RIGHT METHOD FOR EACH FOOD GETTING YOUR EQUIPMENT READY BEFORE CANNING TIME 



In the air, water, and soil at all times, there are 

 tiny organisms — molds, yeasts, and bacteria — 

 that cause fresh food to spoil. 



When you can fruits and vegetables, you heat 

 them hot enough and long enough to make these 

 organisms harmless, so the food will keep. Heat- 

 ing in a canner is called processing. 



For fruits, tomatoes, pickled vegetables — 



use a boiling-water bath. You can process these 

 acid foods safely in boiling water. 



For corn, peas, beans, and other com- 

 mon vegetables (except tomatoes) — use a 



steam pressure canner. To process these foods 

 safely in reasonable time takes a temperature 

 higher than boiling. It takes 240° F. or higher. 

 The only way to get these high temperatures is to 

 hold steam under pressure. 



New pressure canners are being manufactured 

 all the time. They are no longer rationed. 



If you have no pressure canner, team with 

 someone who has. Or maybe you can go to a 

 community canning center. 



Steam pressure canner. — Before each can- 

 ning season make sure your pressure canner is in 

 perfect working order. 



Check a dial-type pressure gage with a test 

 gage, to find whether it registers right. Ask the 

 dealer from whom you bought the canner if he 

 can do this testing for you, or try your county 

 home demonstration agent. If you must send the 

 gage to the manufacturer, pack it like delicate 

 glass. 



If you find your gage is 1 to 4 pounds off, be 

 sure to allow for this; see page 5. If it is 5 or 

 more pounds off, get a new gage. 



Cleaning is all a weighted type of gage needs. 



Wash a pressure canner thoroughly before and 

 after each using. Never put the lid into water. 



Be sure that pet cock, safety valve, and edges 

 of lid and canner are clean at all times. If the 

 openings to pet cock and safety valve are not 

 absolutely clear, use a toothpick or small pointed 

 tool to clean them. Pull a string or thin strip of 

 cloth through the opening. 



• o r d of 



warning on other canning methods: 



OVEN CANNING is dangerous in more wqys than 

 one. Even though the oven goes to 250° F. or higher, 

 food in the jars stays at about boiling point (212°). 

 For vegetables, that's not hot enough to make bacteria 

 harmless. 



Also, oven canning has caused serious accidents 

 to persons and property. When jars seal during 

 processing, steam builds up inside the jars and they 

 may explode. The oven door may fly off..; glass may 

 fly out... you may be hit and seriously hurt by 'the 

 flying pieces... and your kitchen wrecked. 



OPEN-KETTLE CANNING is wasteful for fruits and 

 tomatoes. When canned this way, food is cooked in 

 an ordinary kettle, then packed into hot jars and 

 sealed. Bacteria can get into jars when food is trans- 

 ferred from kettle to jar and cause the food to spoil. 



For vegetables open-kettle canning is dangerous. 

 They never become hot enough to destroy the bacteria. 



Use this method only for" preserves, pickles, and 

 other foods with enough sugar or vinegar to help 

 keep them from spoiling. 



Water-bath canner, home-made or 

 ready-made. 



Any big, clean vessel will do for a boiling- 

 vvater-bath canner, if it's deep enough to let 

 water boil well over the tops of the jars . . . has 

 a good lid . . . and a rack to keep the jars from 

 touching bottom. 



The rack may be wire or wood, but don't use 

 pine. Have partitions in rack, if possible, to 

 keep jars from touching one another or falling 

 against the side of the canner. 



If a steam pressure canner is deep enough, you 

 can use that for a water bath. Set the lid on 

 loosely; don't fasten or let stick. And have 

 the pet cock wide open, so that steam escapes 

 all the time the water boils. 



Jars, lids, rings. — Use only perfect ones. 

 Discard chipped, cracked, warped jars,- dented, 

 bent lids. Use clean new rubber rings of the right 

 size for your jars. Don't test by stretching. 



Wash jars and lids (all but metal lids with 

 sealing compound) in hot soapy water and rinse 

 well. Be sure you have the right lid to fit every 

 jar. 





IK 



