Every Step in Canning Part 23

The hardening of beans, peas and some other products after cooking or processing, or the turning of green vegetables to a dark or russet color usually indicates that the water contains too high a percentage of mineral matter. Water used for canning purposes should be pure, soft if possible or as free from objectionable and excessive qualities of mineral matter as possible. If you are to can any large quant.i.ty of food products and have difficulty with the water available, it would be well for you to have the water a.n.a.lyzed and for you to secure the advice of some one at your college of agriculture.

TOO MUCH SALT IN CANNED GOODS INJURIOUS TO QUALITY

Most vegetables as well as meats are injured in quality by an excessive use of salt for seasoning in the canning process. A little salt is very palatable and its use should be encouraged but it is better to add no salt in canning than to use too much, as it can be added to suit the taste when served.

ALt.i.tUDE AND ITS EFFECT ON CANNING

Remember that practically all instructions on home canning are based upon a time schedule for sterilization from sea level to an alt.i.tude of 500 feet above sea level. When canning at an alt.i.tude of more than 500 feet above sea level, it will be necessary to use your judgment in the increase of time for sterilizing on the basis of 20 per cent for each 4,000 feet.

Blanching means _boiling_, not hot. In different directions for canning we often find "hot" water mentioned when boiling water is intended. Water should be _boiling at a gallop_ when vegetables are blanched--berries and soft fruits are not usually blanched, though some are scalded to loosen the skin.

BERRIES OR FRUIT RISING TO THE TOP

Some women are disturbed because berries and fruits have a tendency to always rise to the top of the jar leaving a sirup s.p.a.ce in the bottom.

To prevent this you can scald all berries and fruits which are not ordinarily scalded, for one minute and then cold-dip them. They will be softened some, but remain firm, and can be packed very closely in a jar. They can be packed so closely that only a little sirup can be added. When a jar thus packed comes from the sterilizer the berries or fruit are not floating as they would be if they were not scalded.

Another method employed to prevent berries from floating is to put the hot sterilized jar on its side while cooling and to roll it frequently during the cooling period. The berries are then evenly distributed through the sirup.

In canning mushrooms in tin, always use lacquered cans. Do not fail to blanch and cold dip before packing, and remove the mushrooms immediately after opening the tin cans.

In canning cabbage and other similar products always soak the product in cold brine for one hour before sterilizing. Use pound salt to 12 quarts water. This is believed to improve the flavor. Always wash greens or other vegetables, to remove all dirt and grit.

TROUBLES WITH TIN CANS

To discover pin-holes or any leaks in a tin can, immerse it in boiling water after sealing and if there is any bubbling from the can, you may rest a.s.sured it needs resealing.

Swells in tin cans are caused by insufficient sterilization. The action of bacteria causes gas to form in the can and as a result there is a bulging at either end. If left alone long enough the cans will explode. Watch carefully all bulging cans and use them first.

Sometimes a slight bulge occurs when a can has been filled too full.

If you have trouble sealing tin cans the chances are that the can is too full. See that no particle of food touches the top or when soldering, if you employ that method of sealing, small pin holes will be blown in the seal by escaping steam which is generated by the hot sealer coming in contact with the cold food. Another cause of sealing trouble lies sometimes in a poorly heated capping steel or because it is not kept brightly tinned. To make a proper seal the steel must be kept bright, hot and clean.

Also, be sure you buy good solder as there are inferior grades that are too poor to flow when properly heated.

FROZEN PRODUCTS

Watch all jars and cans that have been subjected to a freeze. If the cans or jars do not burst the only harm done is a slight softening of the food tissues. In gla.s.s jars after freezing there is sometimes a small crack left which will admit air and consequently bacteria.

Sometimes cans and jars tip over in the wash boiler during sterilizing. This is caused by using a false-bottom which is too low or because it is not well perforated. Or it may be due to the fact that the jar was not well packed and so may be too light in weight.

CHAPTER XII

GETTING READY TO DRY

For various reasons women have not taken so kindly to drying fruits and vegetables as they have to canning these foods.

One woman said to me: "I like the canning because I can come to a demonstration and see the whole process carried through from start to finish. The drying of strawberries cannot be completed in sixteen minutes as the canning is." And another woman said: "What I do not like about drying is having the stuff standing round the house somewhere for so many hours. I like to get things in the jars and out of sight."

These two objections seem to be expressed more than any other. And in addition there is a third objection to drying: "I want my prepared food ready to use on a minute's notice. I can quickly open a can of my fruit and vegetables and there it is ready. With my dried things I have to allow time for soaking and cooking." This we will have to admit is true. But what weight have these three arguments against the many advantages of drying?

