Page 8 



BETTER FRUIT 



June 



WHICH WILL EFflCIENTLY ADYERTISt THE QUALITY 

 01 YOUR ORCHARD PRODUCT 



SEND FOR SAMPLES— THEY TELL THE STORY 



MAIN OFFICE AND FACTORY 



SAN FRANCISCO, CAL 



BRANCHES AT 



LOS ANGELES. FRESNO, PORTLAND 

 SEATTLE, SALT LAKE CITY, HONOLULU 



To Preserve Strawberries 



[Office of Information, U. S. Department of Agriculture] 



SPECIALISTS in commercial handling 

 and preserving of fruits in the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, have worked out the 

 following accurate directions (which 

 may be applied also to household con- 

 ditions) for preserving strawberries 

 so that just enough syrup of the proper 

 consistency can be made in advance. 

 With this amount of syrup the berries 

 can be packed attractively without 

 floating and no syrup will be left over, 

 which in many cases means an impor- 

 tant saving in sugar. 



While the berries and syrup are 

 cooking, place the empty clean jars 

 and caps in tepid water and bring to 

 a boil, and allow to boil for at least 

 15 minutes. Remove the jars from the 

 water only as they are to be filled and 

 the caps only when they are to be 

 placed on the jars. Simply drain jars 

 and caps; do not wipe them. One of 

 the inexpensive jar lifters will be con- 

 venient in handling the hot jars. Do 

 not boil rubber rings for any length 

 of time, .lust before placing them on 

 the jars dip the rings for a moment 

 into a quart of boiling water into which 

 one teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda 

 has been added. 



Strawberry Preserves. Recipe No. 1 — 

 Add 3.T ounces of sugar to half pint of 

 water, bring to a boil and skim. To 

 this amount of syrup add exactly 2% 

 pounds of washed, capped and stemmed 

 strawberries. Boil the fruit until it 



registers 222 degrees Fahrenheit on a 

 candy or chemical thermometer. If no 

 thermometer is available, boil until the 

 syrup is very heavy — about as thick as 

 molasses. Remove scum from the pre- 

 serves. Fill the sterilized jars full of 

 hot berries. Pour in enough of the hot 

 syrup to fill the jar, leaving as little 

 air space as possible. Put sterilized 

 rings and caps on at once, but do not 

 fasten tightly. Stand the sealed jars 

 in tepid water up to their necks if 

 possible. Bring this water to a boil. 

 Let pint jars stay in the boiling water 

 for at least 15 minutes and quart jars 

 at least 25 minutes, then close caps 

 tightly at once. At the conclusion of 

 the" operation, stand each jar for a 

 moment on its cap to make sure that 

 the seal is absolutely tight. 



Strawberry Preserves. Recipe No. 2 — 

 The following method is preferred 

 by some because it leaves more of the 

 natural color in the preserves. To two 

 pounds of washed, capped and stemmed 

 strawberries add 20 ounces sugar, let 

 stand over night. In the morning pour 

 juice thus obtained into a presei-ving 

 kettle, add berries and cook to 222 

 degrees I'"ahrenheit, or until the syrup 

 is very heavy. Pack and steriilize as 

 in recipe No. 1. 



Importance of Thermometer in Pre- 

 servinjr — The preserving siiecialists ad- 

 vise those who are going to put up any 

 ciuantity of i)rcserves to purchase a 

 chemical Iherniomeler which gives 



readings by degrees Fahrenheit for 

 each degree from 212 degrees up. 

 Equipped with such a thermometer, 

 the preserver can be certain of uniform 

 results. The syrup will not reach 222 

 degrees Fahrenheit until it is cooked 

 enough and is of the best preserving 

 consistency. The reason for this is that 

 the syrup will not reach this tempera- 

 ture until the proper amount of water 

 has been driven off by boiling. Such 

 a thermometer is also very useful in 

 all forms of preserving, in candy 

 making, and in other cooking opera- 

 tions where results depend upon exact 

 heating. 



The following tested recipe for pre- 

 served strawberries is used in the 

 boys' and girls' club work in the 

 Northern and Western States: Make a 

 syrup of 1 quart of water and 11 

 pounds of sugar and cook in an open 

 kettle until a candy thermometer regis- 

 ters 2()5 degrees when placed in the 

 syrup. Add eight pounds of berries 

 to the syrup. Cook very slowly, just 

 at the boiling point. Stop the cooking 

 when the thermometer registers 219 

 degrees and pour into shallow pans to 

 cool. Hasten cooling by pouring syrup 

 over berries. Skim while cooling. Fill 

 into jars when cold and allow to stand 

 unsealed for four days. Put rubber 

 and cap in position, not tight. (Cap 

 and tip, if using enameled tin cans.) 

 If using a hot-water bath outfit, 

 sterilize 20 minutes; if using a water- 

 seal outfit, or a five-pound steam pres- 

 sure outfit, or a pressure-cooker outfit, 

 sterilize 15 minutes. Remove jars. 

 Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test 

 the joint. Wrap jars with paper to 

 prevent bleaching and store. 



Added Honey Production Will Materi- 

 ally Relieve Sugar Shortage 

 Every beekeeper has an opportunity 

 to "do his bit" by increasing his num- 

 ber of hives and seeing to it that every 

 colony is in first-class condition. The 

 unfavorable season has, in many in- 

 stances, caused a depletion of stores to 

 such an extent that brood rearing has 

 practically ceased in the colony, and 

 in such cases it may be advisable to do 

 a little stimulative feeding to get brood 

 rearing started at once. It will be pos- 

 sible, through the Oregon Beekeepers' 

 .\ssociation, and also through the Ore- 

 gon Agricultural College, says Professor 

 Lovell, Entomologist at O. A. C, to get 

 assistance in marketing the crop 

 through the U. S. Department of Mar- 

 kets. The possibility of an overpro- 

 duction is groundless and there is a 

 real need for every extra pound of 

 honey that can possibly be produced. 

 Beekeepers arc urged to write to Ore- 

 gon Agricultural College, Corvallis, for 

 advice in regard to beekeeping and to 

 advise the college that they are work- 

 ing toward a heavy proiluction this 

 vear. 



'"tou farmers buy a good many gold 

 bricks, eh?" "Yes, and you cit\ fellers 

 buy a good deal of swam]) land. 1 guess 

 things are about even." — Louisville 

 Courier-Journal. 



