American Beauty Berry

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Beautyberry

Either I just never paid attention to it or the native American Beautyberry bush was not common in my niche of southern middle Tennessee and Northwest Alabama because one of the first things I noticed when I moved farther South was a bush with the most remarkably striking purple berries.  The small berries grow in a ball shape around the ends of the limbs so that while the berries are small from a distance the purple is quite striking against a green backdrop.

I quickly purchased a bush which I promptly transplanted when we moved to the farm only to find them growing wild anywhere the guineas or wild birds dropped seed.  I have let most of them grow wherever they decide to volunteer.  It is a large sprawling shrub if left to its own devices or it can be pruned in winter to control its size.  There is a white berried variety, however, in my opinion it can’t compare with the purple.

Beauty bush is native to the southeastern U.S. and is referred to as American beautyberry, sourbush, bunchberry, and falsely as French mulberry by some.  It is not a mulberry nor is it French.

It can be propagated from seed or softwood cuttings.  If preferred, it can be grown in a container.

It looks quite nice in fresh flower arrangements.  Berries are also edible.  While they don’t impress me much in flavor fresh off the bush they can be used to make jelly, tea, and wine.

Many sources indicate they repel mosquitoes and biting insects.  Charles T. Bryson, botanist in Stoneville, Miss. reported that his grandfather cut branches with the leaves still on and crushed the leaves then put them between the horse and the harness to repel deerflies, horseflies, and mosquitoes.  Forty years later he still crushes leaves and rubs them on his skin to repel insects.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703091932.htm

The USDA Agricultural Research Service at the University of Mississippi conducted experiments and concluded that infusions of leaves and stems did, in fact, repel ticks, mosquitoes, and possibly fire ants.  The naturally occurring compounds in beautyberry that repel insects are callicarpenal, intermedeol, and spathulenol.  All three chemicals repulsed mosquitoes that carry malaria and yellow fever.  Mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus were not tested in the study.  The USDA-ARS has since filed for a patent using callicarpenal as an anthropod repellent.  Seeing such an insect repellent on the market is not likely to happen any time soon, however, as it can take years to register a product with the EPA and conduct the exhaustive tests required.  In the meantime I recommend planting your own beautyberries and either rubbing the crushed leaves on the skin or trying a recipe for making beautyberry spray or cream.  Don’t forget to whip up a snack while you’re at it – perhaps pound cake with a little beautyberry jelly and whipped cream on top.   https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/download/3640/PDF

BEAUTY BERRY JELLY.

1 ½ quarts of berries, washed and cleaned.  Put in a heavy pot and cover with 2 quarts of water.  Boil 15 to 20 minutes and strain.  Bring 3 cups of the juice to a boil.  Add 1 package of Sure-Jell, 4 ½ cups sugar, and the juice of one lemon.  Bring to a second boil and boil for two minutes.  Remove from the heat, skim off any foam and then pour the jelly into sterilized jars and put on flats and rings.

BEAUTYBERRY INSECT REPELLENT.

Use a combination of chopped stems and bark and leaves.  Put 1 to 2 cups of chopped leaves and stems in a quart jar and fill with boiling water.  Let set at least 4 hours or overnight.  Strain.  Fill an 8 ounce spray bottle half full of the infusion.  Add witch hazel almost to the top – leave a 2 ounce space. Add essential oil of your choice.  Shake before using.

BEAUTYBERRY INSECT REPELLENT CREAM.

Make the infusion as in the previous recipe.  Put 1 ½ cups of infusion in the blender.  Put 1 cup neem oil and 1 ounce of beeswax in a small pot and heat until melted.  Turn on the blender and slowly pour in the oil mixture.  It will thicken and become a cream.

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A Quick Discourse on Elderberries©

Elderberries have been planted around farms and harvested for home use and for taking to market since the 18^th century and probably much earlier.  They are found wild throughout much of the country and have been used for generations to make various things, wine and cordial perhaps being the most common.  Having planted elderberries recently and expecting a harvest in a couple of years I took a quick look at other ways to use them.  Elderberry bushes reproduce easily so I hope as time goes by I get larger and larger harvests.

For those who want an alcoholic beverage but are hesitant to try their hand at wine making, I suggest starting with a cordial which is a very simple process.

While some 19^th century cookbook authors were prejudiced against elderberries in favor of more refined fruits, others like Thomas De Voe preached their benefits.  “These small, black berries are pleasant-tasted when ripe, and are brought to our markets to be used for various purposes.  They make the Elder-paste, for the sick, which is considered excellent, Elderberry wine, a wholesome and agreeable beverage, sometimes used for making pies, etc., and when gathered while in flower make the Elder Flower Tea, etc.  The bark makes an excellent ointment; in fact, the whole plant is much used in medicine.  The berries are in season in the months of August and September.”  1867.

“The elderberry is one of the least known and appreciated of the berry family.  In fact it is usually neglected for many less palatable and far less dietetic fruits…

Elderberries when properly prepared are very palatable and delicious, either in pies, jelly, as a spiced conserve or a household wine…If housewives will try any one of the following tried and tested recipes I think they will begin to appreciate this friend of the hedges…”.  “Table Talk.”  1903.

A quick way to pick the small berries from the stem clusters is to place a half inch wire mesh over a large pan or bucket and gently pass the clusters back and forth along the wire.  The berries will fall through the mesh into the container.

ELDERBERRY PIE.

Line a pie dish with paste, upon which sprinkle a scant tablespoonful of flour; to this add a half cupful of sugar and a half teaspoonful each of cloves and cinnamon, rubbing all together evenly.  Upon this pour the berries, a pint more or less according to the size of your pie dish; pour over another half cupful of sugar, dot generously with butter, adding last one large tablespoonful of good vinegar.  Apply top crust quickly and bake.  “Table Talk”.  Vol. 18.  1903.

ELDERBERRY JELLY.

Take equal parts of elderberries and wild grapes, and cook to extract juice, strain, and sugar in proportion of one pound to each pint of liquid, and cook as other jelly…

Elderberries are also combined with gooseberries, crab-apples, and green grapes, equal parts of either, making a piquant table sauce, while pies made from them might please the individual who does not care for the flavor of the single fruit.

For winter use elderberries may be preserved in either of the above combinations and treated as other fruit, or canned plain without sugar for use in pies only.  When making pies from the plain canned fruit, it is wise to cook the berries with the same proportion of sugar, flour, etc., as given for fresh berries, filling the pie paste when cold.  This insures a jelly-like consistency of the finished product without those unpalatable doughy lumps too often seen…”  – “Table Talk”.  Vol. 18.  1903.

ELDERBERRY SHORTCAKE.

Make the cake or biscuit dough rich and flaky, proportioning it with cream, egg and soda the same as for a strawberry shortcake…When baked, divide the upper from the lower crust and place upon each a layer of ripe stewed elderberries.  It is known that elderberries have a somewhat rank taste when eaten from the bush.  Pick them, look them over and wash them; next, put them in a granite or porcelain stew dish, add a very little hot water and cook them a few minutes or until stewed.  Have as little juice as possible.  Add a half teacupful of thick sweet cream to enough of the stewed berries for two layers.  When the berries and cream are placed upon the cake, sprinkle over each layer plenty of granulated sugar, and the shortcake is then ready to be eaten.  Do not add the cream to the berries until it is about time to have the cake brought to the table.  Cream and sugar added to the berries destroy the disagreeable elderberry flavor and makes them rich and palatable.  – “Table Talk”.  1903.

ELDERBERRY CONSERVE.

9 lb. elderberries, 3 lb. sugar, 1 pt. vinegar; cook until thick and seal.  – “The Warren Cook Book”.  1920.

ELDERBERRY PIE.

Dilute Elderberry Conserve with water; add corn starch to thicken and put dots of butter on top (a little vinegar may be added if desired”.  Very delicious.  “The Warren Cook Book”.

DRIED ELDER FRUIT.

This fruit is very easily dried by spreading in pans under the stove or in the oven, and will make as good pies as though fresh, if they are soaked a few minutes in hot water before using.  Some of our neighbors dry them by the bushel, for winter use”.  – “The Ohio Cultivator”.  Vol. 9.  1853.

