732 
Canning Vegetables in the 
Home 
One of the many problems that con- 
front the American housewife is the sup- 
ply of vegetables for her table during 
the winter months. “What can I have for 
dinner today?” is a question often heard. 
Since the advent of the modern green- 
house and the forcing of vegetables under 
glass, fresh vegetables can usually be 
found at any time in the markets of the 
large cities. But the cost of forcing 
vegetables or growing them out of sea- 
son is and will continue to be very great. 
This makes the price so high as almost 
to prohibit their use by people of moder- 
ate means, except as a luxury. A health- 
ful diet, however, must include vege- 
tables, and therefore the housewife turns 
to canned goods as the only alternative. 
These are sometimes poor substitutes for 
the fresh article, especially the cheaper 
commercial grades, which necessarily lack 
the delicate flavor of the fresh vege- 
table. There is practically no danger, 
however, from contamination with tin or 
other metals providing the containers are 
made of proper materials and handled 
carefully. In some cases the proper care 
is not taken in packing vegetables for 
market. The decayed and refuse portions 
are not so carefully removed as they 
should be and the requisite degree of 
cleanliness is not observed in their pack- 
ing. Happily, however, such carelessness 
is not general. 
Every housewife may run a miniature 
canning factory in her own kitchen, and 
on the farm this is especially economical 
and desirable, the economy being less pro- 
nounced in the case of city dwellers, who 
must buy their fruits and vegetables. 
Enough vegetables annually go to waste 
from the average farm garden to supply 
the table during the entire winter. But 
usually the farmer’s wife cans her to- 
matoes, preserves her fruits, and leaves 
her most wholesome and nutritious vege- 
tables to decay in the field, under the im- 
pression that it is impossible to keep 
them. This is a great mistake. It is 
just as easy to keep corn or string beans 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
as it is to keep tomatoes, if you know 
how. 
The same general methods for steriliza- 
tion and canning operations should be 
followed in the canning of vegetables as 
in the canning of fruits. 
So-Called “Preserving Powders” 
There are a great many brands of so- 
called “preserving powders” on the mar- 
ket. These are sold not only under ad- 
vertised trade names, but by druggists 
and peddlers everywhere. In the direc- 
tions for use the housewife is told to fill 
the jar with the fruit or vegetable to be 
canned, to cover with water, and to add 
a teaspoonful of the powder. It is true 
that these powders may prevent the de- 
eay of the fruit or vegetable, but they 
also encourage uncleanly, careless work, 
and in the hands of inexperienced persons 
may be dangerous. While with small 
doses the influence may not be apparent 
in an adult in normal health, with a 
child or an invalid the effect may be of 
a serious nature. The proper way to 
sterilize is by means of heat, and as this 
can be done very easily and cheaply the 
use of chemical preservatives in canning 
is not to be recommended. 
Kinds of Jars 
The first requisite for successful can- 
ning is a good jar. Glass is the most 
satisfactory. Tin is more or less soluble 
in the juices of fruits and vegetables. 
Even the most improved styles of tin 
cans which are lacquered on the inside 
to prevent the juice from coming in con- 
tact with the tin are open to this objec- 
tion. While the small amount of tin 
may not be injurious, it gives an unde- 
sirable color to many canned articles. Tin 
cans can not readily be used a second 
time, while glass with proper care will 
last indefinitely. 
There are a great many kinds of glass 
jars on the market, many of them pos- 
sessing certain distinct points of advan- 
tage. The ordinary screw-top jar is the 
one in most common use. Although cheap 
in price, these jars are the most expen- 
sive in the long run. The tops last only 
a few years and, being cheaply made, the 
breakage is usually greater than that of 
