Food and recipes Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Here are some simple tips on how to store apples for a long, long...

By Don Fallick Issue #41 •September/October, 1996 Almost any kind of apple will keep for three or four months, or even longer, if stored properly. It's cheap and easy to do. All you need is newspaper,...

Seven secrets of Dutch oven cooking

By Roger L. Beattie Issue #47 • September/October, 1997 Squatting heavily in dank basements, drafty attics, and dusty, cluttered garages, these three-legged hulks from a bygone era wait impatiently to release their treasures. Until then, they...

You can safely and easily can your own meat

By Jackie Clay Issue #105 • May/June, 2007 Of all the foods I can every year, the most useful is the wide variety of meats. While we aren't huge meat eaters, these rows and rows of...

Preserving plums

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve read that the Chinese believe plums symbolize good luck; perhaps that’s why plums are one of the most cultivated fruits on earth. (Or maybe it’s just that...

Oregon Grape Jam

By Joyce Lindsey O’Keefe Website Exclusive • August, 2008 Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) bushes are native to the West Coast from northern California to British Columbia. They are the state flower of Oregon. The bushes come...

Harvesting the wild: Acorns

By Jackie Clay Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 When I was just a little girl, I used to collect acorns by the boxfull as they fell in the fall. I didn't know why. They just felt...

Making dandelions palatable

By John Kallas, Ph.D Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 We've heard stories about how good dandelions are. What one usually hears from enthusiastic wild food promoters is, "All you need to do is find very young...

Hunting, processing, and serving black bear

By Linda Gabris Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 Bear was a popular meat in our house when I was growing up in the rural woods. Black bear was Grandpa's favorite big game animal to hunt and...

Start your food storage on $10 a week

By Alan T. Hagan Issue #59 • September/October, 1999 If Old Mother Hubbard had had a food storage program before she went to her cupboard her poor dog would have gotten his bone. Given the fact...

Canned bacon — Roll your own

By Enola Gay Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 I have to admit, I am somewhat of an extreme canner. I love to can unusual thingscanned foods you just don't find on everyone's shelves. My latest canning...

The enchanting Chanterelle — Gourmet goodies free from the forest

By Devon Winter Issue #101 • September/October, 2006 They're prized by the world's top chefs. They're served in the most elegant restaurants. You'll pay a pretty penny for them at farmers' markets. Yet they're abundant and...

Just for Kids: Some pioneer recipes

By Lucy Shober Issue #30 • November/December, 1994 Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color. When I was a little girl, I used to visit my grandfather's home town in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. He...

Make grape juice the easy way

By Tanya Kelley Issue #41 • September/October, 1996 Squeezing and straining grapes for grape juice was not exactly my idea of fun. So when my neighbor showed me a faster, easier method, I was delighted. For...

Picking and preserving the wild plum

By Bill Weekes Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 The wild plum is a fickle fruit, ripening any time between late spring and late summer. It comes in a bunch of colors, shapes, and sizes. Some are...

Solar Food Drying

By Marcella Shaffer Issue #58 • July/August, 1999 The oldest known method of food preservation is drying food using the heat from the sun. Unfortunately it has become the least used as freezers and pressure canners...

Canning 101 — Pickles, fruits, jams, jellies, etc.

By Jackie Clay Issue #53 • September/October, 1998 For some reason, (definitely unknown to me) canning, as a method of very long term food storage, fell into disuse. Maybe it's the hurry/rush syndrome many folks have...