ELDERBERRY DUMPLINGS.

Make the crust as usual and put in the berries as you would other fruit [like apple dumpling].  Boil them fast till the crust is done, then take them up and eat with a dip of white sugar and sour cream, and you will confess they are delicious.  [Fruit dumplings can be baked as well].

Elderberries were made into a sauce similar to cranberry sauce.  The Iowa State Horticultural Society recommended combining elderberries and rhubarb for a sauce [1910].  An article in “Everyday Housekeeping” said, “twenty years ago many families, by no means poor, during every year consumed gallons of this unsavory sauce, made by boiling elderberries in sorghum molasses.  Jelly, too, made from elderberries and flavored with lemon, was accounted a delicacy.”  1900.

EDLERBERRY SOY.  [Anchovies are used to flavor various sauces and once cooked and strained, there are no fishy pieces remaining in the product.  The flavor blends with the other ingredients, and if made well, leaves no fishy taste.   Modern tastes usually dictate using far less than older recipes call for.  I suggest 1 small can, chopped, for this or the next recipe.]

One quart of elderberries; one quart of vinegar; a quarter of a pound of anchovies; a blade of mace; a little ginger, salt, and whole peppers.  Pour a quart of boiling vinegar over a quart of elderberries, picked from the stalks and set it in a cool oven all night; then strain the liquor from the berries, and boil it up with the mace, ginger, salt, whole peppers, and the anchovies, until they are dissolved.  When cold, put it into bottles after it has been strained, and cork it down.  Some prefer the spice put into the bottles; but either way it is a good and not expensive soy.  This was appreciated as a sauce for fish.  – “Warne’s Model Cookery”.  1879.

ELDERBERRY CATSUP.  [Note this recipe is similar to the one called soy.]

1 quart of elderberries; 1 quart of vinegar; 6 anchovies, soaked and pulled to pieces; half a teaspoonful mace; a pinch of ginger; 2 tablespoonfuls white sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoonful whole peppers.  Scald the vinegar and pour over the berries, which must be picked from the stalks and put into a large stone jar.  Cover with…glass, and set in the hot sun two days.  Strain off the liquor, and boil up with the other ingredients, stirring often, one hour, keeping covered unless while stirring.  Let it cool; strain and bottle.  This is used for flavoring brown gravies, soups, and ragouts, and stirred into browned butter, makes a good piquant sauce for broiled or baked fish.

FRUIT SAUCE.

Melt a small lump of butter, stir in half as much flour, or a quarter as much of corn-starch, arrowroot, or soaked tapioca, a pinch of salt, if the butter is not salted, a glass of acid wine or lemon juice, or a tablespoonful of vinegar; sugar to taste; any fruit juice you have, as raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, elderberry, or jam will do; thin to the right consistence; bring it to the boil and serve.  Raspberry, and other fruit vinegars make excellent sauces”.  [There is no right and wrong with this recipe – it is thickened as much or as little as the cook desires, and made as sweet or not as is wanted].  “How to Cook”.  1872.

ELDERBERRY PUDDING.

1 cup sugar, 1 cup sweet milk, 2 teaspoons baking powder, butter size of an egg, enough flour to make stiffer than cake dough.  Put in baking dish, then mix the following:  1 ½ cups elderberries (any fruit may be used) 1 cup sugar, 2 cups boiling water, small piece of butter.  Pour this over batter in pudding dish and place in oven.  Bake ¾ hour.  [This could be called cobbler].

ELDER-FLOWER PANCAKES AND JUNKET.  “Fruit Recipes”.

The finest flowers of the elder blossoms, stripped, may be whipped lightly into pancakes or muffins just before baking, a half-cupful to each “batch” of ordinary quantity.  This gives both lightness and flavor.  A plain junket should have added one-fourth part flowers to quantity of cream or milk used.  [Ripe berries may be added to muffins or cakes as one would raisins.]

ELDERBERRY SYRUP TO FLAVOR DRINKS.

Use strained elderberry juice and sugar in a ratio of 1 to 1 (half and half).  Flavor as desired with lemon juice, or cinnamon stick.  Bring to a boil and then simmer five minutes.  This may be canned for keeping, or small quantities may be kept in the refrigerator.  To serve, mix syrup to taste in cold club soda or lemon-lime soda and serve over ice.

Note:  While the images may look like poke, elderberry grows on a bush much different in appearance.  Know what you’re picking before consuming any wild plant.  I leave you with my favorite parting, Blissful Meals Yall©.  Enjoy your wild and garden bounty.  – Vickie Brady, The Historic Foodie.

Will 2017 Bring Disaster for the World’s Food Production?

For those concerned about the long-term effects of genetically modified (GMO) seeds, 2017 is going to bring changes in agriculture that will not be well received.  We’ve seen companies purchase rights to seed, alter it in some imperceptible way, and then file a patent on the seed so that they have control of the price and market.  There are three deals in the works that will give three giant agrochemical companies control of over half the seed produced world-wide and tighten the noose around smaller companies that are passionate about protecting non-hybrid seed.  For the non-gardeners, seed can be saved from non-hybrid plants and will produce true to form the following year.  Hybrid plants will not which means dependency on purchasing seed that might otherwise be perpetuated at home.

German owned Bayer bid $66 billion to purchase Monsanto according to Reuters.  Bayer isn’t just a producer of aspirin.  They are a mega producer of crop chemicals and with their purchase of Monsanto will control a huge portion of seed sales worldwide.

ChemChina is trying to purchase Syngenta Seeds.  It has sought European Union approval to purchase the Swiss company and says it will consolidate it with state-owned Chinese companies.  Interestingly, China has not approved using GMO corn, and has refused shipments of U.S. grown corn that contained GMO traits.  Syngenta has defended its right to add a protein to kill corn-eating bugs like earworms and cutworms.  The corn is known as Agrisure Viptera.  Syngenta was facing an increasing number of lawsuits from farmers whose profits are down by an estimated one billion dollars because of China’s refusal to purchase corn with GMO traits.

China detected the Viptera corn in several U.S. shipments in November 2013 and the following February started refusing shipments.  By October that year they had refused some 130 million bushels.  For more details on the acquisition please see Bloomberg Markets.

If ChemChina purchases Syngenta what course of action do they plan regarding the production of GMO seed?  Since China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt (some 1.24 trillion dollars) do they have plans to raise the price on seed to recoup some of that debt?  He who controls the seed controls the world’s food production.

DuPont and Dow, two of the largest U.S. seed companies have announced a planned merger which will spawn a 130 billion dollar company.  Does anyone think a smaller company trying to preserve non-hybrid seed stands a prayer of competing with such a monster?  Farmers and gardeners can expect higher prices for seeds and any chemicals they require and the merger will likely spell doom for those fighting the GMO seed battle.  Everyone can expect to pay more at the grocery store as increased prices for seed, fertilizer, insecticides, etc. rise.

The Dow/DuPont merger is currently under investigation by Europe’s top antitrust watchdog.  Perhaps they realize the devastating results creating such a monopoly could have world-wide.  If you want a voice in the issue, sign the petition at www.foodandwaterwatch.org.

To comprehend the importance of these mergers, ChemChina’s purchase of Syngenta was the largest business deal worldwide for 2016 until it was eclipsed by the purchase of Monsanto by Bayer.  The mergers are not aimed at helping the farmer put food on your table, nor the home gardener in filling freezer and pantry.

Please consider purchasing seed from a reliable heirloom seed producer such as:  Baker Creek, Sow True Seed, Seed Saver’s Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, High Mowing Seeds, Annie’s Heirloom Seeds, Fedco Seeds, Renee’s Garden Seed, Nantahala Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Territorial Seed Co., Seeds of Change, etc.

Source:  CNN Money.

ELDERBERRIES: Multipurpose fruit©

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elderberries

In 1656 William Coles documented the belief that gathering the leaves of elder on the last day of April and attaching them to one’s doors and windows would, “disappoint the charmes of Witches”.  Elder bushes were an integral part of gardens through the 18^th century, and why not?  How could one overlook the tasty flowers and berries prepared in a myriad of ways with the added benefit of warding off witches?

