Preserving

It's not often I feel the urge to do some preserving. On the whole I feel you can buy some perfectly adequate ones, even if they're not so distinctive ones, ready made for considerably less price. However, today the urge has overcome me. The kitchen is full of the smell of vinegar. I'm having a go at making my own version of tomato ketchup. At present it looks very thin, but in another hour's time, it hopefully should be looking much thicker & more interesting. It certainly should be quite spicy with the amount of cayenne & other spices I've put into it.

The Fox thinks I'm nuts. After all we don't use that much tomato ketchup, & when we do, it's usually mixed in with other ingredients so you won't taste the difference. I'm hoping he'll change his opinion when he tastes the end result. I'm sure what's put in the bottle/jar will last. It's got plenty of sugar & vinegar to preserve it. And it may just be the sort of extra special sauce that we would like to use more often.

The recipe is from "The Olio Cookery Book" which the Fox has referred to a few times in his blog. This ancient cookbook, dating from the early fifties & the time of post war rationing in this country, has sayings on the bottom of the page. Often I'm left bemused by what they mean. Today's saying is "Depend not on fortune, but conduct". Now what does that mean?

I'm also bemused by a recipe on the facing page for Top Hole Sauce. What an earth is that? It gives no quantities. It seems to be a mixture of vinegar, salt, spices, sugar, anchovies, onions & mashed potatoes. Odd. It sounds a bit like mashed potatoes flavoured with Worcestershire sauce. It just says to make a nice consistency, so maybe there's supposed to be less potato so the potato is just used as a thickening agent. Your guess is as good as mine. The thought on that page continues the fortune theme with "Seek fortune, do not wait for a stroke of luck".