Every Step in Canning Part 21

Two old rubbers are inferior in strength to one new good rubber. If you use old rubbers and your canned goods spoil, blame the rubbers.

GLa.s.s JARS

Next in importance to the rubbers are the gla.s.s jars you use. There are many kinds of fruit jars on the market. The question is frequently asked, "Which jars on the market are the best." The only answer to that is to choose the jar which is simplest in construction, which will seal perfectly and wash easily, which protects the contained food against contact with metal, which has the fewest parts to lose or misplace and which fits the shelves and receptacles planned to hold it.

FLAT SOUR

Flat-sour often causes annoyance to beginners in canning some vegetables, such as corn, peas, beans and asparagus. These canned foods may show no signs of spoilage and yet when the can is opened the product may have a sour taste and a disagreeable odor. This "flat-sour" is not harmful and must not be confused with "botulinus,"

which is harmful. However, the taste and odor are so disagreeable you will have no desire to eat "flat-sour" canned goods.

This trouble can be avoided if you will use fresh products, that is, those which have not been allowed to wilt or stand around the shops for several days, and will blanch, cold-dip, and pack one jar of product at a time, and place each jar in the canner as it is packed.

The first jars in will not be affected by the extra cooking. When the steam-pressure canner is used the jars or cans may be placed in the retort and the cover placed into position but not clamped down until the retort is filled.

TROUBLES WITH CORN

Corn seems to give the most trouble, but with a little care and study this product may be canned as easily as any other grown in the garden.

A little experience in selecting the ears and ability to recognize corn that is just between the milk and dough stage is important.

Blanch not longer than five minutes. A plunge in cold water is sufficient. Cut the corn from the cob with a sharp knife and pack at once in sterilized jars. Best results can be accomplished when two people cut and one person fills. If it is necessary for one person to work alone, cut off sufficient corn to fill one jar, pour on _boiling_ water, add salt, place rubber and cap in position and put the jar at once in the canner. A little overcooking does not injure the quality of canned corn. Corn should not be tightly packed in the jar; it expands a little in processing and for this reason each jar should be filled scant full. Corn that has a cheesy appearance after canning had reached the dough stage before being packed. Corn should never be allowed to remain in the cold dip and large quant.i.ties should not be dipped at one time unless sufficient help is available to handle the product quickly.

Some to be absolutely sure when canning corn, cook it for ten minutes in hot water before packing into jars.

Leave fully one inch of s.p.a.ce at the top when packing corn but enough water may be poured into the jar to fill the can or jar, for when the corn swells the water will be absorbed.

Corn Turning Dark. A dark color in canned corn is due to some of the following causes:

1. Using water that contains too much iron.

2. Using corn that has reached the dough stage.

3. Blanching for too long a period--five minutes is sufficient for corn.

Water-Logged or Soaked Corn. When canned corn becomes "water-logged"

or "soaked" it is due to such causes as the following:

1. Allowing the product to stand in the cold water too long after the hot dip.

2. Allowing the jars to stand after they have been packed, and filled with boiling water. The jars should be immediately placed in the sterilizer after being packed.

3. Allowing ears of corn to stand in cold water after opening.

4. Heating corn in warm water over a slow fire.

BEETS, THEIR LOSS OF COLOR

The loss of color in canned beets is due to faulty methods of preparation before packing them into the jars. To secure good results 3 or 4 inches of the top and all of the tail should be left on while blanching. Beets should be blanched for five minutes and the skin should be sc.r.a.ped but not peeled. Beets should be packed whole if possible.

Small beets that run forty to a quart are less likely to fade and are the most suitable size for first-cla.s.s packs. The older the beets the more chance there is for loss of color. Well-canned beets will show a slight loss of color when removed from the canner, but will brighten up in a few days.

CLOUDY PEAS

The condition of peas known as "cloudy" is due to such causes as the following:

1. Cracking the skin of the pea.

2. Blanching for too long a period.

3. Use of water which is too hard or has too much mineral content.

SHRINKAGE OF PRODUCT DURING CANNING

Shrinkage may be due to one or more of the following:

1. Improper blanching and cold-dipping.

2. Careless packing and using variety of sizes.

3. Sterilizing for too long a period.

4. Lack of sizing whole products for the container.

Sometimes there is a natural shrinkage that cannot be prevented. This is due to the fact that vegetables contain air in their tissues and when this air is driven off by the heat, the boiling water in the jar rushes in to fill its place. In consequence we have an apparent shrinkage in the amount of water. So be careful to do the blanching as correctly as possible to drive out the air; however, the product will keep just as well in a jar half full of water as if entirely covered with liquid. The contents of the jar whether food or air are sterile.

SHRINKAGE OF GREENS

Shrinkage of greens or pot herbs during the canning process is usually due to insufficient blanching. The proper way to blanch all greens or pot herbs is in a steamer or in a vessel improvised to do the blanching in live steam above the water line. If this is not done much of the mineral salts and volatile oil contents will be extracted by the water and lost.

LOSS OF LIQUID DURING CANNING

A loss of liquid in canning with a hot-water-bath outfit may be caused by one or more of the following:

1. Not having the water in the sterilizing vat cover the tops of the jars by at least one inch.

2. Not providing a suitable platform to hold the jars off the bottom of the sterilizing vat, permitting circulation of water under as well as around the jars.

3. Not having the wire bail that goes over the gla.s.s tops of jars sufficiently tight.

REASONS WHY JUICES ARE DRAWN FROM JARS WHEN CANNING WITH STEAM PRESSURE

1. Open pet c.o.c.k after pointer or gauge has reached zero; test for pressure by opening pet c.o.c.k slowly at first. The gauge does not register pressure until about one pound of pressure has formed, hence opening the pet c.o.c.k before the pointer is at zero means that from one to two pounds of pressure is being relieved and this will draw the juices the same as allowing the boiler to stand and a vacuum to form.