Elder plays a part in the early folklore of several countries.  Russians used to believe the spirit of the elder had great compassion for human beings and drove away evil spirits from them.  The Danes refused to make furniture from elder wood believing that doing so brought ill luck.  “If a cradle is made of the wood, the Elder Mother will come and pull the child out of it”.

Bushes can be dug from the wild, propagated by rooting in water or planting in soil, or bought from a nursery.  If rooting 6 inch cuttings in water plant them in small pots once roots are established.  Place the pots in a shaded location and keep watered until the following spring then plant in the home landscape.  If starting in soil, place the pot with the cutting inside a plastic bag so that a humid environment is simulated until the cuttings are rooted (keep out of direct sunlight), and proceed as above.  While the bushes are self-pollinating, planting more than one variety is said to produce bigger berries.

Elderberries are small and it would be very time consuming to pick them individually, therefore, when harvesting the recommended method was (and is) to cut the heads and let them drop into a basket.  One can then pick off the berries, or wash the heads and drop them into boiling liquid removing and discarding the remaining stems.  A quicker way to remove the berries from the stems is to cover a bowl or bucket with half inch wire mesh and just pass the berry bunches back and forth across it.  The berries will fall through the holes into the container.

All parts of the bushes have been used for one thing or another.  “The pith of the tree has wonderful powers, for, if cut in round, flat shapes, and dipped in oil, lighted, and then put to float in a glass of water, its light on Christmas Eve will reveal to the owner all the witches and sorcerers in the neighbourhood.  While this sounds ridiculous today, the Salem witch trials are proof that such things were once deadly serious.

Buds were pickled with pepper, mace, and lemon peel, elder tops (young shoots) were pickled, flowers were used to flavor vinegar or make drinks, the flowers were dipped in batter and fried to make fritters, sprays of flowers were put into sugar to impart a pleasant flavor, the berries were used to make wine, juice, pies, jam and jelly, tea can be made from the leaves, and the berries were used to make ink and to dye various items including champagne and leather.

Why aren’t we familiar with using these berries today?  Because, like many other plants, the lowly wild berry came to be considered inferior when tame berries were cultivated to produce larger and juicier fruit with less labor.  “It is strange that when there is a scarcity of fruit, as there was last year, people will lament the lack of fruit, when behold the fence corners are filled with these valuable bushes, bending down and overloaded with ripe delicious fruit that all goes to waste.  You need never be at a loss for fruit to make pies, for it grows spontaneously…Remember other fruit is liable to fail while this is a never-failing fruit”.  – “The Ohio Cultivator”.  1853.

Below are some historic elderberry recipes which may tempt you, but you may also want to try adding the berries to muffin, fritter, or pancake batter, mixing elderberry syrup with iced soda water for a refreshing drink, using the juice to make frozen popsicles or ice cream, etc.

ELDERBERRY ICE CREAM [modern].  This is similar to black raspberry ice cream that is popular in Pennsylvania.

2 cups elderberries (no stems); 1 cup water; sugar as desired; 2 cups heavy cream or half and half; 1 ½ cups milk; 5 egg yolks.  The syrup can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Combine the berries and water, bring to a boil and simmer until the berries begin bursting.  Add sugar half cup at a time until as sweet as you like.  Let the mixture cool slightly, then run it through a food mill or sieve.  Discard the solids.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the ice cream:  Put the cream and milk into a heavy pan and slowly heat it, stirring so that it doesn’t scorch.  Add the elderberry syrup a half cup at a time until the flavor is as deep as you wish.  Bring the mixture to steaming but not simmering or boiling.

Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl.  Add a few spoonfuls of the cream mixture, whisking all the time, to the egg yolks.  Continue until the egg yolks are brought up to temperature without cooking and whisk all together.  Chill the mixture.  When cold put into an ice cream maker and proceed as for any basic ice cream.  The ice cream can be served as is, or made into popsicles.

ELDERBERRY PIE.  “Table Talk”.  Aug. 1903.

Line a pie dish with paste, upon which sprinkle a scant tablespoonful of flour; to this add a half cupful of sugar and a half teaspoonful each of cloves and cinnamon, rubbing all together evenly.  Upon this pour the berries, a pint more or less according to the size of your pie dish; pour over another half cupful of sugar, dot generously with butter, adding last one large tablespoonful of good vinegar.  Apply top crust quickly and bake.

ELDERBERRY PIE.  “Good Housekeeping”.  1891.

For a large pie, allow three cupfuls of berries, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice or vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of flour, three-fourths cupfuls of sugar, and spices to taste.  Bake in one crust with a latticework top.

ELDERBERRY SHRUB.  Pour one pint of weak vinegar over one quart of elderberries; let them stand for twenty-four hours.  Strain, and pour the juice over a second quart of berries.  Let them stand for twenty-four hours, strain again, add one cupful of sugar to each cupful of juice, boil it up, and can or bottle if wanted for future use.  [To use, combine with ice water and drink].

ELDERBERRY CATCHUP. 

Elderberry catchup is excellent with game or cold meats.  Boil one quart of the berries with two cupfuls of vinegar and one tablespoonful of pickling spices tied in a muslin bag, for twenty minutes.  Put through a press or sieve that will retain the seeds, add two cupfuls of brown sugar, and simmer for ten minutes before sealing.

ELDERBERRIES DRIED.  Berry, Mrs.  “Fruit Recipes”.

Sun-dry the berries as for strawberries.  In some parts of Europe peasants use these in soups through the winter.

ELDERBERRY DUMPLINGS.  “The Ohio Cultivator”.

Make the crust as usual and put in the berries as you would other fruit.  Boil them fast till the crust is done, then take them up and eat with a dip of white sugar and sour cream, and you will confess they are delicious.

ELDERBERRY SYRUP.  “The Every-Day Cook-Book”.  1889.

Take elderberries perfectly ripe, wash and strain them, put a pint of molasses to a pint of the juice, boil it twenty minutes, stirring constantly, when cold add to each quart a pint of French brandy; bottle and cork it tight.  It is an excellent remedy for a cough.

ELDER TOPS, TO PICKLE.  “Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery”.

About six inches of the tops of young elder sprouts, if cut at the right time—in the middle of April—will make a good pickle.  The sprouts should be first blanched in boiling water, then pickled in vinegar, adding salt and white pepper.  [Month when these shoots are at their prime will vary with locale].

Blissful Meals yall, cultivated or foraged, there are good things growing out there.  –  Thehistoricfoodie aka Vickie Brady.  Copyright©

See:  Rohde, Eleanour, “A Garden of Herbs”, 1922.  Berry, Mrs.  “Fruit Recipes”.  1903.

Reclaiming Neglected Grape Vines©

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grape catsup, grape juice

We inherited a row of grape vines when we bought our little farm and this year they have rewarded our efforts at reclaiming them with sweet purple grapes.  The elderly couple who built the home had not been able to properly care for the place for a few years and as a result the fruit trees were all in desperate need of pruning.  The plum trees were beyond saving so we cut those down and planted new ones.  The grape arbor was a massive tangle of old vines with some green growth just at the top.  We severely pruned them per instructions in 19^th century treatises, half expecting them to die from shock, and this year we were pleasantly surprised with grapes.

Yesterday I picked 3 large dishpans full of grapes, stemmed them, juiced them, and canned seven quarts of grape juice, not bad for vines left neglected for so long.  Besides jelly, what might the juice have been used for by my grandmothers?  A little research provided loads of ideas.  Perhaps a few may inspire you as well.

GRAPE JUICE AND SODA. “Practical Druggist”.  Sept. 1908.

There is a demand for grape juice just served with many of the carbonated waters.  To do this, fill the glass half full of the desired water and pour in the grape juice last.  Mix with a spoon or by pouring.

GRAPE SUNDAE.  Same, Oct. 1908.

Ice cream is very tasteful when covered with the grape pulp; for this purpose the pulp is better if it be left undiluted.  This may be topped with a little whipped cream if desired.

