Last Rose of Summer

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‘Tis the last rose of summer

Left blooming alone,

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone!

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No flower of her kindred,

No rosebud is nigh

To reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh.

The melody of ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ has a complicated history. In its earliest known form it was a street ballad of about 1660, purveyed by travelling harpers around Ireland. Over its life the traditional Irish tune has had many sets of words attached to it by various authors.

The verse above and I suppose, the most well known, was written by Thomas Moore and was published in 1813 as one of ‘his’ Irish Melodies. Many people at that time accepted Moore’s pieces as genuine Hibernian airs, but scholars were extremely critical of his handling of the originals. All Moore was doing in fact was to make the ‘rude country ballads’ more acceptable in the drawing-room of the day.

When true hearts lie wither'd

And fond ones are flown,

Oh! who would inhabit

this bleak world alone.

Leaving the dry garden and lawn, how about a bit of drying, as in preserving.

Wise Herb (Sage) was seeking advice of what temperature is best.

The following notes come from a Ministry of Food Leaflet of October 1946. I found a load of these leaflets when going through my mother's old cook-book, which was the subject on an earlier post.

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Drying is a very old method of preserving and is useful when there is a glut of fruit or vegetables. Drying should only be used for vegetables which will not keep if stored fresh as the food value of the fresh vegetables is greater than that of the dried.

Equipment necessary for drying is simple and inexpensive. Drying may be carried out in the oven, the airing cupboard or on the warming rack over the stove.

The essential thing is to have a constant gentle heat, the temperature, say, of a good airing cupboard, and a current of air to carry off the moisture as the food dries.

If the oven or a cupboard be used leave the door ajar to ensure the necessary draught.

If drying in the oven, use the heat left after baking. It may need to be continued on several successive days.

Some sort of tray is needed on which to spread the food for drying. It should fit the oven or cupboard and must allow air to circulate round the food.

Any one of the following would be suitable;

1. Oven racks (not solid trays) with muslin stretched over them.

2. Wire cake trays spread with muslin.

3. Strips of wood made into a square or rectangle to fit the oven or warm cupboard, with muslin stretched across and fixed.

4. For apple rings, a piece of clean twine or wooden rods on which to thread the rings.

The ideal temperature is 120’-150’ F, but it should NOT exceed 150’F.

This is much lower than any temperature used for cooking and is about the temperature of a good airing cupboard.

Greater heat cooks the food instead of drying it and may even produce scorching.

Slow heating prevents the outside hardening before the middle begins to dry.