The Dandy

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 4:35 pm

Johnny39 wrote: BarFly wrote: Jogon wrote: What was that cucumber in vinegar thing? Never liked it. Do you mean gherkins? I love them. No Barfly, gherkins were for special occasions. What it was, at least in our house was thin slices of cucumber put into a glass boat, which everyone seemed to have back then, and then drowned in vinegar. The cucumber was left to soak in the vinegar and then forked out on to your salad. I suppose really it was just a type of home made condiment. I hope I've explained it O.K., I'm going back to the 40's/50's when sauces and the like were in short supply so I suppose it was a cheap "make do and mend" type of thing. Sorry Jogon, I should have addressed my reply to you as well. I do indeed remember those glass salt-dip things for the celery. We also used to cut the part where the stalks joined the root into four pieces and this, for some unknown reason, was almost considered a delicacy.

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 4:48 pm

Johnny39 wrote: No Barfly, gherkins were for special occasions. What it was, at least in our house was thin slices of cucumber put into a glass boat, which everyone seemed to have back then, and then drowned in vinegar. The cucumber was left to soak in the vinegar and then forked out on to your salad. I suppose really it was just a type of home made condiment. I hope I've explained it O.K., I'm going back to the 40's/50's when sauces and the like were in short supply so I suppose it was a cheap "make do and mend" type of thing. Ah, we never had that but it sounds like something I might like.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 5:36 pm

JohnnyYou've mined a rich seam here ! I recall mention of the 'delicious middle bit' of the celery stalk (?).To to raise you on the vinegar with cucumber thing:-With Sunday Roast Beef in a glass jug we'd have "onion roughly chopped in malt vinegar". As well as the Beetroot Horseradish. I think the latter is eastern european brought here by early Jewish then Polish settlers to Leeds. Dandy.

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 6:20 pm

Jogon wrote: JohnnyYou've mined a rich seam here ! I recall mention of the 'delicious middle bit' of the celery stalk (?).To to raise you on the vinegar with cucumber thing:-With Sunday Roast Beef in a glass jug we'd have "onion roughly chopped in malt vinegar". As well as the Beetroot Horseradish. I think the latter is eastern european brought here by early Jewish then Polish settlers to Leeds. Dandy. I don't think your a million miles away in your assumption about the chopped onion in vinegar although it's something I've never come across. I think the pickled gherkins mentioned earlier were an eastern European introduction.

Caron · Post by **Caron** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 7:50 pm

My grandma was french. She also put sliced onions and cucumber in vinegar and also tossed lettuce in vinegar.The small glass gravy boats were for mint sauce.

grumpybloke · Post by **grumpybloke** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 9:27 pm

I just Googled "cucumber in vinegar" and there are lots of recipes so it must still be popular.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 15 Aug, 2012 10:26 pm

This is making me hungry, I'm off

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Thu 16 Aug, 2012 6:24 pm

Johnny39 wrote: Jogon - Did you forget the celery stood up in a water-jug and then liberally sprinkled with salt, grrreat! Although I think nowadays a dietitian would go mad. Then there was the radishes and my mother used to slice cucumber and drown it in a glass boat jug with vinegar. Ah! the Sunday tea of years ago. Johnny, that sounds like the basis of our Boxing Day tea which we had every year at my Grandma's house. The other staples of that celebration meal were always ox-tongue (which is still my favourite today) and a jug of dark rum which we used to splash into our very strong tea. Quite a treat for a six year old in the 1960's!

Caron · Post by **Caron** » Thu 16 Aug, 2012 6:29 pm

My grandma lived on Ingram Rd and the cellar was quite big. She had a meat safe in there and often a whole tongue that she used to press herself. They were huge!!

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Thu 16 Aug, 2012 6:41 pm

Bruno wrote: Johnny39 wrote: Jogon - Did you forget the celery stood up in a water-jug and then liberally sprinkled with salt, grrreat! Although I think nowadays a dietitian would go mad. Then there was the radishes and my mother used to slice cucumber and drown it in a glass boat jug with vinegar. Ah! the Sunday tea of years ago. Johnny, that sounds like the basis of our Boxing Day tea which we had every year at my Grandma's house. The other staples of that celebration meal were always ox-tongue (which is still my favourite today) and a jug of dark rum which we used to splash into our very strong tea. Quite a treat for a six year old in the 1960's! "I'm not very hungry Gran, I'll just have a pot of tea, Ta." I bet Boxing Day was a lively affair at your Gran's house Bruno.