WELCH’S GRAPE PUNCH.  Same, May 1908.

For a dainty, unfermented punch, take the juice of three lemons, juice of one orange, one pint of Welch’s grape juice, one quart of water and one cup of sugar.  If served from a punch bowl, add sliced oranges and pineapple.

GRAPE CREAM SODA.  “American Druggist”.  Oct. 1912.

Put a small cone of vanilla ice cream in a soda glass, add 2 ounces of grape juice, a spoonful of crushed fruit and fill up with the fine stream.  Top with a spoonful of whipped cream.  [Soda water].

ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING.  “Eureka Cook Book”.  1907.

Three cups chopped suet, 6 cups sifted flour, 2 cups raisins, 2 cups currants, 1 cup citron, 1 teaspoon each ginger, cloves, allspice, 1 grated nutmeg, I heaped teaspoon baking powder, a little salt, 3 eggs, wine glass of grape juice, milk enough to make a stiff batter.  Soak fruit in grape juice, chop the suet, and put it in a cool place overnight.  Mix baking powder and suet in the flour dry, add fruit, milk and the eggs, stir thoroughly.  Boil 6 or 8 hours in a well floured pudding bag or in a tightly covered pudding mould.  [The mixture can be put into a mixing bowl that is then placed inside a larger pan of simmering water when one does not have a pudding mould.]

GRAPE SOUP.  “The North End Club Cook Book”.  1905.

Stem, wash and cook enough Concord grapes to secure 1 quart of rich grape juice.  Add 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of seedless raisins (which have been soaked in water for 2 hours) and 4 sticks of cinnamon.  Let boil for half an hour, remove the sticks of cinnamon and thicken with 4 tablespoons of flour.  Grape jelly can also be used in place of the grape juice.  To be served hot or very cold.

MINCEMEAT.  “Hanover Cook Book”.  1922.

1 ½ lbs. of beef boiled and chopped, 2 lbs. beef suet chopped fine, 4 lbs. apples, 2 lbs. raisins, 2 lbs. currants, 2 lbs. sugar, 1 pt. [pint] grape juice, 2 nutmegs, ½ oz. cinnamon, ¼ oz. cloves, ¼ oz. mace, 1 teaspoonful salt, ½ lb. citron, 2 large oranges.  [The mincemeat could be frozen in portions for baking pies.]

MINCEMEAT.  2.  “Hanover Cook Book”.

3 lbs. lean meat, ¼ lb. suet, 3 lbs. sugar, 5 lbs. apples, 2 lbs. raisins, 2 lbs. currants, ½ lb. citron, 3 lemons, 3 nutmegs, 1 oz. mace, ½ pt. grape juice, ½ gal. cider.  All these things must be chopped, meat well cooked; fresh tongue is best.

FRUIT CAKE.  “Hanover Cook Book”.

1 lb. sugar, 1 lb. flour, ¾ lb. butter, 8 eggs, 2 lbs. raisins, 1 lb. currants, ½ lb. citron, ½ pt. grape juice, 1 tablespoonful cinnamon, 1 teaspoonful allspice, 1 tablespoonful cloves, and 2 nutmegs.  [The amount of spice is probably too much for modern palates, adjust per your taste.  Cream the sugar, butter, and eggs.  Mix in the flour into which the spices have been mixed, the fruit, and grape juice.  Bake at 350 until done, test with a toothpick.  Fruit cakes flavored with grape juice were relatively common.]

FRUIT COCKTAIL.  “Country Kitchen Cookbook”.  1922.

1 cup cherry juice, ½ c. lemon juice, ½ c. grape juice, 1 pineapple, ½ lb. marshmallows, powdered sugar, 3 oranges.  Shred the pineapple.  Peel the oranges, free from membrane and seeds, and cut into small pieces.  Snip the marshmallows into small sections.  Mix the fruit and marshmallow and sweeten with powdered sugar.  Mix the fruit juices.  Serve the fruit mixture in cocktail glasses.  Put a couple of tablespoonfuls of the fruit juices over the fruit and finish with a spoonful of lemon sherbet.  A fruit cocktail may be served before a soup or in place of the soup.

GRAPE CATSUP.  Mothers’ Congress Cookbook.  1922.

5 lbs. nice ripe grapes mashed, cooked and run through the colander.  Add 1 pt. vinegar, 3 lbs. sugar, 1 tsp. ground allspice, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. black pepper, ½ tsp. salt.  Boil all together until thick enough for catsup.  [Put up per modern canning instructions in small jars].

GRAPE CATSUP.  1906.

1 quart of grape juice, 1 pint of vinegar, 1 lbs. sugar, ground cloves.  [I’m adding the allspice, cinnamon, and a wee bit of pepper found in most such recipes.  I won’t be dipping my fries in this, but tonight’s project is turning a quart of my grape juice into this catsup to serve with cold meats].

GRAPE JUICE SHERBET.  “Everwoman’s Canning Book”.  1918.

1 pint grape juice, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, Juice of half an orange, 1 tablespoon granulated gelatin, 1 ½ cups boiling water, ½ cup cold water, 1 cup sugar.  Soak gelatin in cold water five minutes.  Make a syrup by boiling the sugar and hot water for fifteen minutes; then add the soaked gelatin.  Cool slightly; add grape, orange, and lemon juice.  Freeze, using a mixture of three parts ice to one of salt.

Blissful Meals, Yall, enjoy summer’s bounty.  – Vickie Brady, aka thehistoricfoodie.©  Copyright 2016.

Got Tomatoes? Make Preserves©

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tomato jelly, tomato marmalade, tomato preserves

Photo (public domain) from Wikipedia, melba toast, goat cheese, and tomato preserves

I have 60 tomato plants out this year in three varieties – Big Boy, Better Boy, and Atkinson – so unless the horn worms find them or in spite of regular watering the drought and blistering sun render them incapable of setting fruit I should have enough to preserve.  We enjoy home-made soups and stews so a good portion of them will be canned or frozen, perhaps I’ll try my luck with the dehydrator, and then preserves could be made from any remaining fruit.  I envision a toasted bagel and cream cheese topped with tomato preserves and if I’m feeling particularly decadent some crispy bacon on the side.

The earliest published receipt this author found for tomato preserves was the mid-1840’s, but mixtures under different names were published much earlier.  The Oct. 31, 1828 issue of the “New England Farmer” contained a receipt entitled “Towit of Tomatas”.  The housewife was to take a pint of tomatoes and a pound of fine sugar and reduce them in the same way as any other jam [cooked until thickened], then add the juice of a lemon.  “This makes a very good to wit.”

Mary Randolph’s “The Virginia Housewife” contained a form of the preserves called Tomato Sweet Marmalade in 1836.

Half of the author’s garden, some of the tomato plants in front (before staking)

Randolph’s Tomato Marmalade was made from stemmed green tomatoes stewed and rubbed through a sieve, and the pulp combined with pepper, salt, pounded cloves, and garlic.  It was stewed thick, “keeps well”, and was considered an excellent seasoning.  Her sweet tomato marmalade instructed the housewife to add loaf sugar to the tomato pulp and stew until it was a stiff jelly.  It isn’t clear if the salt, pepper, and garlic were used in the sweet version.

“Tomatoes Preserve.—Mr. Editor—The tomato is favorably mentioned in your last number:  it is a valuable vegetable.  But I do not recollect, that in the variety of uses to which it has been applied, your paper assigns it any place among the different species of preserves.  As we are deprived this season of that pride of the fruit of Georgia, the peach, it may be of service to housekeepers to know that the tomato forms a most admirable substitute for the peach as a preserve.  The flavor is almost precisely the same—it looks as well, and is altogether an excellent article for the tea table.

Directions:–Take good ripe tomatoes—peel them and preserve them with good brown or loaf sugar.  If not peeled they burst, and do not retain the consistency so much desired by housekeepers, though they are very good without peeling.  I give you this, at this time, that the industry of the fair hands about your flourishing town may profit by it, before Jack Frost shall cut off their hope from this new source of table ornament and luxury.  “The Gennessee Farmer”, Aug. 1834, as quoted from the “Southern Planter”.

