458 
B>5c RURAL NEW-YORKER 
^^a^ch 2r!, lOlS 
Difficult Canning Problems Solved 
With Meat and Other Products 
Food Scarcity. —The latest report 
f(lining from members of the Food Com¬ 
mission is that, if the war continues and 
matters do not change, in 12 months from 
now not onlj- the Allies, but Americans, 
especially in the cities, Avill face starva¬ 
tion. Last Summer we were told that it 
was time for every woman to enlist in the 
army of canners, and that to save fruits 
and vegetables was a patriotic duty. 
lYomen are, enlisting more and more. 
.Tust now the country women especially 
are canning beef and pork for their own 
Summer use. Many hesitate to try for 
fear of being unsuccessful, and the ex¬ 
pense that loss would mean. To others 
who are just beginning to learn, many 
questions and problems jna'sent them¬ 
selves and they do not know the right or 
wrong way to proceed. They won-y about 
the results all the time they are doing 
the work and even after it is done. 
Attaining Succkss. —If for any rea¬ 
son canned meat or other products fail to 
keep it is a serious matter. Not only the 
present waste and dejirivation of a Sum¬ 
mer’s meat supply are to be considered, 
but the canner is discouraged and dares 
not make further attempts, her family 
loses faith in her preserving ability and 
deny her the use of more food products 
with which to make experiments, thus 
re.ally hindering food conservation. t)nc 
•successful attempt leads to more trials, 
and in time the result is an untold saving. 
I do not advocate meat canning in order 
that we may gorge ourselves throughout 
the year, but in order to prevent our eat¬ 
ing an ovei'-suiiply in Winter. The same 
amount of meat that is usually consumed 
in the country districts in AVinter time, 
with the aid of cannibg, should be made 
to supply a family not only during the 
Winter months, but through all the whole 
year. There would be no Summer meat 
bills to pay, and, best of all, much extra 
meat would be rebuised to go for our 
army and the Allies, where it is .so much 
needed. 1 have not purchased a pound of 
meat from the, market for my family in 
more than a year, and yet we have had an 
adequate supply of better quality than the 
market offers. A can of meat .should be 
made to go just as far as possible. 
Underi.ying rKiNCTCi.KS. —Any woman 
may bo a successful canner if she will 
first under.stand the scientific principle 
underlying all canning and apply it. Any 
caniK'd food spoils because of bacteria 
wlii<-h can grow in the can. Heat kills 
these bacteria. In the case of most fruits, 
212° F., or the boiling jioint, will kill 
them, but with meat and many vegetables 
it takes a greater degree of heat. How¬ 
ever. if they are kept at the boiling point 
for a long enough time, the bacteria final¬ 
ly cannot resist and they die. When they 
have all been killed no air must be al¬ 
lowed to elite]- inside the can, for that 
Would bring in more live bacteria. A 
can-ful study of bulletins published by 
the Department of Agriculture, Washing¬ 
ton. 1). ('., and also by Cornell Univer¬ 
sity. College of Agriculture, Bulletin De- 
liai-tment. Ithaca. N. Y.. is very helpful. 
1 would .suggest tliat a jiostal sent to the 
latter address asking for bulletins giving 
information upon this subject and also for 
the latest canning tables, might prove 
very helpful. These are free to the pub¬ 
lic. The directions for canning meat of 
any kind, as given by Cornell, are as fol¬ 
lows : 
Method I.—“Free the meat from the 
bones and cut it in pieces of such a size 
that it w'ill go into jars easily. Pack the 
raw meat solidly into tested clean glass 
jars to within three-fourths of an inch 
from the top. Sprinkle over the top of 
the meat one-half teaspoonful of salt for 
each pint of meat. Add no water. Ad¬ 
just on the jar a new rubber of good qual¬ 
ity. I’lace the cover on the top of the jar 
and adjust, but do not fasten the upper 
wire clamp, or, if a Mason jar is used, 
jiartly screw on the cover. Place the jars 
on a rack in a tightly covered container, 
such as a washboiler or sap bucket, in 
which there is warm water that reaches 
to about an inch from the top of the 
jars. Sterilize the meat by cooking it for 
from four to five hours, beginning to 
count the time when the water reaches 
the boiling point. Before removing the 
cans from the sterilizer, complete the 
scaling of each jar by adjusting the lower 
wire of the clamp, or. in the case of a 
Mason jar, by screwing the top tight. 
