Oh jello recipes ! I have some stories of those coming up lol.
As to relish, there was another relish I grew up with, but I never considered it a relish. Each Thanksgiving we had two kinds of cranberries on the table - the jelled stuff right out the can and then a concoction of cranberrries and oranges which, it turns out, is technically a relish!
Thanks for sharing your memories, Ruth! How’s the road trip going?
What an entertaining piece, Lori! No one made relishes in my family that I know of, but there were many recipes passed down that reflected the dishes, convenience foods and entertainment norms of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s that influenced my mother and her friends—jello molds (with cottage cheese!), casseroles made with canned soups, elaborate dips and the same waste-not, want-not philosophy you describe.
I’m not a huge fan of relishes except for pickle relish on hotdogs or in tuna salad. I do love mustard and pickles, but most relishes are too sweet for my taste. However, sour pickles, sauerkraut and kimchee do hit the spot. I also like to try to recreate some of the old recipes but update—maybe less sugar and salt, more fresh ingredients.
I share your love of community cookbooks. During my annual kitchen pantry and bookshelf cleanup, I organized a section just for community recipe collections. Those books tend to be my go-to when I want to try something new to me, but that has been made and enjoyed countless times by families from all over the country.
J-E-L-L-O! A little piece of magic from my childhood.
Relish! I just started a series of Accoutrements on my stack called TASTE | Pacific Northwest. Check out our Red Pepper-Shallot Relish.
Ketchup! We started making our own ketchup as an extension of slow roasting big fat, local sauce tomatoes called Astiana. Check out our Tomato Ketchup!
This piece triggered the memory of my grandmother's German relish. I'm going to have to see if we have the recipe for it. It was always served with brats at family reunions. It had a sweet and sour taste and I recall a combination of mustard, peppers, onions, sugar, and I'm guessing vinegar.
That’s wonderful and thanks for sharing your memory! My main goal for this newsletter is to do just that - use my own food stories and memories to spark memories and stories in others.
Did your grandma’s relish include sauerkraut? I have one that does.
Here’s the one I have, although it doesn’t sound like what you remember/
Cranberry ‘Kraut Relish
4 cups fresh cranberries, 2 cups drained sauerkraut, ½ cup sugar.
Put cranberries through food chopper. Cut sauerkraut into short lengths. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill for several hours before serving.
Love this dive into the relish annals—there’s a restaurant here in Phoenix that still serves relish trays. Such basic offerings that feel so fancy in their silver finery!
As always, I learned something interesting about American cooking! I too only grew up knowing jarred pickle relish, which was sweet and only put on hotdogs and hamburgers. I have started doing quick pickles of different vegetables to add to grain bowls. Now I am inspired to make some of these relishes to accompany other dishes.
My favorite was Last of the Garden relish. My grandma usually had some on hand. I remember the beans in it, but don’t remember the rest of the ingredients. Good memories.
Oh jello recipes ! I have some stories of those coming up lol.
As to relish, there was another relish I grew up with, but I never considered it a relish. Each Thanksgiving we had two kinds of cranberries on the table - the jelled stuff right out the can and then a concoction of cranberrries and oranges which, it turns out, is technically a relish!
Thanks for sharing your memories, Ruth! How’s the road trip going?
What an entertaining piece, Lori! No one made relishes in my family that I know of, but there were many recipes passed down that reflected the dishes, convenience foods and entertainment norms of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s that influenced my mother and her friends—jello molds (with cottage cheese!), casseroles made with canned soups, elaborate dips and the same waste-not, want-not philosophy you describe.
I’m not a huge fan of relishes except for pickle relish on hotdogs or in tuna salad. I do love mustard and pickles, but most relishes are too sweet for my taste. However, sour pickles, sauerkraut and kimchee do hit the spot. I also like to try to recreate some of the old recipes but update—maybe less sugar and salt, more fresh ingredients.
I share your love of community cookbooks. During my annual kitchen pantry and bookshelf cleanup, I organized a section just for community recipe collections. Those books tend to be my go-to when I want to try something new to me, but that has been made and enjoyed countless times by families from all over the country.
They are such fun and provide such a time capsule look into time and place, especially when they include the recipes of family!
I’ve never been a fan of relish, but I love that others are and that you wrote about it. Is that weird?
J-E-L-L-O! A little piece of magic from my childhood.
Relish! I just started a series of Accoutrements on my stack called TASTE | Pacific Northwest. Check out our Red Pepper-Shallot Relish.
Ketchup! We started making our own ketchup as an extension of slow roasting big fat, local sauce tomatoes called Astiana. Check out our Tomato Ketchup!
Here's link to the site. https://lnaylor.substack.com
Very cool - I’ll check them out. Thanks for the links! I have several old cookbooks dedicated to ketchup - spoiler alert very few are tomato-based.
Wow. I’m intrigued.
This piece triggered the memory of my grandmother's German relish. I'm going to have to see if we have the recipe for it. It was always served with brats at family reunions. It had a sweet and sour taste and I recall a combination of mustard, peppers, onions, sugar, and I'm guessing vinegar.
That’s wonderful and thanks for sharing your memory! My main goal for this newsletter is to do just that - use my own food stories and memories to spark memories and stories in others.
Did your grandma’s relish include sauerkraut? I have one that does.
Yes! That was a key ingredient. Wow...I haven't had that relish in probably 20 years, but I do recall the kraut!
Here’s the one I have, although it doesn’t sound like what you remember/
Cranberry ‘Kraut Relish
4 cups fresh cranberries, 2 cups drained sauerkraut, ½ cup sugar.
Put cranberries through food chopper. Cut sauerkraut into short lengths. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill for several hours before serving.
Love this dive into the relish annals—there’s a restaurant here in Phoenix that still serves relish trays. Such basic offerings that feel so fancy in their silver finery!
Lovely and what a throwback! I feel like relishes and pretty relish trays are gonna come back - what about you?
As always, I learned something interesting about American cooking! I too only grew up knowing jarred pickle relish, which was sweet and only put on hotdogs and hamburgers. I have started doing quick pickles of different vegetables to add to grain bowls. Now I am inspired to make some of these relishes to accompany other dishes.
My favorite was Last of the Garden relish. My grandma usually had some on hand. I remember the beans in it, but don’t remember the rest of the ingredients. Good memories.