THE HOME CANNING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 



By S. B. SHAW, Assistant Horticulturist. 



Because of the present high prices of food products, the question 

 of the home production and canning of fruits and vegetables is one 

 of vital importance to farmers throughout the entire country. Fruits 

 and vegetables are a necessity, as a healthful diet is not complete 

 without a certain amount of both. An abundance of fresh orchard 

 and garden products can be had in season, but usually the winter 

 supply of these foods must be purchased in the form of commercially 

 canned goods. These are often poor substitutes for the fresh article, 

 especially the cheaper grades, which lack the delicate flavor of the 

 fresh products. In rural communities it is frequently the case 

 that during the winter months the most delicious and wholesome 

 fruits and vegetables are absent from the daily bill of fare. Pos- 

 sibly some tomatoes are canned, some fruits preserved or dried, but 

 the most nutritious vegetables and the most palatable fruits are al- 

 lowed to spoil in the garden and orchard because of the impression 

 that it is impossible to keep them. This is a mistake. It is just as 

 easy to keep corn, peas and beans as it is to keep peaches and 

 tomatoes — a fact which has been demonstrated by commercial packers 

 who have canned almost everv varietv of fruit and vegetable. 



When the supply of fruit and vegetables is greater than the family 

 needs, and a market is not convenient in which to dispose of this 

 fresh produce, the surplus may be made a source of income by selling 

 it in the form of canned goods. Sometimes those living near a con- 

 venient market experience difficulty in finding a ready sale for their 

 produce on account of the glutted condition often existing in the 

 markets of the larger cities. In conditions of this kind, growers can 

 provide themselves with canning outfits, suited in capacity to their 

 needs, put up a clean, reliable grade of goods, market them as 

 judiciously as they do their green stuff, and turn to profit that which 

 otherwise might have been a complete loss. 



There seems to be a belief by the general public that there is 

 something mysterious in the commercial canning process. The great 

 secret of this process is a careful observance of two things — Clean- 

 liness and Complete Sterilization. It is possible for every housewife 

 to run a small canning factory in her own kitchen, and on the farm 

 this is both economical and desirable. Fruits and vegetables can be 

 "put up" in glass jars or tin cans at home much cheaper than they 

 can be purchased in the form of commercially canned goods, and the 



