North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

> In the 60's, when I was attending Mich. State Univ., I told
> my mother to put a grape leaf in the quart jar of pickles. This kept
> them crisp for at least 6 to 9 months. They otherwise tended to get
> soft and soggy and were not very appealing. I think the head of the
> Hort. Dept. mentioned, although I am not sure after all this time.
> Paul S.

We always used three or four grape leaves per jar, along with a couple of
cherry leaves.  The pickles stayed firm for a very long time.  Horseradish
leaves would work, too.
-Lon Rombough