29 
CANNING AND DRYING. 
The preserving of asparagus for use at a time when fresh asparagus 
is not available has been practiced many years by thrifty housewives 
both in Europe and in this country. 
CANNING. 
It is not in the province of this bulletin to attempt a description of 
asparagus canning as practiced in a factory; for such at best would be 
the detailing of the method practiced at one and might differ widely 
from the practice of every other, and besides it is a business requiring 
expert knowledge and considerable capital, while domestic canning of 
asparagus is as simple as for any fruit or other vegetable. 
In Austria, Germany, Sweden, and France canned asparagus is a 
frequent dish. In England ‘‘tinned” asparagus seems not to have 
gained a foothold, although it is not unknown, and California and 
Long Island ‘‘tinned” asparagus are receiving favorable recognition 
in London. 
A lady of experience as a housekeeper gives the following recipe: 
Cut the asparagus the length of a fruit jar, pack the jar closely, fill with cold water, 
add a little salt, and put the lid on loosely. Place these jars in hot water reaching 
to the brim, and boil for three hours, adding enough hot water to that in the jars to 
keep them full. Close lids tightly and set jars away to cool. 
Of course the tough outer scale should be removed and the spears 
carefully washed prior to being placed in the jars; the butt ends should 
all be placed down, and there should be as little space as possible left 
at the top. Two hours may be long enough to boil the asparagus, but 
less than that would scarcely be a full substitute for the several steam 
baths to which asparagus is subjected in canneries. 
Many growers collect the spears broken by the harrow used in level- 
ing off the beds after the cutting season and, putting these with the 
proceeds of the last cutting, have them canned by the factory for home 
use, the factory charging them only the actual cost of doing the work. 
The last day of the season is at most canneries devoted to this kind of 
work for their patrons. In this way, at a trifling cost, an excellent 
vegetable is provided for the table during the winter. 
To prepare the contents of the can for table, be it home or factory 
filled, open carefully, pour off the liquid, and either place the aspara- 
gus in boiling water for a few minutes (it has already been cooked and 
only needs to be heated) or set the open can in boiling water until 
ready to serve on the table, when it is placed on a dish and the desired 
dressing is added. 
DRYING. 
For drying, the medium-sized spears are probably, all things consid- 
ered, the best (although even the small spears may be used for flavor- 
ing soups and sauces), but if thoroughly dried so that they will keep, 
