198 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
August, 1917 
Uncle Sam’s Latest Vegetable 
Preserver. 
Blanchard Harper 
When I was a child living in 
Japan, one of my vivid memories 
is of standing by to watch the wives 
of the men servants working with 
what we children called their 
“pickles.” Their “pickles” were 
egg plants about the size of a hen’s 
egg, cucumbers full grown with the 
seeds scooped out and the skins on, 
and “ daikon ” the large Japanese 
white radish — 1 never knew the 
preliminaries, but the “pickles” as 
I saw them were packed in saw 
dust in wooden buckets and cover- 
ed with salt brine. After fermen- 
tation for some time, they were 
taken out as wanted, carefully 
washed in several waters, then slic- 
ed and served at the meals consist- 
ing mainly of boiled rice and fish. 
Dietetically the “pickles” added 
just the elements needed by the 
other components of the meal for 
a balanced ration — altho I did not 
understand that or think of it for 
many years after — 
The process is a good one from 
the stand point of economy in the 
conservation of foods — economy 
not only of utensils but labor, fuel 
and containers, for by this method, 
stoneware jars or wooden or fibre 
pails of several gallons capacity 
can be utilized in place of the now 
high priced glass jars, and tin 
cans. We are so accustomed to re- 
gard bacteria as a bugaboo, that 
few of us realize that the beneficent 
bacteria far out number the malig- 
nant. It is the utilizing of some of 
these beneficent germs that forms 
the basis of this process. 
The Dept, of Chemistry of the 
U. S. Dept, of Agriculture has 
been experimenting on processes 
for preserving vegetables by fer- 
mentation in brine solutions of 
various kinds. The first account 
of the work described the use of a 
mixture of corn-meal and water 
which had been allowed to sour to 
produce lactic acid which is the 
preserving element. Later experi- 
ments showed the corn-meal to be 
unnecessary and unwise. The proc- 
ess can not be unreservedly rec- 
ommended for all sorts and condi- 
tions of vegetables and the vege- 
tables are acid when removed — 
just as sauer-kraut and dill pickles 
are acid, but it is useful for vege- 
tables like young beets, carrots, 
cabbage, cucumbers, etc., not suffi- 
ciently ripened or mature to keep 
in a root cellar or packed in sand 
for the winter. 
The following is from a prelim- 
inary description of the process 
sent out in typewritten form by the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
How to Preserve Vegetables by 
Fermentation 
The fermentation method for the 
preservation of vegetables should 
be of value to those who like acid 
foods, and lack receptacles for their 
canned products. The vegetables 
are not cooked, but are put down 
in a salt brine in any non-metal 
water-tight container, and are then 
sealed up with paraffin, or other- 
wise made air tight. Under this 
treatment lactic acid develops, and 
this acid, the value of which as a 
food has been recognized, acts as a 
preservative. The Bureau of 
Chemistry has found this method 
•most successful in preserving cu- 
cumbers, chayotes, beets, and string 
beans. 
Wash the vegetables, if neces- 
sary, this of course being most im- 
portant in the case of beets. In 
the case of string beans, the strings 
should first be removed. Pack the 
vegetables into a clean, water-tight 
barrel, keg, or crock, avoiding the 
use of tubs made of yellow or pitch 
pine which would impart a dis- 
agreeable flavor to the product. 
(On the bottom of the barrel place 
a layer of dill and a handful of 
mixed spice. Add another layer 
of dill and another handful of 
spice when the barrel is half full, 
and when almost full a third layer. 
If a keg or crock is used the amount 
of dill and spice can be reduced in 
proportion to the size of the re- 
ceptacle.) If beets or string beans 
are to be served like fresh vege- 
tables, no spice should be added. 
When the container has been filled 
within a few inches of the top add 
a layer of covering material — beet 
tops, or grape leaves — about an 
inch thick. This layer protects the 
vegetables beneath against any 
spoilage occurring in the surface 
of the fermenting material. Pi’ess 
it down with a clean board cover 
weighted with bricks or stone. Do 
not. however, use a cover of yellow 
or pitch pine or weights of lime- 
stone or sandstone. The acid pro- 
duced by the fermentation acts 
upon lime. 
Make a brine by adding 1 pound 
of salt to 10 quarts of water. To 
each 15 quarts of brine so made 
add 1 quart of vinegar. Add suffi- 
cient brine to cover the material 
and allow it to ferment. The 
length of time required for fer- 
mentation depends upon the tem- 
perature. In a warm place only 
from 5 days to a week may be nec- 
essary ; in a cool cellar it may take 
from 3 to 4 weeks. 
During the first stages of fer- 
mentation there is always more or 
less bubbling and foaming of the 
brine. After this ceases, a thin 
film appears, spreading rapidly 
over the whole surface and devel- 
oping quickly into a heavy folded 
membrane. This scum is a growth 
of yeast-like organisms which feed 
upon the acid formed by fermenta- 
