Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Tasty? Treats

" Thu, Sept 16, 1926: Yesterday we put up 4 quarts of tomatoes and 2 quarts of ground cherries*. Then Ma & I went over to the Weis' place and got a few Chickasaw plums*. Also picked a paper sack full of towl grapes*. Today we washed clothes. Dad, Ma, & I went to town late this afternoon. Len helped finish the thrashing at John Tippet’s place."

*Ground cherries are small orange fruit similar in size and shape to a cherry tomato. The fruit is covered in papery husk. Flavor is a pleasant, unique tomato/ pineapple like blend. The ground cherry is very similar to the cape gooseberry, both having similar, but unique flavors. They grow on a small shrub-1-3 height similar to the common tomato as an annual or perennial. Source:

*Chickasaw plums come from a twiggy, thicket-forming tree, 15-30 ft. tall, with fragrant white flowers in flat-topped clusters and yellow fruit ripening to red in August or September. The tree has a short,crooked trunk and flat-topped crown with scaly, nearly black bark. Reddish branches are covered with thorn-like side branches. Cultivated by the Chickasaw Indians and other indigenous peoples before the arrival of Europeans. This plum is eaten fresh and made into jellies and preserves. Source:

*Towl grapes: After searching the internet for an hour trying to find these I pulled out the actual diary and I think the word she has written is tame.
Source: Sheryl's aging eyes

This family was adventuresome with their eating habits, picking and canning foods from field and hill. Has anyone ever eaten any ground cherries or Chickasaw plums? I bet you have had a taste or two of "tame" grapes!


  1. Ground cherries grow wild in the Galena area. They come up every year in most gardens as a weed that is left to mature for the cherries. Most ground cherries are eaten fresh as a snack while you are picking the crops from the garden.

  2. Thanks for the information Joyce. Can you describe how they taste?