When we study the history of food preservation we find that drying was practiced before canning, pickling or preserving. I know my grandmother successfully dried quant.i.ties of things.

Vegetable and fruit drying have been little practiced for a generation or more, though there have been some thrifty housekeepers who have clung to their dried corn, peas, beans and apples. A friend of mine says: "Why, dried corn has a much better, sweeter taste than your canned stuff. I would rather have one little dish of my delicious dried corn than two big dishes of your canned corn."

Drying, I think we will all admit, does not and cannot take the place of canning fruits and vegetables in gla.s.s or tin. Drying and canning are twin sisters, and always go hand in hand.

The ideal arrangement for all homes, whether on the farm, in the village, in the town or in the city, is to have an ample supply of canned food for emergencies and quick service, and an equally ample supply of dried foods when meals are planned beforehand and there is time enough for the soaking and cooking of the dried foods.

THE ADVANTAGES OF DRYING

When we come right down to facts, drying has many advantages over canning.

The process is very simple, as you will see. The cost is slight. In almost every home the necessary equipment, in its simplest form, is already at hand. There is no expense for gla.s.s jars or tin cans, and with ordinary care there is no loss of products, as there may be in handling gla.s.s jars or from spoilage. The actual work requires less time and less skill than canning and the dried products when properly prepared are just as good as the canned ones--some say better.

One special thing in favor of drying is the little storage s.p.a.ce needed. You can often reduce 100 pounds of fresh product to ten pounds by drying, without any loss of food value and with little loss of flavor.

Dried products can be moved more conveniently than gla.s.s jars or tin cans, for they are usually reduced to from one-third to one-fifth of the original bulk.

Another valuable thing about drying is that the little odds and ends one would scarcely bother to can may be dried in the oven as you go about your housework.

I have often been asked the difference between the meaning of the terms "evaporated," "dried," "desiccated" and "dehydrated." These terms are used more or less interchangeably when applied to foods from which the moisture has been removed. In a general way, however, "evaporated" products are those from which the moisture has been removed through the agency of artificial heat; dried fruit is that which has been exposed to the heat of the sun, though not infrequently the term is applied to products handled in the evaporator. The other terms are commonly applied to products that have been evaporated by one of the various patented processes in which equipment of some special design has been used.

To avoid any confusion we will use the general term "dried" for all products that have enough of the water removed to prevent bacterial action, but which still retain the maximum food value, color and flavor of the original product. And that is what we want to accomplish when we attempt to dry.

How are we to remove the water and still retain food value, color and flavor? There are three princ.i.p.al methods by which we can do this.

First, by artificial heat. Drying by artificial heat is done in the oven or on top of a cookstove or range, in trays suspended on the stove or in a specially constructed dryer built at home or purchased.

Second, by the sun. Sun drying is done either out of doors in the sun, under gla.s.s in sun parlors, or the products are hung in the attic where the sun has free access.

Third, satisfactory drying may be done by an air blast from an electric fan.

Of course any one of these may be used alone or two different methods may be combined. You can start a product on the stove and finish it in the sun, or _vice versa._

The simplest and yet the most effective drying may be done on plates or dishes placed in the oven. It may be done on the back of the kitchen stove with these same utensils while the oven is being used for baking. In this way left-overs and other bits of food may be dried with slight trouble while the stove is being used, and saved for winter use. This method is especially effective for sweet corn. A few sweet potatoes, apples or peas, or even a single turnip, may be dried and saved.

To keep the heat from being too great, when drying in the oven leave the oven door partly open. For oven use, a simple tray may be made of galvanized-wire screen of convenient size, with the edges bent up for an inch or two on each side. At each corner this tray should have a leg an inch or two in length to hold it up from the bottom of the oven and permit circulation of air round the product.

Oven drying in a gas range is an effective method if the temperature is kept even. An oven thermometer is a great convenience, otherwise the temperature will have to be carefully watched and the burners turned as low as possible. It is economy in the end to purchase an oven thermometer, for then you can have the temperature just right. It is best to start the temperature at 110 degrees Fahrenheit and dry at 130 degrees. Never go over 150 degrees.

If you wish to dry in the oven over the kerosene stove, place soapstones over each burner to prevent the heat from becoming too intense. Turn the burners very low until the stones are thoroughly heated. You can turn off the burners completely after the desired temperature is reached and it will be maintained from the heat of the stones for five or six hours. If more time than that is required for the drying, it may be necessary to light the burners again before the end of the process. The products should be turned constantly, so that they may dry evenly.