like much of anything that is modern.
I “like” your post Cody but I have to side with Hal on this one. It’s true that many, many people still can foods but what Hal was getting at is the custom of exchanging personally canned foods as a gift is pretty much a memory. Just like people going to new members of a community and bringing fruit, canned peaches, flowers, candy or a meal. Ya just do not see that kind of good ambassadorship / friendship any longer.
This was a custom back then, and times were very different. Most people, even city people, had at least a small garden, or a fruit tree, and canned their own food for the winter. We had wonderful Concord grape jam every winter that my Grandma Bailey made from the grapes that my mom and dad had in our back yard. We had the fruit, and she did the canning, and both families enjoyed the jams and other preserves that she made. I think that part of this old custom was also because of each woman having a special recipe, and she shared the recipe as well as a jar of the preserves she made with the recipe. In this way, women got new recipes to try out and make themselves if they liked it, so it was a recipe sharing, as well as a gift of friendship. Now, our jam comes from the grocery stores, and there is no reason to share a jar of it with anyone else.
Um not a tradition any more in today's world. What is nice is having a neighbor bring you homemade chunky chocolate chip cookies...said she made too many. Or one who gives you firewood for fireplace at winter. Or shares foods that were given to them and they felt they had enough. Or lets you keep your hand made boat in their garage while you pay nothing. We have some really people where we live.
Here in the country, church sales always have home-canned preserves. I have plum jam, blueberry preserves, jalapeño jelly and strawberry preserves in my cupboard even as I type. When I was living in Northern Virginia, I had a select group of neighbors who would get a basket of home-baked goods from me every Christmas: French bread, cookies, steamed Date & Nut bread, stuff like that. I always liked the personal giving, just as I still send hand-written Thank You notes via the US Mail. It does stink to see some traditions go by the wayside, although I bet they're still alive in some pockets of this nation.
I agree, Gloria. I often remind myself that the strife I see on the news & internet doesn't comport with the people I encounter in my real life. The tiny minority among us gets the vast majority of the coverage.
It's still done, but not nearly as often. Not only are there far fewer people growing their own foods, but fewer people are canning foods and, I think, there are fewer people who would be receptive to it. Oddly, there are a lot of people who would put more trust in what the factories at Smucker's can produce than in what someone they know and love might be able to create.
From the Welcome Wagon website: Capitalism disguised as being neighborly. Although I recall those folks helping with community resources, schools, stuff like that, as well as having brochures and business cards. But WW marketing is still around, it's just morphed with new technology. Lots of resources on that website if you want to engage in some New Mover Marketing.
I still make my own jams and jellies. I still share them with my friends and loved ones. The store bought ones have just enough fruit so that they can call them fruit but most of it is sugar and gelatin. I guess it's a country thing.
I still make my own jams mainly apricot as that’s our favourite ..as well as canning our own home grown apricots / plums / peaches / apples ..I also dry my own apricots in slabs and half’s ( apricots almost dry last summer ) I have a electric dryer but they are much nicer dried naturally in the sun