July, 19 17 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
319 
making the intermittent process unnecessary. 
It also draws the acid or acrid flavor from 
vegetables, and it helps to retain the full flavor 
of the article to be canned by sealing up 
the juices. 
The food after blanching and cold dipping is 
packed into your already sterilized jars. Fill 
the jars quite full, then fill up with some liquid. 
For vegetables use water with a teaspoonful 
of salt for each quart jar. For fruits use syrup 
either thick or thin as you wish, fill to over- 
flowing, put on the glass tops and the rubbers, 
and fasten loosely, put into your canner and 
boil for fifteen minutes after the water begins 
to bubble, then take out the jars (use a wire 
lifter for the purpose), tighten the caps or press 
down the springs, return to the canner and 
after the water begins to bubble again, boil 
long enough to cook the food. 
The time for cooking food varies tre- 
mendously. Com and peas require four hours. 
Greens, beets, lima and string beans, sauer- 
kraut, etc., require about an hour and a half. 
Home made screen tray for drying produce in an oven or in 
open air 
Give okra, succotash, pumpkin, squashes, 
quinces and such like an hour, and soft fruits 
such as apples, strawberries, rhubarb and 
huckleberries only half an hour. By a little 
practise and knowing how long things take to 
cook for the table you will soon learn the exact 
time. 
THE OPEN KETTLE METHOD 
For leftovers which I told you I always can 
and which of course are already cooked, the 
open kettle method is good. Boil the food up 
again, have the jars boiling hot, and the 
rubbers scalded. Have a shallow pan with 
about two inches of boiling water in it. Stand 
the hot, wet jars in that, fill to overflowing 
with the boiling fruit with its juice, or vegetable, 
strained and boiling water added, run a skewer 
round inside the jar to break any air bubbles. 
Then put your tops and fresh rubbers on and 
seal at once. Turn the jars upside down to 
cool. Next morning you can see if there is any 
leak. If so, find out the cause — cracked jar, 
ill fitting top or another rubber needed, then 
the whole process must be gone ’trough again. 
If using the open kettle metnod the jars 
must be kept under water till ready to use and 
the work must be done very quickly while the 
HINTS ON PREPARA- 
TION 
The fresher the 
food the better the 
canned article will 
be. If you are one 
of those lucky peo- 
ple that can hang 
your basket on your 
arm and go out and 
pluck whatever you 
want you are the one 
food is boiling hot. 
Fruit pricker, made with 
wire on a cork base, useful in 
canning tough skinned goods 
Complete canning outfits with self contained heat for out- 
door use in the orchard, etc. 
who ought to have the best canned goods. 
The commercial canners put up their factories 
just where their foods grow and they are 
gathered, graded, prepared and canned all 
in the same day. Beans, peas and asparagus 
particularly sometimes have a flat, sour smell, 
Canning for Victory 
“ Our reports show the widest and 
most intelligent interest in canning 
and drying foods for winter use. 
Exactly what effect this will have on 
the nation’s food supply is hard to 
say, but it is going to help, and may 
be enough to turn the tide to victory 
sooner than we expected or hoped.” 
Carl Vrooman 
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture 
very unpleasant that is simply due to stale 
vegetables having been used. 
After picking your fruit, etc., look it over 
carefully, throwing out all bruised or over- 
ripe or any way unsound pieces, wash carefully, 
looking for insects. Apples and articles that 
discolor quickly after peeling should be 
dropped into cold water with a little salt 
dissolved in it to keep the color. 
All fruits and vegetables must be blanched 
Mushrooms and other articles, such as peppers may be 
strung up and sun dried before storing away in bags 
and cold dipped, as described above. Do not 
leave them around after cold dipping. 
Preservation by Drying 
' 1 'HE advantage of drying over canning is 
_that there is not so much apparatus needed, 
not so many utensils, the flavor of the food is 
perfectly retained if the work is done properly 
and much less time is taken in preparation. 
To dry is simply to extract all the moisture 
from the article leaving it all shrivelled and 
dry. By just soaking it in water when needed 
for use it regains its natural size, and color and 
flavor to a great extent. Foods prepared this 
way can be packed tightly in boxes and travel 
and keep well. For large quantities you can 
get a regular evaporator which costs $6.oo and 
which does the work perfectly or you can dry 
in a cool oven or outdoors by the heat of the 
sun. Drying can be resorted to if you have too 
little to can or do not wish to go to the exertion 
of it as sometimes will happen. Only remem- 
ber all the moisture must be extracted or the 
A hot water tray dryer adapted for 
use in connection with any stove 
things will become mouldy. Clean and pre- 
pare and wash the foods the same way as if 
you were going to can them. Cut apples, pears, 
peaches or any like fruit in slices, open plums 
but don’t stone them, lay flat on thin clean 
boards and dry in the sun, in a cool oven 
or spread on your evaporator. 
If drying food out-of-doors, look out for rain. 
Cover with mosquito netting to keep out flies 
or other insects, and it is well to heat them over 
steam before putting away to destroy any in- 
sect eggs that may have gotten there. 
All small fruits can be dried whole the same 
way. Cherries can be pitted or not as you 
please, and if sugar is sprinkled on the layers 
they will be nicer. I always buy mushrooms 
when they are at their cheapest. Peel and stalk 
them and put them in a paper bag with top 
tied tightly with string. I leave a loop to 
hang the bag by and suspend it near the ceiling, 
which is always the 
warmest part of a 
room. 
Celery leaves, 
parsley, mint or 
other herbs can be 
kept perfectly that 
way. Wash and 
scald them (as 
previously told), 
then dry; and 
when dry keep in 
bags. Tie the bags 
up tightly to pre- 
vent dust getting 
in, and all through 
the winter you 
need never be 
without V0ur“ pot- When using this type of jar 
, , ,, J r make certain that it is act- 
herbs. ually sealed 
