Salal Jelly How to make salal jelly continues a BCFHN blog from May of 2018 on the topic of salal, https://www.bcfoodhistory.ca/salal/. I was inspired by a patch of salal under a stand of cedar trees close to where I live on Vancouver Island and intended to follow up with a post on salal jelly when […]
Archive | Food Preservation
John S. Deas – First BC Commercial Salmon Cannery
John S. Deas – First BC Commercial Salmon Cannery I’ve enjoyed many walks on the trails of Deas Island Regional Park but only recently learned that the Park took its name from John Sullivan Deas (1838 – 1880), a founder of the salmon canning industry in British Columbia. He started canning in 1871 and […]
Seville Oranges and Dundee Marmalade
By Mary Leah de Zwart on March 10, 2020 in Food Preservation, Heritage foods and recipes, Innovations and Inventions in Food History
Seville Oranges and Dundee Marmalade Oranges do not have to be from Seville and marmalade doesn’t have to be made in Dundee, Scotland. Yet, marmalade that’s not made with bitter oranges runs the risk of being just “orange jam”. And Dundee marmalade began in 1790 when a Dundonian, James Keiller, bought rotting Spanish oranges (either […]
Plum puddings and Proust
By Mary Leah de Zwart on December 15, 2019 in Food Preservation, Food preservation and food safety, Food writers, Heritage foods and recipes
Plum puddings and Proust Marcel Proust ate a madeleine – and a flood of memories resulted in a deep philosophical text about making memory conscious through one’s senses. In fact the madeleine has become a symbol of memories that arise unintentionally. The practicalities of baking give another dimension to memories, requiring skill, equipment and for […]
What’s Making Food History – 10/21/2019
Food safety’s in the news again. See these links about very recent recalls and admonishments to food safety leaders not to take food safety for granted. (thanks KB for the first two links) Drawing the line in food safety: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/10/letter-from-the-editor-when-to-draw-the-line/ Whole Foods E-coli recall: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/10/more-beef-recalled-for-e-coli-risk-this-time-its-whole-foods-market/ And here is a story from Atlas Obscura about The […]
Indigenous Food Practices 1875-76
Indigenous Food Practices 1875-76 The careful observations of an early geologist in British Columbia provide a unique window into how BC’s Indigenous peoples lived local and off the land. My reading has recently taken me to The Journals of George M. Dawson: British Columbia, 1875-1878. The Journals are two volumes edited by Douglas Cole and […]
Enjoying Apples
By Linda Peterat on September 29, 2018 in BC agriculture, Food in History, Food Preservation, Heritage foods and recipes
Enjoying Apples It’s apple harvest time in the Okanagan. The orchards are beautiful with ripe apples and the farmers’ markets offer many varieties for sale. I am fascinated by the way apples have been marketed over the years and the traces of attitudes and beliefs that remain today about apples as a result of […]
Butter-making
Butter-making Butter-making used to be a mark of excellent housekeeping for farm women. It requires close attention to sanitation and methodical treatment, from the way the cow is milked to the removal of liquid in the final working of the end product. It is both a science and an art and has been part of […]
Sun-Rype of Kelowna
“Deep roots, strong branches, the history of Sun-Rype” began as a memoir by Ian Greenwood who was a manager of new product development and later General Manager for Sun-Rype Products Ltd from 1952 – 82. Greenwood embeds his memories in a history of orchards in the Okanagan starting with Father Pandosy in 1859, Lord and […]
“Let’s Serve Canned Salmon”
“Let’s Serve Canned Salmon” was a recipe booklet promoting BC canned salmon developed by the Home Economics Section, Department of Fisheries, Ottawa. In addition to the booklet, there was a filmstrip that could be borrowed by home economics teachers and women’s organizations “free of charge.” The booklet reflects the time when the Canadian Government promoted […]