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TH E CUBA REVIEW 



HOME CANNED VEGETABLES. 



A Constant Supply for the Table— Vegetables Easy to Can— How to Sterilize— 



The Best Kind of Jar. 

 (Condensed from Farmers' Bulletin No. 359 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



Every American housewife in Cuba 

 may run a miniature canning factory in 

 her own kitchen, and this is especially 

 economical and desirable. Enough veg- 

 etables annually go to waste from the 

 average garden to supply the table dur- 

 ing the off season. But while tomatoes 

 are canned, and fruits are preserved 

 everywhere the most wholesome and 

 nutritious vegetables are left to decay in 

 the field under the impression that it is 

 impossible to keep them. This is a 

 great mistake. It is just as easy to keep 

 okra, lima beans, string beans, aspara- 

 gus, etc., as it is to keep tomatoes if you 

 know how. 



Complete sterilization is the secret. 

 The air and water, all fruits and vege- 

 tables, are full of bacteria, or molds or 

 germs, and these are the sole cause of 

 decomposition. If the air which reaches 

 the preserve's has been sterilized it will 

 not affect them, for the germ is excluded. 

 If a glass bottle is filled with some vege- 

 table which ordinarily spoils very rap- 

 idly — string beans, for instance — and in- 

 stead of a cork, it is stoppered with a 

 thick plug of raw cotton and heated un- 

 til all germ life is destroyed, it will keep 



Fig. 4.— Spring-top jar. 



indefinitely. Air can readily pass in and 

 out of the bottle. In order to completely 

 sterilize a vegetable, heat it to the boil- 

 ing point of water and keep it at that 

 temperature for about one hour, upon 

 two or three successive days, or else 

 keep it at that temperature for about 

 five hours continuously. The process of 

 boiling upon successive days is always 

 employed in scientific work and is much 

 to be preferred. The first day's boiling 



Fia. 7.— Position of spring dur; 

 ing sterilizing. 



kills molds and nearly all bacteria, but 

 not the spores or seeds. As soon as the 

 jar cools these seeds germinate and a 

 fresh crop of bacteria begin work on 

 the vegetables. The second day's boil- 

 ing kills the bacteria before they have 

 had time to develop spores. The third 

 day's boiling is not always necessary but 

 considered advisable to assure complete 

 sterilization. This "fractional steriliza- 

 tion," as it is called, constitutes the 

 whole secret of canning, and bearing it 

 in mind every housewife will be able 

 to can any meat, fruit or vegetable. 



The use of so-called "preserving pow- 

 ders" is condemned as being dangerous 

 in the hands of inexperienced persons, 

 to children and invalids. 



Alolds attack jellies and preserves, 

 bacteria the vegetables. 



_A good jar is requisite to success. 

 Tin, though lacquered inside, is to be 

 avoided, as being more or less soluble 

 in the juices. While the amount of tin 

 dissolved is very small and may not be 

 injurious, it gives an undesirable color. 

 Glass is best. The directions apply to 

 pint and quart jars only. 



The most satisfactory jar found by 

 the writer is shown in figures 4, 7 and 

 8. It has a rubber ring and glass top, 

 held in place by a simple wire spring. 

 There are several brands on the market 

 and there should be no difficulty expe- 

 rienced in obtaining them. Look out 

 for defective rubber. Do not buy cheap 

 ones or use them the second time. As a 

 general rule black rubbers are more dur- 

 able than white ones. Buy a good jar and 

 select those with a wide mouth. 



