Fruit cheeses, vinegars and syrups

Urban housewives consider themselves lucky to have any sort of larder, and often have to make do with a cupboard to store tins and dry goods. But the farmer’s wife usually has a walk-in larder, and a large pantry as well. A well-stocked pantry is a source of pride. Visitors are often invited to take a look round the pantry, especially in autumn when it is brimming with row upon row of the new season’s jams, fruit cheeses, curds, syrups and vinegars—not to speak of pickles, chutneys, sauces and battalions of bottled fruit. This is done in just the same spirit that a town housewife invites you to admire her new curtains or television set, and is expected to excite admiring sighs of envy and polite congratulations.