Hang on or skip this post of a long rambling folks..
W.D.'s Gram's crock. Why wasn't it discarded long ago?
Ice tongs could wait in the barn after the rural electrification brought the magic to homesteads , eventually.. Just for insurance.
Everyone knew how to harvest and store ice.
For that window of time when a properly constructed root cellar and a springhouse were not enough during summers worse.
But , ice of old for putting in drinks or making ice cream was gone.
A market well beyond the U.S. itself for U.S. ice (even to the point a certain area's ice was held in esteem in England at high end events) soured as pollution fouled ice. Yet survival in comfort might be ahead if ice was wanted again...
Food. A good thing to have.
More so during a major weather event when the luxury and convenience of yesterday are gone. From tornado to a blizzard so bad shade trees near a home get thier tops (above the ground due to snow depth) cut off to feed the stove.
No , not due to laziness in stocking up wood for winter ;green wood is not preferred except to bank a fire for the night or when the stove will be unattended a good while. But out of necessity ,if not desperation.
Or during epidemics. Of which North America has seen a few.
Entire families on thier backs. With many dying.
Even entire communities.
Food put by not needing fuss to consume is vital at such times for survivors or the feeble. It may be a kind hearted community member stopping in to help by checking. Then feeding if required and food exists.
Historical accounts exist. I'm not making it up.
The winter without a summer.1816.
Think about a year with no "normal" crops.
By golly , a couple heads of cabbage put by would not have bothered me..
WW1.WW2.
WW1 citizens were encouraged to reduce or even stop the use of wheat and sugar. Our late entry into the war meant we were not affected the way others were. But it was a hint of what was to come.
WW2.
War rationing.
The words mean little today. But to those who experienced it , be well assured they understood having something put by. And of the oldest tradition of , 'makin do,"
Hooray war is over! (WW-1) For now.
Not everyone tossed money out the window or at flappers during the roaring twenties. As the old folks knew , what goes up does not always keep going up.
A great emotional sobriety was to slap a portion of this country with the arrival of the great dust bowl.
Humans can only thrive so much in ceaseless endless dust. Actually , they don't.
And tiptoeing onto the stage after the dustbowls intro? A ten year slide of the great depression. Malnutrition may have set a new record post native American era. Not due to neglect of diet. But of food scarcity . Period.
Historical accounts as ever ,exist.
Enter WW2. Now comes real wartime rationing America.
And generations of folks knowing what it's like to not have. To do without.
To tighten up thier belts till adding notches to tighten it up some more. Or at least to not buy tires.
What's a crock worth?
Well.....
A well waxed wooden bucket goes far.
But buckets have other uses and how many buckets are thrifty folk going to own? Of course they can be made. How many , when you're focus is on food for the winter?
And importantly , can they ( not unlike metal pails or iron kettles) sit unattended without concern in a springhouse or root celler without damage to them or thier contents?
Then too are crockery's charactoristic of thermal mass.
For kraut ,salted brines and saltpork or corned (large grained salt) beef ect. using a weight/rock to seal top plate , or at least keep it sunk below brine , the rock adds more thermal mass.
Meaning...Slower temperature swings.
A good thing when fermenting. A very good thing.
Also a couple warm hours a day during summer in a cellar or springhouse will have less effect on the slower temp change of mass,. And night times cooling will as slowly( like warmings effect did earlier) reduce the warmer stuff in the environment.
Gram knew the crocks qualities.
And multiple uses .
Probably recipes involved , easy like if asked.
And who had that crock fed when?
The crock held insurance. IF used right.
Or just a part of what food was stored for however long depending on a given food or amount or use.
Not many substitutes before plastic for a crock. And plastic might not match the thermal ability.
And making a bucket out of stone while done (as in horse troughs even) , is a luxury of time and labor. If tired hands were up to it.
But disease and war reduced manpower on homesteads.
No reason to expect it not to again.
Having the skill to grow or barter or acquire food and then store some for lean times , during scarcity or illness or natural disasters and events was something you either did , or suffered the consequences.
What other option existed?
And had charity or a handout been available would Gram accept it?
And if it came from other than her hands or her family's , (danged unlikely beyond a neighbor( S) sharing a little of thier own little) would she trust it as secure for tomorrow?
So the crock stayed. Stored safely.
Not just due to grim great depression memories.
But as a valued item for doing things with certain foods.
Besides it's other uses.
Some folks still like to make a good batch of something like kraut. Tradition.
Corned beef brisket from a supermarket?
Brisket is no prime cut to be sure. But a market was found for it....
Corn a good cut of beef. And enjoy a slice of history.
Heck , have some kraut on it on a good homemade rye bread.
And if you bake that bread yourself , help me to ! l.o.l..
Kidding. I'll keep trying.
