Vol. 5 VII. No. 417. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



125 



PRESERVATION OP VEGETABLES BY 

 FERMENTATION AND SALTING. 



Among the methods of preserving vegetables for future 

 use, worthy of consideration at thi> time, are those based on 

 fermentation and salting. Fm-incis Bulletin, \o. 8S1, of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, contains full 

 directions for carrying out these processes at home. One 

 advantage that these methods possess is that use may be 

 made of wooden kegs, butter tubs, stone or glass Jars, even 

 without covers, if thoroughly cleaned. 



The methods of preservation considered in the bulletin 

 are grouped under three heads: ( 1) fermentation with dry 

 salting, (2) fermentation in brine, and (3) salting without 

 fermentation. 



Fermentation with dry salting consists in packing the 

 material with a small amount of salt. No water is added, 

 for the salt extracts the water from the vegetables, and 

 forms the brine. The method in general is as follows: — 



Wash the vegetables, drain otf the surplus water, and 

 weigh them. Salt, in the pniportipn of .3 per cent, by 

 .weight of the vegetables, is required. Cover the bottom of 

 the co.itainer with a layer of the vegetables about 1 inch 

 thick, and sprinkle over this a little of the salt. Try to 

 distribute the salt equally among the different layers 

 so that the 'juantity weighed out will be sufhcient 

 for the quantity of vegetables packed. If a little of the 

 salt is left over it can be added to the top layer, but if 

 more has to be added than has been weighed out the 

 finished product will taste too salt. Continue adding layers 

 of the vegetables sprinked with salt until the container is 

 about three-fourths full. Sprinkle the last of the salt on the 

 top layer, and spread over it one or two thicknesses of cheese- 

 cltoh, tucking them down at the sides. On the cloth place 

 a round piece of board which may be of any kind of wood 

 except yellow or pitch pine, or a plate, and on this put a clean 

 stone ( )r one or two clean bricks. The size of the weight 

 depends on the quantity of material being preserved. The 

 weight added sliould be sufficient to extract the juices to 

 form a brine, which will cover llie top in about twenty-four 

 hours. Sometimes it may be necessary to add more weight 

 if the brine does not form readily. 



After it is packed allow the container to stand in 

 a moderately warm room to ferment. The stone and the 

 board serve to keep the vegetables beneath the surface of the 

 brine formed. Fermentation requires from eight to ten 

 days in warm weather. It is shown by bubbles rising to 

 the surface of the liquid. When bubbling stops, fermentation 

 is complete. 



The surface of the liquid must be treated to prevent the 

 development of micro-organisms which feed upon the acid 

 formed in fermentation, and develop into a heavy mould 

 which will eventually destroy all the acid and spoil the 

 fermented material. <)ne method of accomplishing the 

 exclusion of air from the surface of the brine in order to 

 prevent the formation of mould is to till the container as 

 full as possible with the material termented, and after 

 allowing part of the gas to escape ih the process of fermen- 

 tation, to remove the board and weight, and to seal the 

 container up tight. A better method, apparently, is to use 

 an oil like cotton-seed oil, which, floating on the surface, 

 effectually prevents air from reaching the brine. Brine 

 covered with a layer of cotton-seed oil about i-inch thick 

 will keep indefinitely. Before the vegetables are to be 

 j-emoved, the oil should be skimmed off the surface of the 

 ferine. A third method is to cover the .surface with very 

 jjOt melted par.jtnn, which mak-;- ■. perfe.:tly air-tight seal. 



It is stated that under home conditions the following 

 vegetables have been preserved successfully by the above 

 method of fermentation by dry salting: cabbage, string beans, 

 beet tops; and it is probable that others might be added to 

 this list. 



Some vegetables are better fermented by covering them 

 with a weak brine in the following way:— 



After the vegetables are washed and drained, they are 

 packed into a container until it is nearly full. A weak 

 brine for use is prepared as follows: to each gallon of water 

 a pint of vinegar and tJiree-fourths of a cup of salt are added, 

 the mixture is stirred until the salt is entirely dis-^olved. 

 The amount of brine necessary to cover the vegetables will be 

 about equal to one-half the volume of the material to be 

 termented. This is easily calculated by measuring the contents 

 of the container used. Pour the brine over the vegetables, and 

 provide for pressure as described above. When fermentation 

 has stopped, the surface of the liquid should be treated to 

 prevent mould, by one of the foregoing methods. 



The following vegetables have been preserved satis- 

 factorily in this way: cucumbers, string beans, green peas, 

 corn, beets, and green tomatoes. 



In the method of preserving vegetables by salting 

 without fermentation, they are packed with enough salt 

 to prevent fermentation or the growth of yeast or 

 mould. As in the foregoing methods, the veiietables 

 are washed and drained. They are then weighed, and salt 

 is provided in the proportion of one-fourth of the weight of 

 the vegi'tables. The method employed in packing is the 

 same as in the first method described. The salt ought to be 

 distributed evenly among the different layers, so that the 

 (luantity weighed out will be just enough to pack the 

 vegetables. When the container is nearly full of alternate 

 layers of vegetables and salt, it should be covered with the 

 clean cloth, board, and weight, as in the method of fermenta- 

 tion by dry salting. If the salt and pressure of the weight 

 have not extracted sufficient brine to cover the vecetables 

 after twenty-four hours, enough strong brine, prepared by 

 dissolving lib. ot salt in 2 quarts of water, should be poured 

 over the vegetables to come up to the wooden cover. There 

 will be a small amount of bubbling at the start, but this will 

 not continue long. .As soon as the bubbling has stopped, the 

 surface of the liquid should be protected in one of the ways 

 described above. 



In general, the fermented and salted vegetables may be 

 prepared f.ir the table in much the same manner as fresh 

 vegetables, except that before being cooked they should be 

 soaked in fresh water for several hours to remove the salt, 

 the water being changed several times. The amount of salt 

 or acid taste to be thus removed depends upon the flavour 

 desired. If a decidedly a;id flavour is desired, fermented 

 vegetables, after being removed from the container should 

 be rinsed thoroughly in fresh water, and then cooked without 

 soaking. If one does not desire the acid flavour, it may be 

 modified to any extent, or removed almost entirely, by 

 soaking the fermenterl vegetables for as long as necessary, 

 and changing the water several times. 



In the Report of the Commmissioner of Agriculture and 

 Labour .if Porto Rico 'or 1917, it is stated that the breeding 

 work with sugar-canes in that island has now reached a point 

 where several new varieties have been developed which give 

 promise of being superior under local conditions to any at 

 present grown. Several of these canes have been tested on the 

 estates of two centr;ds, ar.:d a few of them have been specially 

 selected for superior harftcteristics 



