continuities

[kaberett]

On the left: a modern Bart jar labelled cardamom, tall and cylindrical with the stacked black lids. It's empty, labelled 22g and Best Before End Oct 2017 on its square stickers, not that you can see that in the photo. On the right, shorter and generally rounder, with a much simpler green lid, is a jar of Bart cardamom dating from, probably, the mid-nineties. The label is round and scalloped and definitely, at this point, looking charmingly dated. It's mostly full; dspite being an awful lot smaller it contains 30g of spice. It's got a reduced sticker on it.

On the reduced sticker, in probably-my-grandmother's-hand, also not pictured, is written AROMATIC // TRY WITH CURRY RICE OR FRUIT PIES. The price has been changed from "159" to "106".

When we were clearing out the mouldering ancestral pile, a lot of the food had to be binned. The untouched unopened spice jars, bought at cut price, were fine, though. In addition to this one, I've got another jar or two of cardamom in the pantry.

My cousins, various, have decided that Kardemummebullar are The Best Thing Ever, which means I'm making quite a lot of them, which means that I am in fact getting through cardamom quite rapidly. It's still good; it's still aromatic; I'm using it. I've a pan of milk with twenty pods in on the stove, and tomorrow I'll grind the seeds from another fifty in the ancestral spice mill.

On this day in 2010 we held Mama's funeral. Tomorrow I've two godcousins and another of her grandchildren coming over. I'll feed them and we'll probably end up singing at least a bit and Adam might well paint their nails. (The first time I ever had my nails painted, it was Mama who did it, in the big armchair we've now got rid of in the attic sitting room, with newspaper on the floor and a gale outside.)

For now I'll put the bread and then myself to bed.

Comments

[brainwane]

This was touching. Thank you.

[vass]

<3

[rugessnome]

Aw shoot--when we cleaned out my grandmother's house about three years ago, I photographed some of the old spices (also jello boxes, I think)--but did not take any because 1) they were of uncertain provenence, perhaps even dating back to the 80s or 70s* 2) and mostly in tins or even paperboard rather than glass 3) her house was ...kind of musty and dusty.

(I also remain upset that I wanted to take a brownie recipe from an old molasses jar, but someone threw it out before I went back to the cupboard :P)

But don't mind my less happy thoughts; enjoy your cardamom & Kardemummebullar.

*look, the McCormick ones didn't resemble the 90s jars lingering in my mom's cupboard when I was a kid

[lunabee34]

I wouldn't have expected the spices to last that long; I'm glad you're able to use them. *hugs*

[worlds_of_smoke]

♥

[silveradept]

The echoes of the past show up in the most interesting places. It sounds like this continuity is a welcome one.

[sylvaine]

It is so cool that those spices are still flavorful.