Every Step in Canning Part 20

Tomatoes 1 min. No water 10 5 1 hr.

String beans 3-5 min. Brine[1] 3 3 1 hr.

String beans 3-5 min. Brine[1] 10 3 2 hrs. and 20 min.

Sweet potatoes Cook 2 tablespoonfuls 3 3 3 hrs.

done water Baby beets Cook Brine[1] 3 3 1 hrs.

done Soup mixture Boil down 2 3 1 hr.

thick Apples 1 min. No. 3 sirup 3 3 8 min.

Berries 1 min. No. 4 sirup 3 3 10 min.

Berries 1 min. No. 4 sirup 10 3 32 min.

Figs No. 4 sirup 2 3 25 min.

Peaches 1 min. No. 4 sirup 3 3 20 min.

Pears 1 min. No. 4 sirup 3 3 20 min.

Pears 1 min. No. 4 sirup 10 3 35 min.

[Footnote 1: Brine is made of 2 ounces (1/3 cup) of salt to 1 gallon of water. To make sirup recommended, boil sugar and water together in proportions given below.

Sirup No. 1, use 14 ounces to 1 gallon water.

Sirup No. 2, use 1 pound 14 ounces to 1 gallon water.

Sirup No. 3, use 3 pounds 9 ounces to 1 gallon water.

Sirup No. 4, use 5 pounds 8 ounces to 1 gallon water.

Sirup No. 5, use 6 pounds 13 ounces to 1 gallon water.

One pint sugar is one pound.]

TIME-TABLE FOR PRODUCTS IN TIN

The following vegetables should be processed the same length of time on each of three successive days:

NO. EXHAUST PROCESS OR BOIL ON BLANCH LIQUOR CAN MINUTES EACH OF THREE SUCCESSIVE DAYS

Corn 2 min. on Water, salt 2 10 1 hr. and 15 min.

cob and sugar Garden peas 1 to 4 min. Water, salt 2 3 1 hr. and 15 min.

and sugar Asparagus 1 min. Brine[1] 3 3 1 hr.

Asparagus 1 min. Brine[1] 2 3 50 min.

Lima beans 2 to 4 min. Brine[1] 2 3 1 hr. and 10 min.

Okra 3 min. Brine[1] 3 3 1 hr. and 10 min.

Okra 3 min. Brine[1] 2 3 50 min.

Squash Cook soft 3 3 1 hr.

and creamy Squash Cook soft 2 3 1 hr. and 10 min.

and creamy Pumpkin Cook soft 3 3 1 hr.

and creamy Pumpkin Cook soft 3 3 1 hr. and 10 min.

and creamy Spinach 4 min. Brine[1] 3 3 1 hr. and 15 min.

Spinach 4 min. Brine[1] 2 3 1 hr.

[Footnote 1: Brine is made of 2 ounces (1/3 cup) of salt to 1 gallon of water.]

You will notice in the time-table for tin, that there is a column for "Exhausting." After the can is packed and capped it is placed in the canner of boiling water to within 1 inch of the top of the can where it remains the number of minutes, usually three, indicated on the time-table. This is done to force the air from the can through the little hole left open in the top, and is called exhausting. Cans that are not exhausted frequently bulge after processing and are looked upon with suspicion. Cans exhausted too long frequently cave in at the sides. The time-table should be used carefully and followed strictly in this part of the process. Tin cans do not require exhausting in the Northern and Western states.

TIME-TABLE FOR CANNING VEGETABLES STEAM PRESSURE

TEMPERATURE, VEGETABLE PROCESS, DEGREES PRESSURE MINUTES FAHRENHEIT POUNDS

Asparagus 30 240 10 String beans, No. 2 45 240 10 String beans, No. 3 55 240 10 Beets 30 228 5 Corn 80 250 15 Okra 30 240 10 Peas 45 240 10 Soup, concentrated vegetable 30 228 10 Spinach 30 228 15 Sweet potatoes 70 250 15

Corn, lima beans and peas should never be packed in larger container than No. 2. Corn is cut from cob after blanching.

The brine used is made of 2 ounces salt to 1 gallon of water, except for asparagus, which contains 4 ounces to 1 gallon.

