Every Step in Canning | Page 5

the hot-water-bath outfits. In these
outfits the products are all cooked in boiling water.
There are condensed-steam cookers under various names, where the
product is cooked in condensed steam. These steamers are generally
used for everyday cookery.
The water-seal outfit, the steam-pressure outfit and the aluminum
pressure cooker follow in order of efficiency as regards the time
required to sterilize food.
Following the hot-water canner in simplicity of construction and
manipulation is the water-seal cooker. The temperature of the
hot-water-seal outfit is a little higher than the homemade or
hot-water-bath outfit; so time is saved in the sterilizing.
The steam-pressure and the pressure cookers are more complicated but
more efficient. Some prefer the aluminum pressure cooker because it
can be used for everyday cooking in the home.
Pressure cookers are expensive, but they are worth their price, as they
are used daily and not just during the canning season.
Here are examples of how they rank as to time required: In a
hot-water-bath outfit soft fruits must be sterilized sixteen minutes; in a
steamer, sixteen minutes; in a water-seal outfit, twelve minutes; in a
steam-pressure-outfit under five pounds of steam, ten minutes; in an
aluminum pressure cooker outfit with ten pounds of steam, five
minutes.
It takes longest to can with a homemade or hot-water-bath outfit; the
shortest and quickest method is with the pressure cooker that has a
pressure of ten pounds or more. Each housewife has different financial
problems, different hours of working and different ways of working.
Where quick work is desired and expense is no item the pressure
cooker is advisable; where money is scarce and time is no object the
homemade outfit answers. Each one must decide which outfit is best

for her own particular case. It matters not which outfit you have--they
have all been thoroughly tested and approved by experts. Each one
does the work.
This equipment for canning should be in all kitchens: four-quart kettle
for blanching; steamer for steaming greens; colander; quart measure;
funnel; good rubber rings; sharp paring knives; jar opener; wire basket
and a piece of cheesecloth one yard square for blanching; pineapple
scissors; one large preserving spoon; one tablespoon; one teaspoon; one
set of measuring spoons; measuring cup; jar lifter; either a rack for
several jars or individual jar holders; and a clock.
The manufacturers, realizing that boys and girls must be kept busy
during the vacation months, have made some wonderful devices for
outdoor canning. Would it not be a good plan to buy one for the young
people of your family and give them something definite and worth
while to do in summer? You know little brains and hands must be kept
busy--if not usefully employed they are often inclined to mischief. This
type of cooker furnishes its own heat; so it can be used in the back yard,
in the orchard or under the trees in the front yard.
Remember that the higher the altitude the lower the degree of heat
required to boil water. Time-tables given in instructions for canning are
usually based upon the requirements of an altitude of 500 feet above
sea level. Generally speaking, for every 4000-foot increase in altitude it
will be well to add twenty per cent to the time required as given in
recipes or time schedules for the canning of all kinds of fruits,
vegetables, greens and meats.
CHAPTER II
SOFT FRUITS AND BERRIES
Having decided on your canning outfit, whether you are going to can in
boiling water, in a condensed steam cooker, or in steam under pressure;
having gathered together the necessary tools, such as spoons, knives
and a funnel; having raided the storeroom and collected some jars, you
are now ready for the actual work of canning.

It is rather unfortunate that strawberries should be one of the very
hardest products to can with good results. The canning itself is
simple--all berries are quickly and easily canned--but strawberries
always shrink, are apt to turn a little brown, and, what distresses us
most of all, they float to the top of the jar.
The berry's tendency to shrink is responsible for loss of color as well as
its floating qualities. However, if you will be exceedingly careful to
remove the berries from the canner the minute the clock says the
sterilizing period is over, you will have a fairly good product. Two
minutes too long will produce a very dark, shrunken berry. So be
careful of the cooking time. Another thing that makes a good-looking
jar is to pack a quart of berries--all kinds of berries, not merely
strawberries--into a pint jar. If you will get that many in you will have a
much better-looking jar, with very little liquid at the bottom. It does not
hurt the berries at all to gently press down on them