Keep the jars in a cool, dark place.” 
Method II.—“Sear the meat in a hot 
oven, in hot fat or in boiling water and 
steam it or simmer it until it can be torn 
apart. Pack the meat in jars, fill the 
space with stock, and add one-half tea¬ 
spoon of salt to each pint of meat. Ster¬ 
ilize the meat as in Method I for three 
hours. ITnless the meat is first browned 
it does not have so good a flavor as that of 
raw meat steamed in the can.” 
Testing the Cans. —Before using test 
each can to know it will seal. Pour it 
half full of cold water, place on a good 
rubber and fasten, and then turn the can 
upside down on a dry place for 20 or 80 
minutes or longer. If it leaks water it 
certainly will leak air. Slip a paper in¬ 
side defective cans and they will not de¬ 
ceive you again. A can may look to be 
Using Cranitc Pail for Sterilizing 
all I'ight. but it may not stand the test. 
Often the glass cover is chipped the least 
particle, caused by the knife when the 
can was unsealed. Prevent this by jdac- 
ing a knife under the ruliber rather than 
between the cover and rubber. If neces¬ 
sary, spoil the rubber rather than your 
can. If a can has bei-n used fiO times 
and it still stands the water test it is a 
safe container for any product. 
Use Matekiae at Hand. —Any recep¬ 
tacle that will boil water in an enclosed 
space will do the work. I have found 
several such among my cooking utensils 
without buying any for the purpose. A 
one-gallon agate-iron buttermilk pail with 
cover is ideal for either a quart or a pint 
can. My aluminum steamer, which I use 
for many things, I find will hold three 
one-quart cans. A tin sap bucket will 
hold from three to six one-quart jars. 
Home Canning Outfit at Work 
The inside of a large agate-iron double 
boiler with an agate bowl which chances 
t'o fit into it turned upside down makes a 
receptacle for a quart can or a pint can. 
Investigate and try your utensils. The 
chances are you w’ill find what you desire, 
but, if not, take as many jars as you wish 
to can at one time, to the hardware store 
and select a receptacle for them with 
cover to fit. A false bottom made with 
laths nailed together with short nails is 
convenient, as is also a circle cut from 
one-half inch wire mesh. A hardware 
man will cut the latter and perhaps he 
will cut down a wooden potato masher 
in a lathe to l^/m inches, so it will go in¬ 
side your glass jar. A thickly folded 
cloth may be made to serve as a false 
bottom, but if two tiers of pint cans 
should be canned, the wire mesh is quite 
necessary to separate the tiers. The 
masher is surely very convenient for pack¬ 
ing corn, meat, greens, etc., into jars. A 
fruit funnel is also necessary. 
Get the Canners at AA’ork.— It takes 
a long time and much work to try out 
experiments, but we need a larger and 
more efficient army of canners at work 
in the homes of this nation, not two or 
three years hence, but this very hour. 
AVe must make haste by acquainting our¬ 
selves with and benefiting by the experi¬ 
ence of others. The following questions 
are answered in the hope that it may help 
many recruits to speed their training: 
1. Shall I sterilize my can before pack¬ 
ing meat into it? No, This is not neces¬ 
sary. Cans should be cleaned and dried 
when they are emptied. All traces of old 
rubber which may stick to the can should 
be carefully removed. 
2. IIow tight shall I screw the top of .a 
Mason jar? Almost as tight as you can. 
The heat expands and loosens it. 
.3. IIow can I keep the steam in? In 
the case of a sap bucket, stop the hole 
with a cork wound with thin cloth or 
gauze. Place an old towel or cloth two 
or three thicknesses over the top of the 
bucket. On the towel place a tin kettle 
cover the size of the bucket. Fold edges 
of towel back on top of cover. Place an 
agate basin on top of the cover and in 
the basin place two or three flatirons to 
act as a weight. The towel becoming 
damp will rust the irons if they are 
placed directly on it. The bucket iron 
rusts the towel also. Steam escapes con¬ 
tinually through the towel. During _ a 
three-hour sterilization period water will 
boil away four or five inches in a large 
sap bucket. 
