Stocking Food for Winter
When I was young, in Tehran, the world was so very different. We did not have the luxury of procuring every kind of fruits and vegetables we desired at any time and at all seasons. Produce was not flown from all over the world to satisfy our appetites. We did not have the state of the art freezers and refrigerators we have now. At first we had ice boxes that cooled our food with blocks of ice, delivered daily wrapped in jute. Later on, we had a Frigidaire. We had many different methods of preserving foods for future use.
In my family, we used to have an orchard in Karaj, a village an hour or so away from Tehran. The caretaker and his family lived there. Several times during the summer, the caretaker would bring us whatever fruits that had ripened – strawberries, apricots, peaches, pears, cherries, apples.
The fruits were separated into two groups, some for everyday consumption and the surplus transformed into various other uses. The apples and pears were turned into jam, sour cherries were candied and dried. The apricots and peaches were turned into fruit leather, a time-consuming job involving the whole family. Every few weeks, something else would be prepared for winter. The most important seemed to be the tomato paste, with kilos and kilos of tomatoes being stored in ceramic jars.
We also made our own pickles and sherbets. The bottles of syrup lined up on shelves in the storage room, waiting to be diluted for a refreshing beverage. Every Friday afternoon in winter, Mama and her girls would bake a cake for the family tea time. Those moments were cherished times of togetherness and joy.
The winter get-togethers were special with cake, jams, and sweet treats. The adults enjoyed their tea while the children played and occasionally put up plays. Each winter, Maryam, Nargess, and Robabeh had their own cozy spot with a korsi, where they snacked and shared stories while staying warm.
As an old woman now, reminiscing about those days brings back the carefree and magical memories of a happy childhood spent with my family.