Old-Fashioned Tomato Preserve:  Take six pounds fruit, five pounds sugar, a bag containing two large tablespoons of ground ginger, and cook till quite thick.  Allow one lemon, sliced, to every quart can of preserve.  It can be cooked with the tomato or sliced into the can as it is being filled.  – “Good Housekeeping”.  August, 1904.

Date and original source unknown.  Clippings found online at the Milwaukee Public Library digital collection of historic recipes.

Tomato Preserve.  8 qts ripe tomatoes (after peeled and sliced), 4 qts sugar, 3 lemons sliced very fine; boil down tomatoes and lemons before adding the sugar.  – “The Warren Cook Book.  1920.

Green Tomato Preserve.  To one pound of fruit use three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar.  Allow one sliced lemon to two pounds of fruit, first tasting the white of the lemon to be sure it is not bitter.  If bitter [as most are], use the yellow rind [zest], grated, or shaved thin, and the juice.  Put the sugar on with just water enough to melt it, add the tomato and lemon, and cook gently until the tomato is tender and transparent.  Cut the tomatoes around in halves, and then quarter the halves.  This shape is preferable to slices.  This will keep without sealing, but it is better to put it in small jars, as it is so rich that only a little is wanted at a time.  – “The American Kitchen Magazine”.  Sept. 1898.

Tomato Preserve.  4 lbs. green tomatoes, sliced, 2 lemons, 2 ½ lbs. sugar, 3 or 4 small pieces gingerroot [sic].  Cook until rich preserve.  – “Woman’s Club of San Matco”.  1909.

About the only thing that has changed in these receipts in recent years is the process of putting them up.  Directions:  After boiling  a spice bag containing 1 Tablespoon mixed pickle spice and a 1 ½ inch piece of ginger, sliced, with 4 cups sugar, 2 medium lemons, seeded and sliced, and ¾ cup water for 15 minutes, add 6 cups peeled tomatoes (quartered or sliced if large), boil until the tomatoes are transparent.  Let set in a cool place from 12 to 18 hours.  Heat jars in hot water and heat water for processing the jars.  Transfer cooked tomatoes and lemon slices to a glass or stainless steel bowl and set aside using a slotted spoon.  Discard spice bag.  Bring syrup to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil hard, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes.  Add reserved tomatoes and lemons.  Bring back to a boil and boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and skim off foam.  Ladle hot preserves into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace.  Wipe the rim clean.  Place the tops on the jars until fingertip tight and process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Remove jars and cool.

As always, Blissful Meals yall, from thehistoricfoodie, Vickie Brady.  thehistoricfoodie.wordpress.com©

 

LIVING THE GOOD LIFE; or, Small Farm Adventures©

Tags

heirloom poultry, poultry farming, poultry raising

When some acreage was purchased and the subjects of our discussion began to traverse the path toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle they weren’t entirely clueless, as one of the party had some memory of growing cotton on a grandfather’s 67 acres of rocky hillside and an uncle’s somewhat smaller cattle farm, yet there have been times when both were beside themselves observing the mindless antics of the critters who are in charge.

One can only laugh when thumbing through a magazine or book written by someone who has amassed a whopping three hens in a suburban back yard and feels capable of advising all of humanity on how to “farm”.  That scenario is about as ridiculous as small-holders like the subjects of our narrative are to some corporate farm like Tyson.  A book about gardening with chickens comes to mind.  That author and her requisite three hens enjoy a bucolic life in which she plants flowers and shrubs and is adored for her beautification projects by her tiny flock.

This author’s kind and generous husband gave her that book at Christmas, both envisioning their homestead looking like something from the glossy pages of House Beautiful in no time, only to realize that poultry of any kind looks at such plantings and has one thought, and one thought only, in their pea-sized brain – eating it.   As they wandered about seeing nothing but stems, scratched up turf, and contented free-range poultry, they knew editors weren’t coming to photograph their place and the book was tossed in a pile where it will resurface some day when they set aside a day to spruce up a bit.

There is a host of published information on how to hatch your way to riches, the problem being that some of the information is more apt to produce rags than riches.  First one must collect the eggs and pray the male half of the flock has not only enjoyed his time with the ladies but has successfully fertilized her eggs.  One tries to amass enough eggs to fill the incubator all the while counting the days before putting them in to insure they remain viable.  The old adage, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, was surely penned by a poultry farmer because no matter what you do some of the eggs are never going to hatch.  Others will pip only to breathe their last before fully breaking out of the shell or just not be strong enough to thrive.

For those hatched by a setting hen, there is the threat of a sudden rain storm that can drown young chicks, or a myriad of dangers that can befall chicks too small to remain confined in the wire pen with mama hen.  Careful now should you decide to take the chicks, for their own good, of course, because mama has been known to put up quite a fight to keep her babies.  A five pound hen becomes a veritable flying force when she’s latched on to a coat-tail and begins tugging away to prevent the human from reaching her babies.

Eventually, the long awaited day arrives, albeit sometimes two to three days later than these three-hen-keeping, would-be  writers tell you to wait, and chirping is heard coming from inside the incubator.  Looking in, tiny beaks are seen chipping away at their earthly confinement, ready to clumsily crawl around over the as yet un-hatched eggs with dizzying effects on their slower siblings.

After giving stragglers another couple of days, our farmer counts his chicks, goslings, poults, or ducklings and imagines crispy-skinned, golden brown, roasted duck or steaming parsley-laden chicken and dumplings, not to mention the eggs.  Oh, the eggs – there’s fried, scrambled, poached, deviled, and pickled.  The kitchen island sags under the heavy burden of baked goods our farmerette has pulled from the oven, all delicately risen with the inclusion of a generous supply of those farm-fresh, free-range eggs.

Neither half of our dynamic duo has as yet realized that hatching is merely the beginning of raising poultry.  No one expects perfectly healthy chicks to wade around and lollygag in the watering dish, get chilled, and die in an amazingly short time or to be trampled by other chicks too stupid not to huddle en masse.  Soon the phrase about not counting one’s chickens becomes a grim foreboding note in their book of poultry care.

Young Pekin & Rouen ducks

All goes well, though, for the most part, and our happy couple begins to fully embrace farm life with its endless supply of fresh air, cool breezes, romantic dimly-lit outdoor meals, and sessions quietly talking about first one thing and another, all cuddled up, as the gentle breeze slowly rocks the hammock strung between two wild olive trees.  Just when they think they’d burst if their bubble got any bigger, a masked bandit stealthily sneaks in one night to wreak havoc on their precious sleeping birds.  Walt Disney did  farmers a disservice when he portrayed raccoons as cute and adorable.  He left out the part about how they can rip out a full-grown duck’s throat for the pure pleasure of it and leave it laying to breath its last writhing in agony or how it will kill a hen and drag it up a tree to lodge it between the trunk and a limb just to watch from afar to see how long it will take the humans to look up in the tree for the missing, formerly healthy, chicken.

Farmer and farmerette decide they’ll have no more of these shenanigans and put out big bucks for a protector for their flock, one that comes with a pedigree and is the cutest ball of fur ever to set foot on the little homestead, only to watch said ball of fur learn to suck eggs and exhaust the birds by trying to herd them into an imaginary coral for hours on end.  When more birds are dying from these antics than were killed by the raccoons, our loving couple decide the dog must be confined so that it can still alert them to the presence of coons, foxes, coyotes and such, but remain far enough away from the beloved flock that she cannot do them harm.

The fancy schmancy electronic collar was about as useless as ice on the frozen tundra so the farmer dons his cap and off they go to the mercantile to buy reels of cable, hooks, clamps, screws, lag bolts, rope, pulleys, a collar, chain and about anything else they can spend good money on, and head back home to rig up an apparatus to confine this high-priced protector of chickens.  The cable is attached to two pine trees some 10 feet off the ground so that our couple need not fear being decapitated while wandering around in the dark of the night, and because they love this dog, the length of the run can best be measured in acre lengths rather than in running feet.