4. May I open the bucket while steril¬ 
izing? Yes, quickly, to add boiling water 
if necessary. Add 10 minutes more to 
the cooking period to make up for loss of 
heat. Always overtime rather than un¬ 
dertime. If cooking quart and pint cans 
at the same time, one cannot fill the buck¬ 
et so full of water. I have just as good 
results with less water, but I keep the 
cover as tight as possible. 
.5. IIow shall I know when water be¬ 
gins to boil? ’rbe sound when you listen 
closely and also the sight of escaping 
.steam will tell you. 
0. IIow shall I know how long to boil 
different products? ’The time tables re¬ 
ferred to above will tell you. 
7. IIow can I manage to seal a jar in 
the sterilizer? I never have. I remove 
the jar with a holder, placing it xipon a 
thick cloth, having all doors and windows 
closed just at this time to prevent drafts. 
Then i seal it at once. 
8. If a rubber squeezes out from un¬ 
der the cover of a wire top. what shall I 
do? You can generally push it into place 
just before you fasten down the clamp. 
9. How may I know if a can is .sealed? 
After you suppose you have seale_d it, lis¬ 
ten near the top of can. If air is escap¬ 
ing you can hear it. If not, turn the can 
carefully upside down and leave it. If it 
isn’t sealed it will leak. Cans tested be¬ 
fore using seldom give trouble. 
10. Can one afford fuel to can just one 
or two quarts of surplus food? It does 
not require as much as one would sup¬ 
pose. I try to have my cans filled^ and 
ready the night before. In the morning I 
jdace them on the range as soon as the 
fire is started. AA’hile I am using fuel 
for the forenoon’s Avork, the canning is 
done without one iota of extra fuel, and 
with very little trouble to myself. It re¬ 
quires only a little heat to keep a bucket 
boiling. 
11. If the juice boils out of the can. 
shall one open it and fill it Avith boiling 
Avater? No, not at all. Seal it just as it 
is. ’To open it Avould violate the applica¬ 
tion of the principle of canning. 
12. AA’hat shall I do Avith the grease 
on the water in the sap bucket? Let it 
get cold, boil it doAvn, strain, through a 
cloth and save it to use. 
18. When the moat is cold, the fat is 
ffirmed around the middle of the can and 
tlie meat is far above the grease neither 
is my can full. Is this right? Yes. that 
is the Avay it should appear. It Avill keep 
because the air is sterile. I often fid a 
quart can only half full of pumpkin, 
jieas, corn, etc., because I either do not 
liaA'e enough to fill it or do not care to 
open so much at one time. t 
14. lIoAV shall I remember hoAV I did a 
product? Buy large gummed labels at the 
bookstore, label each can Avith date and 
method of canning. AVben the can is 
opened, note result and Avrite it down in 
your canning memoranda. I’liis increases 
confidence in one s self and is A^aluable 
for future reference. 
15. AA'^ould a steam iiressure canner 
help greatly ? I own one, like it very 
much and use it to can large quantities 
at a time, but it is by no means necessary 
to incur the expense of buying one if one 
does not care to do .so. . 
Because, of repeatedly gratifying results 
I haA-e grown to enjoy the AA'ork of can¬ 
ning as much as I do the reiA'ard of m> 
labor, which I receive later Avhen I am 
reminded that “The proof of thejnidding 
is in the eating thereof.” 
S. M. T. 
Easier Dishwashing 
If there is any “magic” which can be 
iplied to dish-Avashiiig it is hot water 
id then some more hot AA'ater. ihe most 
betive “chemical” is probably a good 
ishing powder. It is less expensive 
an soap and saves time. IIoAvever, the 
eniical is not important as 'n Avashing 
itlies. A generous supply of hot Avater 
ill do the Avork even Avith greasy dishes 
the Avater can just be kept hot. 
There are dish-Avashing machines on 
the market, but they are expensive, they 
take room in the kitchen and they require 
Avater enough to do the family Avashing. 
