Part Four

Enjoying Your Harvest The Year Round

Gather the gifts of Earth with equal hand; Henceforth ye too may share the birthright soil, The corn, the wine, and all the harvest-home.

—E.C. Stedman, “The Feast of Harvest”

Once the harvest is in, the next job is to make sure it does not go to waste. Countryfolk call this process putting by: storing up today’s surplus against tomorrow’s shortage. Putting by is a happy skill because most of the old-time methods of preservation add delicious flavors to the food. Nowadays, such products as cheese, yogurt, smoked meat, sauerkraut, pickles, and jams and jellies are prepared more for their taste than because they keep well on the shelf. In “Enjoying Your Harvest the Year Round” all the ways to put food by are explained along with plenty of delicious recipes that will add special tang to the preserved foods. There are instructions on maple sugaring too and detailed descriptions and recipes for making cheese, pickles, sausage, and more. Finally, directions for making homemade bread are described and illustrated along with a simple recipe for white bread that can be used as a base for all kinds of bread making adventures.