On Being q
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
‘Tis the season for family
For renewing traditions For
using the family heirlooms
And so I had fished this heir
loom from its almost-forgotten
spot mdi'T kitchen cupboard,
wiped oh dust which had accu
mulated on it and pondered its
history What takes could be told
by this simple,yet beautiful, util
itarian tool 9
It’s made of solid wood, prob
ably pine, with carefully crafted
handles which fit comfortably in
the hand. Natural oils from the
process of food preparation over
the years have polished its
smooth surface and aged it to a
soft brown patina
How many pies had this
rolling pm prepared over the
years 9 It had been passed down
to us by a great-aunt, not long
after our wedding day, which
had coincided with the wedding
anniversary of the rolling pin’s
previous owner. So, this rolling
pm came with a history, a tradi
tion, and the potential of serving
many more generations
Its well-fitted handles roll
smoothly within their fittings m
the sturdy wooden cylinder,
making the rolling of dough an
easy task But even with an
heirloom rolling pm, make pie
dough “from scratch’’ is a labor
intensive tradition And so I
don’t bake many But this was
for pumpkin pie baking, not just
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a seasonal favorite but a special
treat beloved by grandson Josh
Having their family back
home to share the holidays with
is a special reason to renew
some traditions that had fallen
by the wayside in recent years
Thus, this year’s holiday pump
kin pies are steeped in tradition
including the “butchering” of one
of the giant pumpkins (actually
a squash variety) we’d grown
between the dairy barns
Cooked, pureed and ready for
use, the pumpkin provided lots
of fresh pie material and oodles
left over to freeze
The pies even baked m
stoneware pie pans which had
been gifts early m our marriage
and which, with luck, (meaning I
won’t drop them on the floor)
will live long lives Hopefully to
go on to become kitchen heir
looms to some succeeding gener
ation
Does a pumpkin “from
scratch brought into use anoth
er traditional tool, not quite yet
an heirloom, but headed there
My well-worn, discolored-alu
mimun Foley food mill which
looks like a saucepan fit with a
circling blade turned by a hand
crank is the perfect kitchen tool
for pureemg cooked pumpkin
chunks The cranked blade
“mushe c ” the softened chunks
into a bright golden puree, while
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separating the tough shell
residue for recycling to compost
Once the food mill had been
dug out of storage, it seemed
natural to utilize it a bit longer
So, while geared up into the food
processing mode, I tackled
another kitchen tradition
Waiting for such an occasion
were a couple of bags of assorted
apples, gathered from a friend's
orchard ahead of the last chill
ing frost Kettles filled with
quartered apples, cooking soft in
their steamy heat, filled the
house with a fragrance surpass
ing any synthetic air freshener
Cooked to mush, with their
peels and cores strained out by
the food mill, the applesauce
went into yet more heirlooms,
canning jars we are handing
down through the family. Three
generations of us still do some
home canning, and pass the
glass containers engraved with
Ball (and a few Atlas) quart and
pint jars down from one to
another.
How many more generations
will make use of heirloom rolling
pins and canning jars? As we eat
more meals on the run in our
cars, or devise quickie menus
from an increasing array of
ready-made selections from
supermarket deli departments,
will anyone cook at home m the
future? Or prepare pumpkins or
applesauce from scratch 9
And will anyone really care,
anyway 9
Our grandmothers made
their own soap Pounded clothes
clean on washboards Blackened
the oil lamps and trimmed their
wicks 1 certainly don't care to
utilize heirloom tools made for
those once-common household
task
And our yet-unborn, great
granddaughters (or sons), may
frel the very same way about
rolling pins
. /
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