250 THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY 



moisture should be removed by placing the vegetables or 

 fruits between two towels or by exposure to the sun. 



All this is so simple and the directions so easily followed 

 that the average 12-year-old may successfully can vegeta- 

 bles or fruits. The steps and the precautions are : 



1. Select sound vegetables and fruits. (If possible can 

 them the same day they are picked.) Wash, clean, and pre- 

 pare them. 



2. Have ready, on the stove, a can or pail of boiling water. 



3. Place the vegetables or fruits in cheesecloth, or in 

 some other porous receptacle a wire basket is excellent 

 for dipping and blanching them in the boiling water. 



4. Put them whole into the boiling water. The Com- 

 mission gives a time-table for blanching. After the water 

 begins to boil, begin to count the blanching time; this 

 varies from one to twenty minutes, according to the vege- 

 table or fruit. 



5. When the blanching is complete, remove the vegetables 

 or fruits from the boiling water and plunge them a number of 

 times into cold water, to harden the pulp and check the flow 

 of coloring matter. Do not leave them in cold water. 



6. The containers must be thoroughly clean. It is not 

 necessary to sterilize them in steam or boiling water before 

 filling them, as in the cold-pack process both the insides of 

 containers and the contents are sterilized. The jars should 

 be heated before being filled, in order to avoid breakage. 



7. Pack the product into the containers, leaving about a 

 quarter of an inch of space at the top. 



8. With vegetables add one level teaspoonful of salt to 

 each quart container and fill with boiling water. With 

 fruits use syrups. 



9. With glass jars always use a good rubber. Test the 



