Every Step in Canning | Page 7

cause the loss of a jar.
Test each rubber before you use it by pressing it firmly between the
thumbs and forefingers, stretching it very slightly. If it seems soft and
spongy discard it. All rubbers fit for canning should be firm, elastic,
and should endure a stretching pull without breaking. A good rubber
ring will return promptly to place without changing the inside diameter.
A great many women are laboring under the wrong impression that
color affects the quality of a ring. Some women insist on red, and
others on white. 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.
Use only fresh, sound strawberries or other berries. There is a little
knack about preparing the strawberries that few housewives know. Hull
the berries by twisting the berries off the hull, instead of pulling the hull
from the berry as most women do. You will have a
better-looking
berry if you will be careful about this. Place the berries in a strainer and
pour cold water over them to cleanse them.
HOW TO ADJUST THE COVERS
Never allow the berries or any fruit to stand in water, as the flavor and
color are destroyed by water-soaking. Pack in glass jars, pressing the

berries down tightly, but without crushing them. Put the rubber on the
jar if you are using a jar requiring a rubber. Pour hot sirup over the
berries. Put the top of the jar in place, but only partially tighten it.
If using the screw-top jars, such as the Mason, screw down with the
thumb and little finger, not using force but stopping when the cover
catches.
If using vacuum-seal jars put the cover on and the spring in place. The
spring will give enough to allow the steam to escape.
In using glass-top jars with the patent wire snap, put the cover in place,
the wire over the top and leave the clamp up.
The cover on a glass jar must not be tight while the product is cooking,
because the air will expand when heated, and if the cover is not loose
enough to allow the steam to escape the pressure may blow the rubber
out or break the jar.
The product is now ready for the canner.
STERILIZING
If you are using the homemade outfit, such as wash-boiler or garbage
pail, all berries and soft fruits are sterilized sixteen minutes; in all
commercial hot-water-bath outfits and in condensed steam, sixteen
minutes; in the water-seal, twelve minutes; in the steam pressure under
five pounds of steam, ten minutes; and in the pressure cooker under ten
pounds of steam, five minutes. Do not allow the pressure to run above
ten pounds for soft fruits; fifteen pounds makes them mushy.
If you use any type of hot-water-bath outfit be sure the water is boiling
when the fruit is lowered into the canner, and _keep it boiling_
vigorously for the entire sixteen minutes. At the end of the sterilizing
time, immediately remove the jars from the canner.
In taking canned goods from boiling water care is needed to see that
they are protected from drafts. If necessary close the windows and

doors while lifting the jars out, as a sudden draft might break them.
Examine rubbers to see that they are in place. Sometimes if a cover is
screwed down too tight the pressure of the steam from the inside causes
the rubber to bulge out. Simply loosen the cover a thread or two, push
the rubber back into place and then tighten.
In case the rubber does not seem to fit well or seems to be a poor
rubber it should be replaced by a new one, and the jar returned to the
cooker for five minutes.
The jars should be sealed tight--covers screwed down, clamps put in
place--immediately after they are removed from the cooker.
Invert the jar to test the joint, then let it cool. If the seal is not perfect
correct the fault and return the jar to the cooker for five minutes if hot,
ten minutes if the jar is cold.
Do not invert vacuum-seal jars. These should be allowed to cool, and
then be tested by removing the spring or clamp and lifting the jars by
the cover only. Lift the jar only half an inch, holding it over the table,
so that in case the lid does not hold the jar and contents will not be
damaged. Or, better still, tap round the edge of the cover with a rule.
An imperfect seal will give a hollow sound.
As light injures delicately colored fruits and vegetables, it is wise to
store them in dark places, such as cupboards, or basement or attic
shelves protected from the