Where To Put It All

I've been "putting food by" this summer.    A bounty of tomatoes given to me by friend Kale, resulted in 18, yes 18, jars of canned tomatoes and 5 jars of tomato jam (a new treat for me).    

They looked good on the kitchen counter, but they couldn't stay there forever.   

And so, I did as my mother did and my grandmother did -- to the basement went the canned goods.

In the big old house I grew up in, there was a fruit cellar.    Part of the basement that had slat walls (for ventilation) and long rows of shelves to hold canned goods.     My parents didn't build it, it came with the house but my mother utilized it for the canned foods that she "put by" every summer.

In the heat of summer, the fruit cellar was a good place to play for it was like a little play house and my brother and I would spend time in this little "house".    We left the canning equipment and fruit jars alone, never broke anything and so mother either didn't know we played in the fruit cellar (unlikely) or since we didn't play with the jars, she left us alone.

Linderhof doesn't have a fruit cellar but in the basement we do have one of the 1940s kitchen cabinets hanging from the wall.    It's not big, but then neither is my canning.    When cleaned, it was perfect for the jars of tomatoes.

Home canned tomatoes and jam for the winter

There's room for expansion, in case I want to can something else (like pickles or peaches) and I moved the home canned jellies down there as well.    The five little jars on the right are my tomato jam.    The rest are jars that were gifts.

Looking at the shelves of canned goods, I am quite satisfied at the "fruits" of my labor!    What a treat these will be this winter.