360 GARDEN GUIDE 



Thick sirup (50 to 55 per cent, density): 8 cupfuls of water and 10 

 cupfuls of sugar. Used for Cherries, Pineapples Apricots and Peaches. 



Flat Sour 



There should be no delay at any stage of the canning process, other- 

 wise what is known by canners as "flat sour' is liable to develop, especially 

 in canned Peas, Corn, Beans and Asparagus. This is a condition in which 

 the taste and the odor are so disagreeable as to necessitate the destroying of 

 the product. The demger may be minimized by using product which 

 has not been gathered more than five or six hours, blanching, cold-dipping 

 and packing one jar at a time and placing each jar in the canner as it is 

 packed. If a steam-pressure canner is used, do not clamp down the 

 covers until the retort is fiUed. 



Treatment after Canning 



Before storing canned food set it aside for two or three days and then 

 test as follows: Loosen the clamp and grasp the jar by the edges of the 

 glass top. If the can leaks, or if decomposition has set in, the top will 

 come off. If the top stays on, tighten the clamp again and the food is 

 ready for storage. If the top comes off, reject that can. Red fruits and 

 vegetables should be stored in a dark place, as light destroys the color. 



Preservative Powder 



Preservative powder should not be used. Small doses are not 

 immediately harmful to the healthy adult, but for children and invalids, or 

 in larger doses, the effects are dangerous and, for these reasons, although 

 these powders prevent spoiling, they should not be employed. 



Short Instructions for Canning Vegetables 



Select vegetables that are young, sound and clean, and use as soon 

 as possible after they have been gathered. Peas, Beans, Corn and Aspara- 

 gus, which lose their flavor rapidly, should be canned within five or six 

 hours after picking. 



Grade the vegetables and make the contents of each jar as nearly 

 uniform in size as possible. 



Do not attempt to handle too large a quantity of vegetables at once, 

 especially in hot weather. 



Blanch or scald the vegetables by plunging into boiling water, allow- 

 ing them to remain long enough to make the vegetables sufficiently flexible 

 to pack easily, or to loosen the skins so that they can be readily peeled or 

 scraped ofi". 



As soon as taken from the boiling water dip the product into cold, 

 clean water and unmediately remove and drain. The vegetables should 

 not be cooled thoroughly by this cold immersion. 



Pack the vegetables firmly into tested hot jars to within one-half inch 

 of the top and fill with boiling water to within one-cjuarter inch of the top. 

 Add salt for seasoning. The addition of a small amount of sugar improves 

 some vegetables. The new rubbers are put into place and the heated 

 covers adjusted and partly sealed. 



Place the containers in the hot-water bath and sterilize for the required 

 length of time (see time table). The boiling water should cover the tops 

 of the jars to the depth of about one inch. Keep the water boiling diu-ing 

 the sterilizing process. Begin to time the sterilizing when the water boils 

 over the jars. 



