Vacation Post #2: Souvenirs

While on vacation, I tried to find some Carolina Gold rice, but interestingly, places were sold out. My quest for rice led me to a roadside tourist trap called the Carolina Cider Company, where I bought a book, my only souvenir from vacation. It is Putting Up: A Year-Round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition, by Stephen Palmer Dowdney. It is a pretty nice companion to the Ball Blue Book, and it has great seasonal recipes like Jerusalem artichoke relish and a green tomato soup. Southern recipes have a mystique to them, at least in my opinion they do, because many seem to be associated with a person’s name, like Aunt Frances’ Bread and Butter Pickles or Aunt Sue’s Dilly Beans, and there is always that secret ingredient or technique that only they know about. I’m hoping that I can recreate some of these recipes and form my own family tradition-Grandma Bev’s Blueberry Marmelade, for example. I’ll post the recipes here as I try them. If you don't live near Yemassee, SC, you can order the book from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Putting-Up-Seasonal-Southern-Tradition/dp/1423602803
Realize that this book advocates traditional canning methods, and uses the hot water bath canner to can food after the food has been acidified by adding citric acid. This is counter to the advice that the USDA advises for canning low acid foods, just so you know.