Pickles and Cured Meats

Time was the key which made the household kitchen run. We stretched it by making preserves and pickles, and shortened it with simple recipes. In the making of preserves themselves there was anticipation, and in the tasting, recollection. “Wash pork liver and cut it into long strips. In each strip cut a gash along its length, and place a strip of fat pork in it. Run a string through the strips and hang them up in a cold windy place until they are dry and stiff. Then immerse the liver in kaoliang (sorghum) wine and seal it tightly. In the following year, steam it with sugar, salt and sesame oil, and serve it in slices, cold.”