Mother ordered her beets from a market gardener and he brought them to her fresh. Mother always asked for the very, very small ones.
Adelaide cooked the beets until she could pierce them easily with a silver fork, plunged them into cold water, peeled and filled two sterilized pint jars. The half cup of vinegar, the fourth cup of sugar, and the cup of water, were put in a saucepan. Adelaide placed it over the fire and let it come to the boiling point.
After boiling the mixture for two minutes, Adelaide filled the jars to overflowing with the syrup. Inserting a silver knife between the beets and the jar she let all air bubbles rise to the top and break. To fit on a new rubber smoothly, seal the jar quickly and stand it upside down out of the way of any draft, was the work of but a moment.
The next morning Adelaide wiped the outside of the jar with a damp cloth, examined it carefully to see that it did not leak, pasted on the label and stored the jar in the preserve closet.
Pickled Onions No. 1
| Onions (very small), | 1 quart |
| Salt, | ½ cup |
| Water (cold), | 2 quarts |
| Vinegar, | 1 cup |
| Mixed spices (whole), | ¼ small package |
This recipe was one that had been given to Adelaide's mother by a dear old friend. The onions were just the common variety but very small, not much larger than a good sized cherry.
Adelaide poured boiling water on the onions, as it made them easier to peel, then she let the cold water run into the pan all the time she was peeling them. This was to prevent her wasting precious tears. The little sharp knife was the best one to use.
A quart of onions does not sound very big, but before Adelaide finished peeling them she thought she would never come to the end, there seemed so many.
Into a large saucepan she measured two quarts of cold water and one-half a cup of salt, then added the onions.