.uany of us Avho live on farms are not 
equipped for the use of unlimited quanti¬ 
ties of AA'ater. AA'ith AA'ater piped into 
the house that part of the problem is 
solved, but even Avith the supply of Avater 
practically unlimited and the necessity 
of pumping and carrying it some distance 
a machine is not practicable. 
Dish-washing at best requires a certain 
amount of ceremony from .scraping the 
plates and cooking utensils and piling the 
dishes in order, to Avashing first, the 
glasses, then cups, saucers and .silver on 
doAA'n to plates and utensils. But this 
seeming ceremony saves Avork in the long 
run. To make dish-Avashin,; really much 
easier Ave need to dispense Avith .some of 
our old traditions. For instance, except 
for silver and gla.';sAvare, dishes need not 
he wdped at all. provided they are thor¬ 
oughly rinsed in Scalding Avater after 
washing, and drained in such a AA'ay that 
the air strikes them Avhile they are hot. 
They dry almost instantly clear and shiny. 
Thi.s alone Avill saA'e any houseAvife from 
10 to 20 minutes three times a day, or 
altogether fi'om one-half to one hour every 
day for resting, reading, exercise in the 
oj)en air or anything else that she may 
prefer to Aviping dishes. And the dishes 
are cleaner and more sanitaiT than if 
rinsed in Avarm Avater and dried on a 
towel. 
Put into the dish-pan as many dishes 
as can be handled Avithout croAvding, plac¬ 
ing the more s'oiled ones at the bottom 
of the pan and pour the hot Avater over 
them. Glasses should not be subjected to 
the very hot bath. The cleaner dishes 
Avill require almost no effort in washing, 
and the plates, knives and forks Avill be 
all soaked so that they require no rubbing 
of sticky surfaces. 
Ylost people handle the dishes Avith the 
left hand and Avash Avith the right. It 
will save time and much Jiandling of 
dishes if the pan into Avhich the dishes 
are piled after Avashing is placed at the 
left of the Avorker. Passing the dishes 
from the left hand to the right and on 
to the drain board or pan requires un¬ 
necessary time, effort and motion. Lack¬ 
ing a drainboard or Avire dish-rack the 
dishes may be drained on a dish toAvel. 
Drying dishes Avithout Aviping is quite 
common in hotels, restaurants, sanita¬ 
riums and hospitals Avhere many dishes 
have to be cleansed thoroughly and ex¬ 
peditiously, alAvays, of course, rinsing 
Avith very hot Avater and draining imme¬ 
diately. 
M’ith a good supply of water easily 
available. Iavo generous-sized dishpans, 
kettle rings for scraping utensils, a di.sh 
mop and suflicient dishcloths and toAvels. 
dish-washing should lose 9nucb of its 
unpleasantness and drudgery. 
.TESSIE I. CARPENTER. 
There is nothing on earth that is such 
a labor-saver as the mechanical dish- 
Avasher. "lYe have tried it for seven years 
and it almost seems as if life Avould be 
not AA'orth living Avithout it. ’Lhe table 
dishes are put directly into the Avasher, a 
little Avashing poAA'der sprinkled over them, 
a kettle of hot water poured in. the han¬ 
dle Avorked a couide of dozen times, a 
kettle of boiling Avater poured over tbem 
to rinse them, and the dishes are left in 
place and found dry and iiolished ready at 
the next meal to set directly on the table. 
It is a crude machine, and ought to be 
made much better. It Avould be easy to 
construct it so as to Avash the glasses, for 
instance, Avhich have to be done by hand 
for best results. But there are always 
some dishes that Avill not be cleaned in 
the Avasher. Egg-soiled dishes and all 
cooking utensils that need scraping re¬ 
quire hand-Avashing. and, I .suppose, al- 
Avays Avill. But Avhy the disliAvasher is 
not in universal use in every family is 
something I have never understood. In 
all this discussion nobody, so far as I 
haA-e noticed, has even mentioned the 
disliAA-asher. Will you believe Avhat I 
liaA'e .said Avhen I tell you that every day 
I Avash the dinner and suiijier dishes for 
my Avife? 
There are many other labor-savers that 
help to make cooking the joy that it 
.should be. Among them the slicing ma¬ 
chine and the mechanical colander. But 
they are other stories. w. c. D. 
Connecticut. 
