A Canning Business for the Farm Home 1557 



the cans were sterilized. Sterilization was accomplished by filling the big 

 pans, or trays, of the canner with jars, placing the trays in the canner, 

 and adding enough cold water to cover them. The fire was started, and 

 the water was brought gradually to the boiling point and was allowed 

 to boil for fifteen minutes. The hot fruit, butter, jam, or marmalade 

 was poured into the sterile cans, and the cans were then sealed. 



If, however, the fruit was to be canned, the jars were washed, rinsed 

 and without further treatment turned top downward on the table on a 

 clean cloth. When the fruit had been prepared the jars were nearly filled, 

 the rubbers were adjusted, and sirup was poured over the fruit until 

 the jars were full to overflowing. The covers were now placed on the cans 

 and the clamps were adjusted, and the jars were sealed until they had been 

 placed in the canner; then the clamps were loosened. This preliminary 

 sealing was done in order that no sirup might be lost in carrying the 

 trays of cans from the tables in the building to the canners out of doors, 

 for the difficulty of carrying fifteen cans of fruit without losing some of the 

 sirup was soon realized. 



The time for cooking the fruit varied. For example, if pint cans were 

 used in canning peaches, twenty to thirty minutes was a sufficient time 

 for cooking the fruit ; if quart cans were used, about thirty minutes was 

 required for cooking; a two-quart can required cooking for thirty-five 

 minutes, or even longer. Plums required a little less cooking than did 

 peaches, and the time varied also with the condition of the plums. Before 

 removing the jars of fruit from the canner, the clamps were fastened 

 down, thus sealing the jars, and the fruit was cooked for five or ten minutes 

 longer. A sufficient quantity of water was placed in the canner to cover 

 the jars from the bottom to a depth of two to three inches. The tempera- 

 ture of the water was about the same as that of the sirup in the cans; 

 otherwise the cans would probably have been broken. 



After the fruit had been removed from the canner, it was placed on a 

 long table used only for that purpose, and was allowed to remain there 

 over night. On the second morning, while two of the girls were washing 

 cans for use on that day, the others washed and wiped the outside of 

 the cans containing fruit that had been canned the day before. The 

 cans were then lowered on a dumb-waiter to the cellar, where long tiers 

 of shelves had been provided for holding them. 



The amount of fruit put up in a day varied greatly, according to the 

 kinds made. If fruits were canned, the numbers were much larger than 

 when preserves, marmalades, jams, and butters were made, since the 

 latter required along time for cooking. The largest number of receptacles 

 filled in one day was 303 ; the smallest number was 93 ; the average was 

 about 200 per day. The records for two days are given below: 

 108 



