Plus, a recipe for Snow Pudding once beloved at Mt.A
I have been meaning to put pen to paper for some time now and Jaya has patiently been waiting for me to draft an article. I had wonderful intentions of doing something in September but here we are on the precipice of December. Following a face-to-face meeting earlier in the last week of November, I began to think about a topic to explore and fortunately an inquiry from earlier this week came to mind.
The researcher asked about seasonal traditions in Sackville. So, I went to my trusty database and put in some keywords that might elicit some ideas. One of the images that I found was a horse drawn sleigh in a winter landscape.
It’s the type of thing that evokes memories of the season and takes you back to your childhood. You can almost hear those bells jingling and see your breath in the air as you travel into that snow-covered whiteness.
I also found images of a group of men loading fir trees off horse-drawn carts into train cars at the Dorchester railway station bound for export. The silviculture business continues to thrive in the Maritimes. Where I grew up in Nova Scotia, they started loading boats with trees early in November to supply evergreens to the United States market.
I also found images of party goers wearing those silly paper hats enjoying seasonal festivities and potentially enjoying chicken bones or barley toys. I realize that these are weird names for candy but if you have not experienced them you might want to give them a try.
I also discovered a cute artwork created by Bessie Almira (née Young) Bowden (1870-1959). She attended the Mount Allison Ladies’ College and graduated with a diploma in household science in 1905. She became the first teacher of Home Economics in New Brunswick when she taught at the Macdonald Consolidated School in Kingston, N.B. later that same year.
I suspect that she taught generations of students many of the recipes that we associate with this time of the year. In this part of the world, there are many seasonal food traditions that are unique to the Maritimes. Two examples include turkey featuring bread and potato stuffing with summer savoury or on the South Shore of Nova Scotia Solomon gundy (pickled herring on crackers with apple slices and sour cream is wonderful).
If you are thinking about desserts there are myriad versions of shortbread cookies or perhaps an East Coast gum drop cake. I remember the quizzical look on the faces of my co-workers in Toronto when I mentioned it in the 1990s. They coaxed me into baking one and were amazed at the weight of the finished loaf. They were also grateful that I did not include licorice gum drops… a definite faux pas.
In Sackville, a recipe that was traditionally taught to Home Economics students and later became a dessert staple at the Marshlands Inn on Bridge Street was snow pudding. It’s a wonderful, light lemony treat. It’s the perfect way to conclude a heavy seasonal meal!
Snow pudding recipe:
Ingredients: unflavoured gelatin, sugar, water, lemon, eggs
- Mix together well: 1 ½ pkg unflavoured gelatin, 1 cup sugar
Add: 1 ½ cups boiling water, grated rind of 1 lemon, ¼ cup lemon juice
Let this set until very thick but NOT hard. It needs to be more than syrupy in thickness or it will settle out in a layer at the bottom of the dish when the next step is done.
- Separate 3 large eggs. Beat egg whites until very stiff.
Beat gelled lemon mixture for a minute or two. It should be very frothy. Add beaten egg whites and combine. Pour into a clear glass bowl and garnish with fresh fruit if desired. Chill before serving.
(With permission of Genie (Trueman) Coates – Class of 1968)
If you feel adventurous, give this recipe a try. I think that you’ll enjoy this taste of Sackville!
I hope that the balance of your term goes well and that during your time away that you get an opportunity to reminisce about your own traditions or potentially create new ones. It’s a great time of year to relax and recharge.