With the coming of spring our couple’s thoughts turn to tilling the soil and putting up succulent vegetables to enjoy through the coming year.  They plant, weed, sow, hoe, chop, hill, and work until they fairly limp back to the house, all the while mouths watering thinking about fresh sliced tomatoes, fried okra, creamed corn, green beans with ham hocks, ice cold watermelon, and salads galore made with crisp cucumbers, colorful peppery radishes, and more of those juicy diced tomatoes.  Their spirits soar as they begin to harvest some of their vegetables, but slowly begin to wane as they see holes eaten through beet and cabbage leaves.

It isn’t long before squash bugs, cabbage loopers, and giant “foot-long” tomato horn worms are plucked off vines and fed to the ducks and geese to try and save these precious plants.  Long gone are any thoughts of pure organic produce, and farmerette begins to pour over ads in magazines looking for flame-throwers or anything that can be sprayed or powdered on the plants to annihilate the flying, creeping, or crawling vegetable-terrorizing garden pests.

Lest we forget, now might be a good time to point out that God is Good, but Mother Nature has a nasty sense of humor as evidenced by days of heavy rain followed by weeks of drought, corn-flattening wind, and a blazing sun so hot the chickens begin to lay boiled eggs.  Farmer and farmerette join one hose after another to reach from faucet to sprinkler to supply life-giving cool water from a 185 foot deep well in order to produce rain artificially only to find themselves replacing the pump which, it seems, was too old to stand up to the demands of such watering.

Gentle reader, do not despair for as long as the mercantile remains stocked with hoes, shovels, broadforks, hatchets, hammers, hoses, lumber, nails, hedge trimmers, chain saws, wheelbarrows, garden wagons, paint, brushes, bulbs, seed, potted plants, Pyrethrin, sprayers, waterers, feeders, fertilizer, pelletized lime, tomato stakes, wire fencing, fence posts, clamps, hoses, extension cords, scratch feed, layer pellets, starter grower, grower finisher, cracked corn, Alpo for the fur ball, rawhide chews, and the like, our happy couple will continue to live the life of Riley, occasionally even finding time to cuddle up in that hammock and look up into the kaleidoscope of color the sun makes shining on the leaves rustling in the breeze.  Life is Good.

Pleasant tidings yall!  Vickie, aka thehistoricfoodie,© – thehistoricfoodie.wordpress.com

A Little Look at my Garden©

Tags

vegetable gardening

Some time back I posted a series of articles on various vegetables I was researching for this year’s garden and I thought it might be interesting to post an update on what I actually did end up planting.  So far all is well – my plants are up and doing well.  The weather has been good for the deep South although the temperatures are creeping up with a 95 degree heat index yesterday.  With the heat usually comes a decrease in the amount of rain we see and I’ve already watered the garden once.

We probably tripled the size of the garden from last year and instead of doing the whole thing with a shovel and broadfork we had someone plow it for us.  That let me expend my labor on seeding and weeding instead of breaking up the soil.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t done in time for early things like sweet peas and potatoes.

I chose Country Gentleman and Silver Queen corn and planted it as far away from each other as possible.  We staggered the plantings so the corn is varying heights and hopefully will be harvested over a longer season.  I have enough seed and space for perhaps another 10 rows and will put that out over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

The Blue Lake green beans look good as do the Fordhook limas.  I did two plantings of these to extend the harvest so while the first are about 5 inches tall, the others have yet to sprout although after watering, that should happen by the middle of next week.

I planted 3 rows of Pennsylvania Crookneck Squash that seem to be doing well.  I bought seed from Landis Valley but also saved the seed from squash we purchased at an Amish market when we were there over Christmas.  I decided to save the purchased seed and plant the seed from the squash and I do believe every seed sprouted.  There are pies in our future providing the bugs leave some and I keep them watered.

Image of PA crookneck squash from the Seedsavers website.

I put out 60 tomato plants hoping to be able to can and freeze enough for the year so that we avoid the bad nasties in purchased canned tomatoes.  They were chosen for hot weather and disease resistance.  I have 6 Atkinson I bought and the rest are Big Boy and Better Boy that I started from seed.  They are blooming so I have the bacon and fixings ready for my first BLT.

I planted a row of Aunt Molly’s ground cherries or husk tomatoes if you prefer that have yet to sprout but if for some reason they don’t I have enough seed to replant.  I’m waffling in my decision as to whether to wait or reseed.

There is a row of salsify and a row of scorzonera.  The latter, which was referred to as viper’s grass in times past, is pushing through the soil surface and from its appearance it is easy to see how it got that name.

I had asparagus, but I’m waiting for it to be established better before cutting any.  I had about a 50% grow rate on my Jerusalem artichokes.  I’m not sure why only about half sprouted.  Moles or armadillos could be the culprits or perhaps the tubers weren’t as healthy as they should have been when they went in the ground.  I will probably harvest them and replant the bulk of them so as to amass a larger bed for next year rather than cooking them up this winter.

A couple of kinds of cucumbers and a few radishes are tucked away here and there, all up but not ready to harvest.

The basil, thyme, parsley, rosemary, shallots, and elephant garlic are in raised beds surrounded by chicken wire to keep hungry geese, chickens, and guineas from helping themselves.

There are baby ducks, chicks, rabbits, and a single gosling that have hatched so we butchered some of the older chickens and a couple of drakes last weekend and put them into the freezer.  Our ratio of roosters and drakes was higher than it should be so this helped to correct that and give the hens a break.  The roast duck followed by a nice barley vegetable soup made from boiling down the rest of the duck was pretty good.

As always, gentle reader, I leave you with the wish for Blissful Meals!  ©  – Victoria, the Historic Foodie, thehistoricfoodie.wordpress.com.

MORE VARIETIES OF HEIRLOOM CORN©

Tags

19th century food, Bear paw corn, Black Mexican corn, Bloody Butcher corn, Country Gentleman corn, Gaspe Flint corn, Hickory Cane corn, Howling Mob corn, Leamings corn, Tom Thumb popcorn

As I’m choosing the vegetables that will get planted in my garden this year I’m adding my insane research results to the blog.  I’ve chosen Silver Queen and Country Gentleman for my corn this year and I’m happy with those choices for now.  The other varieties below will get planted eventually, but a couple at a time.  This will finish my walk down the heirloom corn garden path.  [Maybe]

Bear Paw.  A popcorn created by Glenn Thomson of Vermont and grown between 1930 and the mid-1960’s.  It was served in the Vermont exhibition of the World’s Fair.  It is available today.  Plants are about 4 to 5 ft.  The ears are flattened and split at the silk end, some said resembling a bear paw. An ear can actually split into more than two resembling a crude hand shape.  While it isn’t as old a variety as the rest of the list, I’ve included it because of its uniqueness. It is available from Seed Savers Exchange, cherrygal.com, etc.

Black Mexican.   “If you have never tried Black Mexican corn you should do so…It is said to contain a higher percentage of sugar than any other variety.  The only thing against it is its appearance.  The fresh kernels are a beautiful blue-black, but in the pot they lose their life and luster.  The cooked ears are about as unattractive as black bean soup, but the flavor is delicious beyond words”.  – “Country Life in America”.  July 1904.

Some period sources said it was not preferred by 19^th/early 20^th century market growers because the corn turns from white to very dark as it ages and customers could tell if it wasn’t at its prime by the color.  It is very interesting to see the color change.  Others found that it crossed too easily with other corns, though there was no real discernible difference.  “There is no evidence, however, that this variety crosses more readily than others, but when crosses of Black Mexican and other varieties do occur, the effects are more readily seen.”  ““Bulletin”.  Issues 183-191.  Dept. Ag.  1911.  Corbett, Lee.  “Garden Farming”.  1913.

The name is misleading.  It was apparently first bred in New York, probably from Iroquois Black Puckers.  Some period sources dated it from 1864, but it was found by this writer earlier in the Essex Agricultural Society’s “Transactions” in 1857.    “Several collections of excellent sweet corn were exhibited by S. A. Merrill, of Salem, and others, but among them all we did not find any specimens of the Black Mexican.  Of ten varieties which we tested the past season, this was decidedly the sweetest.  The ear is rather below the average size and matures somewhat late, the kernels when ripe being of a rich, dark, purple color, but when in the milk but slightly tinged with purple…Black Mexican is prolific, will bear close planting, and we can confidently recommend it to the gardeners and farmers of Essex”.

