70 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1905 



88. The little accessories that render work easy. 

 Always get your tools ready before canning day arrives 



the preserving kettle after peeling them, 

 and packing boiling hot in the jars and seal- 

 ing at once. I did not succeed with beans 

 by this method, though I have had them 

 keep well when boiled in the jars. 



Different vegetables need different times 

 for the parboiling because of their varying 



89. Piccalilli is a concoction of green tomatoes, 

 celery, onions, cabbage and peppers, with sugar, 

 vinegar and spices, boiled slowly till tender. Sundry 

 spices are added according to one's fancy 



textures, depending also to some degree on 



the age and tenderness. The average times 

 are: 



Peas, 8 minutes Carrots, 15 minutes 



String beans, 4 minutes Turnips, 15 minutes 



Cauliflower, 4 minutes Spinach, 6 minutes 

 Lima beans, 15 minutes 



The best test for most of them is when 

 they can be pierced with a fork. The veg- 

 etable, after dressing it as you would in pre- 

 paring for the table — that is, peas shelled, 

 beans cut into small pieces, corn on the cob, 

 beets unpeeled, limas shelled, etc. — is thrown 

 into the boiling salted water. When blanched 



90. " A pint's a pound the world around." Equal 

 quantities of fruit and sugar for jam or preserve ; equal 

 quantities of fruit juice and sugar for jelly 



drain off the water and allow cold water to 

 run through them until thoroughly chilled 

 and hardened. 



I seem to be giving these rules as definite 

 and final, but I mean to give them as one of 

 the ways, for there are others. For instance, 

 beets may be blanched thirty minutes, then 

 skinned and packed into jars, and the jar 

 filled with vinegar and water in the propor- 

 tion of one-half pint of vinegar to one quart 

 of water, and the entire jar boiled for forty- 

 five minutes. 



The screw and clamp tops should not be 

 fastened tight while boiling. Just lay on the 

 screw top with the clamp put over it, but 

 not fastening the pressure clamp. When the 

 jar has been boiled the proper length of time 

 screw and clamp the tops without lifting 

 them, for even one bubble of air entering 

 the jar might cause the contents to spoil 



THE TIME TO COOK 



Authorities differ widely as regards the 

 time for boiling the jars, ranging from ten 

 minutes to one hour and twenty minutes for 

 tomatoes. It all depends on the size of the 

 jar. The bigger the jar the more it holds, 

 and the contents in any case must be brought 

 up to the degree of heat necessary for 

 thorough sterilizing all through. When closed 

 the cover pressure keeps out all air, provided, 

 of course, the rubber bands are quite fresh. 

 Never use old ones. 



In canning fruits (such as cherries, straw- 

 berries, peaches, pears, huckleberries, black- 

 berries, plums) pack them in jars with the 

 proper proportion of sugar added and fill up 

 with water, or mix the sugar and water first, 

 making a syrup. In this process the vacuum 

 jars require an average of twenty minutes' 

 boiling, while most fruits in ordinary jars 

 require but from five to ten minutes. If the 

 fruit is to be used soon after canning I use 

 the syrup, but for longer keeping I think it 

 easier to place the sugar and water in the 

 jars separately. The sugar after the boiling 

 settles at the bottom of the jar, and so I turn 

 the jar upside down to cool, then right side 

 up again to put away. The sugar is then 

 thoroughly incorporated. 



LITTLE TRICKS THAT TELL 



It is surely worth while to can rhubarb 

 and pineapples for winter use. The former 

 should be cut into inch pieces and not peeled, 

 for the red skin will impart a beautiful color 

 to the syrup. Pineapple should be peeled 

 and the pieces picked out with a fork, which 

 eliminates the tough core, which in sliced 

 pineapple is retained. Pears and peaches 

 should be peeled, halved and seeded ; apples 

 the same or even quartered. Plums and 

 cherries may be stoned or not; the pits left 

 with the fruit impart a peculiar bitter flavor 

 which to me is delightful. 



Canned berries require to be just ripe 

 and thoroughly sound; it is useless to waste 

 time upon soft, poor fruit. Fruits for canning 

 should be selected as much with a view to 

 the ultimate color as for flavor. There are 

 red-fleshed and white-fleshed strawberries; 

 take the former. And in plums what more 

 pleasing than the rich red of the Satsuma 



91. Shred the pineapple from the hard core, which 

 spoils the " sliced " goods. The core is too hard to eat 



plum — superb when canned, but useless to 

 eat out of hand! Very little^ttention is paid 

 to the home-canning qualities of certain 

 varieties, but surely there is a good deal to 

 be learned here. " What to can " is as impor- 

 tant as "How to can." 



Preserves are always made with equal 

 weights of fruit and sugar. They are some- 



92. For sour picKIes there are cucumbers, cauli- 

 flower, pearl onions, martynias, young walnuts and 

 green tomatoes. Cauliflower, onions, beans and 

 cucumbers for "mixed picKIes " 



times called " pound-for-pound " fruits. The 

 sugar is placed in the kettle to melt with just 

 enough water to keep it from scorching; the 

 prepared fruit is added and simmered gently 

 until tender. Another way is to add the 

 sugar immediately to the fruit, let it heat 

 slowly and boil until a little juice placed on 

 a saucer begins to thicken. An easy rule is.- 



93. The old-style conical jelly bag is good for 

 squeezing the fruit. In the wire-hoop style the weight 

 can be shifted around as necessary 



