POOD PRODUCTS 



POOD PRODUCTS 



and on the third day to sterilize any organ- 

 isms that were slow in developing. This 

 method has never come into general use, for 

 several reasons. It involves a great amount 

 of labor, requires a great quantity of fuel, and 

 destroys jar rubbers, which are not made to 

 withstand so many boilings. 



The cold-water process is practicable only 

 for fruits high in acid, such as gooseberries, 

 rhubarb and cranberries. Its application is so 

 limited and its results so uncertain that it is 

 little used. It consists simply in packing the 

 fruit into a jar, tilling the jar to overflowing 

 with cold, sterilized water and sealing. 



The cold-pack method has been in use by 

 commercial canners for years, but it has only 

 recently been made available for housewives 

 and boys and girls engaged in garden and can- 

 ning club work. This method is safe, certain 

 and economical for home canning of food 

 products. 



The most common type of container used 

 in the work is the Mason type of glass jar. 

 This jar has a zinc or aluminum screw top, 

 with a rubber ring that fits between the glass 

 and the top; the rubber makes the container 

 air-tipht when the top is screwed tight on the 

 jar. The glass top jar permits no food to come 

 in contact with metal, and is considered a little 

 more sanitary than the zinc top container. A 

 rubber ring is fitted between the glass top and 

 the jar, and a clamp spring is provided that 

 may be tightened as soon as sterilization is 

 complete. 



The Economy, or vacuum, jar has a metal 

 top coated with gold lacquer and provided with 

 a vegetable fiber ring attached to the metal 

 top. Where food products are packed by com- 

 mercial concerns, tin cans are commonly used. 

 These cans are often classified as "packers' 

 cans," with solder-hemmed caps, and "sanitary 

 cans," which are hermetically sealed by ma- 

 chines especially made for the purpose (see 

 illustration). 



No special equipment is required to can by 

 the cold-pack process. Glass jars or containers 

 found in the home may be used. A satisfac- 

 tory sterilizer or hot water bath outfit may 

 be made by placing a wooden rack in the bot- 

 tom of a tall can or vessel to support the 

 jars. Four rules cover the instructions for the 

 operation of this home-made sterilizer: 



( 1 ) Have a rack in the bottom of the sterilizer 

 that will permit the water to circulate under it 

 and around and over the top of the jars. 



(2) Have the water cover the jars by at least 

 an inch. 



( 3 ) Count the time as soon as the water begins 

 to jump. 



(4) Remove the jars from the sterilizer at Un- 

 close of the sterilizing period and tighten the 

 covers. 



There are numerous commercial hot water 

 bath outfits on the market, some provided with 

 stove attachments and others arranged for 

 heating on top of the family cookstove. These 

 commercial outfits have a convenient arrange- 

 ment for lifting the jars in and out of the 

 sterilizer. The sterilizing period for the home- 

 made hot water bath outfit and for the com- 

 mercial hot water bath outfit is the same. 



The steam pressure sterilizers can be con- 

 veniently divided into three classes, as follows: 

 (a) Water-seal, or 214-degree outfit (see illus- 

 tration) ; (b) the five-pound steam pressure, or 

 228-degree outfit; (c) the fifteen-pound steam 

 pressure, or 250-degree outfit. All steam pres- 

 sure outfits are provided with a safety valve 

 to prevent too much pressure on the sterilizer, 

 a pet cock to release the pressure before open- 

 ing the canner, and a steam gauge or ther- 

 mometer to indicate the pressure maintained 

 on the outfit. Each type of outfit will do the 

 work successfully, if properly operated. In the 

 recipes given below, time tables are printed 

 for sterilizing in the hot water bath, the 214- 

 degree outfit, the five-pound steam pressure 

 outfit and the fifteen-pound pressure outfit: 



Fruits 



Soft Fruits. Strawberries, blackberries, dew- 

 berries, sweet cherries, blueberries, apricots, 

 grapes, plums, huckleberries. 



Recipe for canning soft fruits. Can the same 

 day fruit is picked. Grade and rinse the fruit by 

 pouring water over It through a strainer. Cull, 

 seed and stem. Pack Immediately In glass jars 

 or tin cans. Add boiling hot sirup of eighteen per 

 cent density (thin). Place rubber and top in 

 place. Partially tighten. (Cap and tip tin cans.) 

 Sterilize the length of time given below for the 

 particular type of outfit used. 



MINUTES 



Water bath 16 



Water seal at 214 10 



Steam pressure 5 pounds 8 



Steam pressure 10 pounds 5 



Remove the jars. Tighten the covers. Invert 

 the jars to cool and test the joint. Wrap the 

 jars with paper to prevent bleaching. 



(Sirup: one and one-half quarts of sugar to 

 one quart of water, boiled to medium thickness.) 

 Sour Berry Fruits. Currants, gooseberries, 

 cranberries and sour cherries. 



Recipe for canning sour berry fruits. Can 

 same day picked. Steam, hull and clean. Blanch 

 in hot water one minute. Remove and dip quickly 

 in cold water. Pack berries closely In container. 

 Add hot sirup of twenty-eight per cent density 