In 1866, Fearing Burr called it, “Black Sweet, or Mexican.  Slate Sweet” and said it was sweet, tender, and well flavored, “remains a long period in condition for use”, and aside from its color which some found objectionable was well worth cultivation.  Black Mexican was offered by James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, Mass. In his 1863 catalog.

It is available today from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Victory Seed, and others.  Seed may be Aztec Black or an Aztec Black cross.

Country Gentleman.  “Very desirable”.  Still available today.  See previous post.

Golden Bantam.  Stalks 4 ft.  5 in. ears.  Tender skin on the kernels.   Golden Bantam was featured in the Burpee catalog in 1902. In the 1903, W. A. Burpee Farm Annual said William Chambers of Greenfield, Mass.  grew this corn long before his neighbors had ripe corn for their tables but would never sell seed.  Mr. Chambers died ca. 1891 and his corn was grown and the seed kept pure by Mr. J. G. Pickett, also of Greenfield.  E. L. Coy of New York, who was a friend of W. Atlee Burpee, was served some Golden Bantam at a meal when visiting in Greenfield.

Mr. Coy purchased all the seed he could from Mr. Pickett and sent them to Mr. Burpee claiming it was the sweetest and richest corn he’d ever eaten.  It was Burpee who named the variety when he released it to the public in 1902, otherwise it should rightly be called Chambers’ Sweet Corn.

Mr. Chambers is thought to have bred his corn from seed obtained by James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, Mass which was called Golden Sweet.  Golden Sweet was a cross between a yellow field corn and Darling’s Early, possibly the first named sweet corn variety.  Golden Bantam is still available while  Golden Sweet and Darling’s Early have fallen by the wayside.

“The name and fame of Golden Bantam Corn is known everywhere.  It has the call in summer when fresh corn is on the market.”  Carpenter’s Golden Sweet was a later improvement of Golden Bantam.  – Blackmore.  “Merchant’s Manual of Advertising”.  1921.  See also:  “Vegetables of New York”.  1934.

Howling Mob.  C. D. Keller of Toledo, Ohio developed this corn and named it because he said customers were so anxious to get it at markets they became a “howling mob” when it was offered for sale.  Not much is found on Mr. Keller other than classified ads for seed sales.  Howling Mob was introduced in 1905 and remains available today from R. H. Shumway.  It grows to 6 or 7 feet and ears are 8 to 9 inches long with 12 to 14 rows of kernels.  This corn came very close to being lost.

Stowell’s Evergreen.  See previous post.

Bloody Butcher.  This is a beautiful dark red corn, the color of which was likened to blood.  Some accounts say it was being grown at least as early as 1845, but this writer found no mention of it earlier than the 1870’s.  In 1919, Lamkin claimed Colby Bloody Butcher was grown in Missouri for the “past 25 years” – which would have been sometime around 1894.

Bloody Butcher, from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange website

It is a dent corn and a tall one reaching 10 to 12 feet.  It supposedly produces two to six ears per stalk.  The cobs vary in color from pink to red.  It is primarily used for flour, grits, or meal but can be eaten when young and fresh.

“Bloody Butcher is a name applied to corn having a deep-red grain.  The cap, or rather the crown, end of the kernels varies in color for the different varieties, but are usually lighter in color than the remainder of the kernel.  The Colby Bloody Butcher is the only variety of this class that has proved to be an outstanding one…As a rule Bloody Butcher corn is not any more productive than corn of any other color”.  – “Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture”.  1921.

Hickory King.  This dent corn is available in white or yellow.  It is well known in the South as a hominy corn.  “Hickory King corn was originated by A. O. Lee, Bartee, Va.  I understand that there is a railroad station called Hickory near his place which furnishes the name of this reliable variety…The Hickory King corn is remarkable for having the largest kernels and the smallest cob in proportion to depth of kernels…”.  – Eyck, Albert.  “Corn”.  1914.

Leaming’s.  Jacob Spicer Leaming [1815-1885] of Clinton Co., Ohio is credited with developing this yellow dent corn.  His ancestors are outlined in a “Report” published by the Ohio Corn Improvement Assoc. in 1910 and that source was also an account of the development of his corn.  The article from which the Association quoted was published by his son in 1888. His corn was so much appreciated that the publication says, “the best part of him is still above ground, and the memory of him grows green each year in a thousand tasseled fields”.

Mr. Leaming’s father, Christopher, was growing corn with the help of his sons, one of whom was 10-year old Jacob Spicer Leaming, by 1826.

“In 1855, Mr. [Jacob Spicer] Leaming was driving a wagon in Hamilton County and stopped at a wayside corn field to ask some men husking corn in the field if they might sell him enough corn to feed his horses.  He was so impressed with the corn that he bought a bushel of corn for seed.

He first planted the corn in 1856 and spent some 30 years improving it.  After his 1856 crop was harvested he shared seed with several neighbors and the seed became known as Leaming’s corn.

Jacob was awarded a silver medal for his corn at the Paris World’s Fair in 1884.  He died the following year.  In 1900 Jacob’s son, Peter D. Leaming, took a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition for his seed corn – the corn his father developed.

Leaming’s corn, probably the Improved Leaming, is rare, but available today from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Neal’s Paymaster.  William H. Neal bred this variety from Tennessee Red Cob.  “An interesting story was published recently in a Tennessee newspaper relative to the manner in which W. H. Neal, of the Maple Dale Farm, Wilson county, Tennessee, had developed since 1898 what is known as Neal’s Paymaster corn, said to be largely responsible for the excellent yield in that state this year.”  The experts at the Tennessee Agricultural Dept. recommended it for Tennessee and other states.  – “The Seed World”.  Dec. 16, 1921.   It is available from Sandhill Preservation.

Tennessee Red Cob

Luther Hill sweet corn.  Luther Hill developed this about 1902 in Sussex Co., New Jersey.  Mr. Hill was the horticulturist at Rutgers University.  Luther Hill Sweet was used to breed Silver Queen corn.  It can produce two years per stalk.  It is rare, but available today from the Sustainable Seed Co. and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  It has a short ripening period allowing for quick processing for the freezer.

Gaspe Flint.  Supposedly documented by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and named for the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec.  The plants reach to only about 2 ½ feet with cobs about 4 inches.  It is available from Heritage Harvest Seed Co. and Sherck’s Heirloom Vegetables, Plants, & Seeds.

Japonica Striped Maize, aka Japanese corn.  This is a beautiful corn with striped white and pink in the leaves.  It was touted as new in 1867 by the “Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs”.  The seed was brought from Japan by Thomas Hogg. – “Genetics Laboratory Manual”.  1918.

From the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange website.  Why not order today?

“American Agriculturist” printed a piece on the corn in March 1866 saying Hogg sent the seed to his brother from Japan.  The author said when the plants were about two feet high they were also streaked with rose color in the leaves but claimed the pink dissipated as the plants got older.

“The Japanese corn has a very peculiar appearance, the leaves being striped with white”.  – “Report”.  Vol. 18-20.  1893.

“A variety of Japanese corn has been successfully grown for several years on the grounds of Cornell University.  While it produced good sized ears, it is not so valuable as the ordinary variety under cultivation.  Its distinctive feature is that its leaves are striped similar to ribbon grass”.  – “The Cultivator & Country Gentleman”.  March 14, 1895.

Seed are available from several sources including Heritage Harvest Seed.

Tom Thumb Popcorn.  The earliest origins of this yellow variety are unknown, but it was found in the “Annual Report” of 1889.  It was featured in John Lewis Child’s catalog 10 years later in 1899.  Plants are said to be very productive but a diminutive 2 feet tall with ears about 2 to 3 inches.  Childs recommended it for city or village lots where space was limited.  It is available from Heritage Harvest Seed.

