CHAPTER 7

Canning and Pickling

PREPARATION OF VEGETABLES FOR CANNING

The essential thing to watch is the quality of the vegetables.
They should be fresh, firm and free from scab or spots. A good
rule is to have them in the jars and on their way to canning within
four hours after picking. Once picked, sort them over, reserving
only the best. Wash and shell or snip the peas and beans. The
beets, of course, are scrubbed and you will notice by the chart, we
can the beet greens separately; if you have spinach, it may be done
in the same way.

Precooking

We have found precooking one of the secrets of successful
canning, particularly where canning is done in the hot bath or in
the oven. As you know, we cannot get the same intense heat in the
bath or oven as we get in a pressure cooker, so the vegetables are
boiled for varying lengths of time before canning. Cover closely
during cooking and have the vegetables covered with water but not
drowned; drain and pack while hot into sterile jars. Add 14 tea-
spoon salt to each jar and with the peas and tomatoes add 14 tea-
spoonful of sugar also. ‘The jars should then be filled with boiling
water to within 14 inch of the top. Put on the rubber, the glass and
zinc top and screw down tightly, then turn back a quarter turn.
The vegetables are now ready for canning.

Hot Bath Canning

You need a large kettle or wash boiler. The jars should be
placed on a rack and not touching one another. The racks are
inexpensive, handy and don’t tip the jars. However, a simple
wooden rack can be made from slats. Have the water hot before
the jars are put in and time from the moment the water breaks
into the boil. When the time is up, lift the jars out carefully and
let stand out of the draft; a cold breeze will crack them and there
is all that work for nothing. Screw down the tops and invert to
test for leaks. Then store for winter use.

Notes

Small whole tomatoes may be canned for salads; instead of
filling the jars with boiling water, use hot tomatoes. That way
you have salad tomatoes and tomatoes for soup.