Lens letter about the vinegar reminded me of going to the co-op to fetch vinegar it was sold loose from a barrel and not so sharp as what we get today. We had vinegar on most things cabbage beetroot even potato crisps which we did not have very often. mam used to put pepper salt and viniegar in an egg cup for us to dip spring onions grown by Dad on his allotment. We seemed to have one thing at a time lettuce sandwiches were delicious using new bread baked by our local baker and best butter. Most of our veg was home grown and so of course only available in season. Green beans were put into jars with layers of salt ,carrots and potatos kept in a pit lined with straw in the garden. Frozen brussels really were frozen out side when we had frosts.I also remember dried peas they had to be soaked overnight before cooking some times there was a white tablet in the packet to help to make them tender but they still resembled small green bullets. It was always a special occasion when dad came home with the first picking of a vegetable from the allotment. I remember we used to shell the tiny broad beans and mam would cook them with lashings of parsley sauce nothing else but stll tasted wonderful, and the first roots of new potatos swimming with butter we didnt need all those fancy herbs and spices .rhoda