Beets and rhubarb when packed in tin must be put in enamel-lined cans.

Process pints as for No. 2 cans; quarts as for No. 3 cans, adding 10 minutes to each period.

String beans when more mature should be processed at 15 pounds pressure for 30 minutes for No. 2, and 45 minutes for No. 3.

CHAPTER XI

WHY CANNED GOODS SPOIL

Every day brings letters to my desk saying, "Why did my jars of vegetables lose water?" or, "When I looked into my canner I saw all the beautiful dark sirup in the bottom of the canner instead of in the jars," or, "What shall I do, my beets are all white?" etc., etc. In this chapter I am going to try and tell you a few things you must and must not do. A few "Do's" and "Don'ts" may help you a little in your canning and food preserving.

I want to say right here that if you have failures do not blame the method as we are always so apt to do. Experts have worked long enough, carefully and thoroughly enough, to convince themselves and others that the cold-pack method and the intermittent method, which methods are employed for cooking the product in the jar, are sure, safe, reliable and efficient methods. So if your food spoils convince yourself it is not the method but something else. Spoilage is due to imperfect jars, imperfect rubbers, imperfect sealing of tin cans, careless blanching, insufficient cold dipping or poor sterilizing.

CAN-RUBBERS

Possibly your canning troubles are all due to using a poor grade of rubber rings. This is poor economy. Rubbers are apt to give more trouble than anything else to canners when using gla.s.s jars. Many of the rubbers sold are of a very poor quality, disintegrating quickly when subjected to heat and strain. My sister, canning in the hot climate of India, has more trouble with the rubber proposition than anything else.

You want good rubbers, are willing to pay for them, and here is what you should know about rubber rings.

The one-period, cold-pack method and the intermittent method of home canning require a rubber ring essentially different from that commonly used in the old hot-pack method of home canning. Investigation shows that many of the rings upon the market are unsuitable for these newer methods, being unable to withstand the long periods of boiling required in the canning of vegetables and meats.

Practical canning tests have indicated that rubber rings for use in this method should meet the following requirements:

Inside Diameter. The ring should fit closely, requiring a little stretching to get it around the neck of the jar. For standard jars the ring should have an inside diameter of 2 inches.

Width of Ring and f.l.a.n.g.e. The width of the ring or f.l.a.n.g.e may vary from one-fourth of an inch to twelve thirty-seconds of an inch. Tests which have been made show that fewer cases of "blow-out" occur when the f.l.a.n.g.e is ten thirty-seconds of an inch.

Thickness. Rubber rings as found on the market may vary from 1/18 to 1/10 of an inch in thickness. Tests show that 1/12 of an inch in thickness is sufficient to take up the unevenness in the jar and still not so thick as to make it difficult to place the cap or adjust the bail.

Cold-pack and intermittent-canning require a rubber ring that is tough, does not enlarge perceptibly when heated in water or steam, and is not forced out of position between the top and the jar by slight pressure within the jar. This we call a "blow-out."

Rubber rings should be capable of withstanding four hours of sterilization in boiling water without blowing out on partially sealed jars, or one hour under ten pounds of steam pressure. They should be selected with reference to proper inside diameter, width of f.l.a.n.g.e, and thickness. Good rubber will stretch considerably and return promptly to place without changing the inside diameter. They should also be reasonably firm and able to stand without breakage. Color is given to rings by adding coloring matter during the manufacturing process. The color of the ring is no index to its usefulness in home canning. Red, white, black or gray may be used.

Always use _new_ can-rubbers with each year's product of canned goods.

An old rubber may look like a new one but it has lost its elasticity and its use may cause imperfect sealing and thus endanger the keeping quality of the food. This is always a hard thing to impress upon thrifty penny-saving housekeepers. The old rubber looks so good, so why not use it? But be wise in this and remember it is _never safe to use old rubbers_. New rubbers are expensive but what about the cost of the product, the loss of your time and fuel! One jar lost due to an old rubber is so much food, time and fuel lost.

And do not think yourself thrifty to use two old rubber rings instead of one, thereby thinking to obtain a better seal, for you will not.