"Snag" wrote in message
FarmI wrote:
"Snag" wrote in message
...
FarmI wrote:
"Snag" wrote in message

My
non-drinking Mormon Granny had a patch of hops in the back yard . I
have no idea why or what she used them for , but she wouldn't have
let them grow if she didn't have a use for 'em .

The tips of the hops are edible and the hop flowers are used when
making home made yeast. Did she bake her own bread?

Not only her own , she was a cook at the local high school for many
years . I've heard she was very good , I do know that Sunday Dinner
at Granny's house was something I never missed willingly .

As you say, she wouldn't have grown them if she didn't have a use for
them so now I'm wondering about that bread. Do you know if she made
her own yeast? Can you remember if she had a pottery crock or a
bottle that she set in a warm place and in which she made her yeast
using hops, potato, flour and sugar? She wouldn't have refrigerated
it and it isn't a sourdough - it's a hop yeast that is quite and old
fashioned recipe.

She may very well have made her own yeast , but I was a small child at
that time . I do remember a pottery crock that she made pickles in .
Crunchy dills , and some of the best "bread and butter" pickles you ever
ate .
I
wish we had her recipes , but Dad's brother snatched all that when she
passed . Along with a lot of other stuff .

Are relations with that line of the family strained or cordial enough for
you to contact whoever now has the recipes and ask if you can copy them?

Even if you don't want to do that, I'm sure you would still be able to find
recipes for the same things she made on the Net. I collect old cookbooks
(in a casual and desultory way) a nd I know those sorts of recipes and
others I'm sure she'd also have made appear in early to mid 20th century
cookbooks.