Truckers Favorite.  Trucker’s Favorite is an heirloom dent corn.  The December 1913 issue of “The Southern Planter” noted that Mr. Charles G. Diessner had received 2^nd prize at a fair for his Truckers Favorite corn.  Mention of it was found in 1905 in a publication by the University of Maryland, “Control Series”.

“There is no early garden corn so extensively grown in the South as Trucker’s Favorite corn.  It is much hardier than any sugar corn and can be planted weeks earlier, and is ready for the table or market in about 70 days.  Although not a sugar corn, it makes the finest roasting ears.” – T. W. Woods Seed Co.  1938.

It can be eaten fresh or dried for flour or meal.  Sources describe it as heat tolerant, thus its popularity in the hot humid South.  Seed are available from My Patriot Supply, Sustainable Seed Co., Gurney’s, St. Clare’s Seeds, etc.

May your soil be fertile, your crop abundant, and your meals truly blissful, Vickie (The Historic Foodie).  ©

2016 Gardening Plans

Tags

garden seed

I am using last year’s full scale garden as a baseline from which to increase my success rate by choosing seed varieties better suited to my climate and disease resistant in order to lessen the damage from plant diseases that exist in such an environment. I live in the lower South which means hot humid summers and generally a shortage of rainfall during the hot months when it’s needed the worst. I’ve done a great deal of research to find varieties that are disease resistant, tend to suffer less damage from insects, and which were bred to produce in hot climates. Those parameters narrowed my choices, but those I’ve chosen will hopefully produce increased yields.

CORN. Last year I planted Golden Bantam and Peaches and Cream at two week intervals over about a month and a half. The corn was not uniform in sprouting and didn’t seem to pollinate as well as it should have, some of it not producing anything. In hind sight I should have watered it more but my research indicates the sugar enhanced varieties seem more plagued with these problems. This year I’m planting an old standard – Silver Queen which is a standard sweet corn. Most sources refer to it, and other standard sweet corn varieties, as a vigorous plant and a reliable producer.

There are three types of sweet corn:
(SU) is the oldest of the sweet corns, it contains more sugar than field corn, but less than the next two types. Su corns are open-pollinated meaning one can save seed from this year’s crop for next year’s planting. (They are not hybrid seed). Silver Queen is a white su variety. I toyed with the idea of planting Country Gentleman and Stowell’s Evergreen and will eventually try both. Su corns also come in multi-colored varieties, particularly of interest to me were Black Mexican/Aztec and Bloody Butcher.

(SE) is sweeter than su, but less hardy. Peaches and cream is an se corn and Silver King is an se version of the su Silver Queen.

(sh2) is a supersweet corn with 4 to 10 times the sugar content of su corn. It is even less hardy than se corn, requiring higher germination temperatures and more care with planting depth. I did not consider anything beyond these three and limited myself to only the su varieties.

I plan to soak my seed corn in clean water overnight before planting to speed the germination process and lessen the chance of rot. Sweet corn benefits from slightly shaking the stalks to release pollen onto the silks or brushing the tassels then the silks to help with pollination, and the sections where I did this last year did produce better.

When preparing the corn for freezing one can cut the kernels off the raw ears and scrape the cobs for creamy corn or blanch the whole ears then cut off the kernels for whole kernel corn.

BEANS. Last year I planted Roma bush and wax beans. We had beans to eat but I didn’t plant enough to can any. The Roma beans tended to get tough at a small size which may mean they didn’t receive enough water, but at any rate this year I’m going with old stand-by’s. I plan to do bush beans for a bumper crop to can and pole beans which will hopefully continue to bear throughout the summer for fresh eating.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (and others) advises that green beans do not do well when the temperatures are consistently above 90 degrees. They say that yard long beans, also called asparagus beans, and lima beans do OK in hot weather. I hope to get my beans out early enough and go with an asparagus bean as a later planting.

I’ve chosen the following:

BLUE LAKE 47 BUSH: Burpee lists the first as, “a very flavorful, stringless bean”, and it received pretty good kudos on reviews. It is a “tender” plant meaning it needs warm soil and night time temperatures well above freezing.

KENTUCKY WONDER POLE: an older variety that seems to have stood the test of time. One can save seed for the next year.

I seriously considered Contender, Provider, Rattlesnake, Jade, and green or red asparagus beans and may choose one of them to go along with the two I’ve already purchased.

TOMATOES. While I love the idea of planting heirloom tomatoes, I’ve given up on them for now. I’ve planted them several years now and the plants suffer severely from disease and do not produce tomatoes. Last year I planted the hybrid Atkinson in the garden and had tomatoes to eat and canned a dozen quarts or so while all I got from the 8 or 10 heirlooms in the raised beds was 2 small pear tomatoes.

This year I gave myself some very strict search parameters. 1. Varieties have to be bred for hot climates; and 2. They have to be among the highest ranked with regard to disease resistance. Perhaps thirdly, I considered reviews from people who live in similar climates, expense, and availability. The Atkinson, bred by Auburn U. is resistant to only Fusarium wilt and nematodes. I think I can do better this year.

Besides Atkinson, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s list of disease resistance includes:
Early Girl: VF
Better Boy: V, F, N, AS, St
Celebrity: V, F1,1, N, TMV, AS, St
Park’s Whopper: V, F, N, TMV
Park’s Whopper Improved: V, F1,2, N, TMV
Big Beef: AS, F1,2, L, N, TMV, V, St
BHN-444: F1,2, V, TSWV, TMV
BHN-640: TSWV, V, F1,2, N, TMV, AS, St
Amelia: TSWV, F1,2,3, V, N, St
Floralina: F1,2,3, V1, AS, St
Florida 47 (heat set): AS, V1,2, St
Florida 91, AS, St, V, F1,2
Mountain Fresh Plus: F1,2,3, N, TMV, V1,2, EB
Mountain Spring: V, F1,2, St
Mountain Crest V, F1,2
Quincy F1,2, V, TSWV
Crista: V1, F1,2,3, TSWV, N
Beefmaster: V, F, N, AS, St
First Lady: AS, F1,2, N, TMV, V
Sun Leaper: F1,2, St, V
Patio: F1, AS, St
Solar Fire: V, F1,2,3, St
Quick Pick: V, F1, N, TMV
Estiva: F1,2, TMV, V

So far I’ve ordered Better Boy and Big Beef, both indeterminate varieties, meaning they will continue to grow and produce until frost. Determinate, on the other hand, means the vines will have a burst of growth, bear a heavy crop, and then be done for the summer. People who can a lot of tomatoes like them to ripen all at once and prefer determinate varieties. I’m considering for my next order Celebrity, BHN-640, Amelia, Mountain Fresh Plus, Crista, First Lady, Florida 91, or Solar Fire (also heat set) with Amelia, BHN-640, and Mountain Fresh Plus or Solar Fire receiving more serious consideration. The best choice in a paste tomato seems to be Muriel: V, F1,2, N, AS, BKS, TSWV.

I have plenty of pickles and relish made last year so I want a good slicing cucumber. The slim Japanese eggplant didn’t do nearly as well as the larger Black Beauty which bore fruit until frost. I’m going with Green Arrow peas and when those come up I’ll probably replace them with Lady cream peas. My potatoes had a wonderful flavor but I got them out late so the harvest wasn’t as bountiful as I would have liked. This year I’m going with just round red potatoes and get them in the ground earlier. My purple top turnips did well so I’m sticking with those. I purchased seed from Landis Valley’s heritage seed program for Pennsylvania Crookneck Squash (supposed to have some resistance to bugs), ground cherry, and salsify which should just about fill the available space.

Anyone in a similar climate please feel free to leave a comment on varieties you’ve had success with or growing tips you’d like to share. Enjoy your gardens and Blissful Meals. – The Historic Foodie ©

V = Verticillium Wilt
F or F1 = Fusarium Wilt, Race 1
F2 = Fusarium Wilt, Race 2
F3 = Fusarium Wilt Race 3
St = Stemphylium (gray leaf spot)
EB = Early Blight
N = Nematodes
TMV = Tomato Mosaic Virus
TSWV = Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
AS = Alternaria Stem Canker
BKS = Bacterial Speck