Canning Conveniences for Canny Housekeepers 



EFFIE M. ROBINSON 



THERE is keen joy to the true 

 "housewifely" heart in having 

 sufficient and appropriate utensils 

 at her service in her most important 

 work of keeper of the health of the nation. 

 Particularly during the canning and preserving 

 season, when time is of great importance, 

 every effort should be made to accomplish 

 the best results with the least amount of 

 labor and inconvenience. Your directions 

 for canning, by the universally used one- 

 period cold-pack method, and your time 

 table for sterilizing [see June Garden Maga- 

 zine] should be tacked on the wall in your 

 kitchen where you can easily see it while you 

 are working. 



All your utensils must be ready to use before 

 you begin work; also, I suggest that you muffle 

 the telephone! And keep your engagement 

 book clear, as interruptions are fatal to success- 

 ful canning. 



Necessity the Mother of Invention 



A/fAKESHIFT sterilizers answered the 

 ■L'-l purpose for which they were intended 

 fairly well before the need of canning and 

 drying became so great; but now one has no 

 right to waste time and energy in made-over 

 articles when the new tested and proven ones 

 are ready and the urgency for quick work is 

 so great. Dealers have risen splendidly to 

 the occasion and there are now on the market 

 sterilizers of reliable make for any method 

 that you wish to use. 



Hot water bath outfits can be bought at 

 really small cost. There are several styles. 

 One is like the ordinary wash boiler, or ham 

 and fish kettle, fitted with a rack made to 

 ho. d from four to about twelve jars, with 



handles, so that you can lift all the jars out 

 at once. They cost from about #3.00 for the 

 outfit holding four jars up to about #12.00 for 

 twelve jars. The prices vary a little according 

 to the weight of the metal used. If you have 

 to buy a new wash boiler why not get one with 

 the rack complete at the cost of about two 

 dollars more than the washboiler alone would 

 cost. Those home-made racks we used to 

 make were seldom very satisfactory. 



Another hotwater bath outfit is a combined 

 steam cooker and canner. It is made in a 

 series of compartments one above the other 

 with separate doors so that different things 

 can be cooked at the same time. Water 

 can be added while the canning is going on 

 without opening the doors of the compart- 

 ments in which the jars are placed. It is 

 fitted with a whistle that sounds when more 

 water is needed, to prevent the bottom being 

 burned out. This cooker has the advantage 

 of being available for use all the year round. 

 In it you can cook anything that can be cooked 

 by steam. Only one burner of the gas or oil 

 stove is used. 



There are water seal outfits which are de- 

 sirable as the period of sterilization is shorter 

 and so less fuel is required. These are fitted 

 with an outer and an inner container and a wire 

 crate for the jars; also a thermometer which 

 registers temperature — it should go to above 

 212 degrees F. 



Steam pressure outfits do the canning very 

 quickly because it is done in steam under 

 pressure of from 5 to 30 pounds. All these 

 sterilizers are made in small sizes for family 

 use and in large sizes for community work. 



Being on the subject of preserving utensils 

 brings to my mind another method of saving 



fruits and vegetables. That is by Drying. 

 Food drying is most useful as very large 

 quantities can be dried with very small 

 expense and trouble. A thoroughly practical 

 food drier is made somewhat like a hot-water 

 plate. It has a container for water and a 

 large flat surface for drying food. There are 

 two sizes now made, one 18 x 26 in. which 

 enables you to dry as much as two bushels 

 a day; and a larger one 24 x 36 in. which has 

 a capacity of four bushels in a day. This 

 drier is useful in jam and jelly making also. 

 It acts like a double boiler and keeps the things 

 from scorching as they will so quickly over a 

 fire. 



Paring, Pitting and Pressing All Provided For 



EVERY convenience is thought out for 

 your comfort during the preparation of 

 the foods. There is a new vegetable scraper, 

 a rough stone with a handle. It is used 

 something like a vegetable brush. You 

 know you have to scrub the vegetables clean 

 before preparing them! Well, this little arti- 

 cle scrubs the skin off; that's all! It can be 

 used for almost any fruit and vegetable and 

 saves an immense amount of waste. If you 

 are peeling potatoes yourself it will save you 

 a quarter of the potato and if your maid is 

 peeling them it will save half! If you prefer 

 knives anyway, there are many to choose from. 

 Some are marked with the name of the particu- 

 lar vegetable for which they are intended, such 

 as potato, onion, etc. And there is a new 

 glass knife, handle as well as blade, for acid 

 fruits. A curved knife for grapefruit and 

 oranges is useful even if you are not canning 

 them! There is a combination pineapple eye 

 snip and cherry pitter. This, of course, takes 



Some desirable accessories for the canner as collected by the Missouri Agricultural College. A. Jar filler. B. Funnel. C. Wire basket. D. Measuring cup. E. Apple corer. F. Measuring 

 spoons. G. Peach seeder. H. Apple corer. I. Hot-pan lifter. J. Peeler. K. Spatula. L. Jar lifter. M. Wooden spoon 



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