Grammie's Story Grammie grew up in the little mill town of Shelby, North Carolina. As a young girl she loved to watch her Mama Short as she cooked and canned the fresh vegetables that were grown in Cleveland County. All around the kitchen there were large pots of boiling water, vegetables peeled and sliced ready to be cooked and canned, and boxes and boxes of mason jars, lids, and rings. It was here that Grammie learned to listen for the distinctive “pop” from the lid…meaning that the cooled jar had sealed properly. Yet it was not until 40 years later in the large kitchen of her century old Victorian farmhouse in Wooster, Ohio that Grammie would once again remember the sights and smells coming from Mama Short’s country kitchen. But Grammie’s Salsa wouldn’t be here today if not for two simultaneous events converging (as fate would have it) on Grammie at the same time. The first was when Grammie met Sandie, a gourmet cook and canner of all sorts of fruits and vegetables grown in her garden. About that same time Grandpa decided to make his garden even bigger. When he started bringing in baskets full of ripe tomatoes, green bell peppers, sweet and hot banana peppers, red chilis, and more, it was only a matter of time before Grammie asked to borrow Sandie’s canner and…as they say…the rest is Grammie’s Salsa history! Over the years Grammie has sliced and diced and boiled and canned her way through thousands of jars of salsas, spaghetti sauces, hot peppers, green beans, and about anything else Grandpa brought into the kitchen from his garden. Starting out as a side dish at parties, friends began asking Grammie for more jars of the sweet tasting, fresh and chunky salsa that was distinctively Grammie’s. As the requests kept coming, Grammie began giving out her salsa as Christmas gifts with the promise to do the same next year… but you be sure to get the empty jars back to her! When Grandpa and Grammie moved back to North Carolina, Grandpa’s garden got even bigger and a second larger canner was needed as a new set of friends were added to the Christmas list along with those from Ohio. Then as fate would have it the future of Grammie’s Salsa was announced by another lightning bolt of clarity that hit during the annual visit of her Ohio friends. Someone (Denny?) looked at Grammie and Grandpa and, with a mouthful of chips and salsa, stated knowingly, “You know you ought to sell this stuff!” And so we are! Copyright © 2005 Grammies Salsa, Inc. All Rights Reserved