68 BULLETIN 123, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



be made from canned tomato, peas, asparagus, etc. Scalloped tomato and 

 corn fritters are other dishes in which small quantities of canned vegetables 

 may be utilized. 



Combinations of high-flavored fruits with others of different flavor, or 

 sometimes of less distinctive taste, are by no means uncommon. Thus, house- 

 wives often combine raspberries and currants for jelly making or for canning. 

 Another combination which may prove useful, if lessons are given at seasons 

 when fresh berries and fruits can not readily be procured, is raisins, oranges, 

 and cranberries. The proportion is a matter of taste, so it is well for students 

 to use different quantities and compare results. 



In old domestic recipes quinces are often combined with sweet apples which 

 have little distinctive flavor, or with pears of firm texture and also lacking 

 in this quality. The relative proportion of the two fruits is a matter of 

 preference ; the greater the proportion of quinces the higher the flavor. 



Such preserves can be made by the student if time permits. Note the texture 

 of the different fruits when cooked. 



Experiment with vegetable pulp, such as squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, or 

 tomato, as a basis for marmalade, with flavor supplied by spice or a small 

 proportion of high-flavored fruit like apricot or quince. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS, LESSON XIII. 



1. What kind of kettles would you choose for canning, and why? 



2. What is the aim of this plan of preservation? 



3. Has any case in your own experience shown the importance of steriliza- 

 tion? 



4. Why are rubber rings used? 



5. Give an outline of the process of canning based on your own experience. 



6. How would you estimate shrinkage between market and jars, including 

 imperfect vegetables, necessary refuse, effect of cooking, etc.? 



7. What fruits and vegetables do you can at home? 



8. What do you find it wiser to buy, and why? 



9. Give details of relative cost to you of buying tomatoes to can or buying 

 them already canned. 



10. Does this lesson explain any failures that have troubled you? 

 (Ref. Nos. 1, 4, 13, Chaps. XI, XII.) 



LESSON XIV. PICKLING VEGETABLES. 



VINEGAR. 



Vinegar is another substance which acts as a food preservative. 

 Its name means " sour wine," and at least when a domestic product 

 it is usually made from cider or light wine, in which bacteria give 

 rise to fermentation and the production of acetic acid. This acid 

 gives the vinegar its sour taste, and is very unfavorable to the growth 

 of bacteria. When vinegar is used in pickle making the hard fibers 

 of undeveloped vegetables, vegetable skins, etc., are softened by it. 

 Spices and salt have much the same effect as vinegar on bacteria, 

 though in a different degree. These preservatives, of course, entirely 

 change the flavor of food in which they are used, and often set it 

 among the condimental materials. 



