HOME CANNING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES TEXT

Use potatoes 1 to 2½ inches in diameter. Wash, pare, and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain. _In glass jars._—Pack hot potatoes to ½ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts. Cover with boiling water, leaving ½-inch space at top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 30 minutes Quart jars 40 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot potatoes to ¼ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; 1 teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill to top with boiling water. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 35 minutes No. 2½ cans 40 minutes Pumpkin, Cubed Wash pumpkin, remove seeds, and pare. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Add just enough water to cover; bring to boil. _In glass jars._—Pack hot cubes to ½ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts. Cover with hot cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch space at top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 55 minutes Quart jars 90 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot cubes to ¼ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; 1 teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill to top with hot cooking liquid. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 50 minutes No. 2½ cans 75 minutes Pumpkin, Strained Wash pumpkin, remove seeds, and pare. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Steam until tender, about 25 minutes. Put through food mill or strainer. Simmer until heated through; stir to keep pumpkin from sticking to pan. _In glass jars._—Pack hot to ½ inch of top. Add no liquid or salt. Adjust jar lids. Process at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 65 minutes Quart jars 80 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot to ⅛ inch of top. Add no liquid or salt. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 75 minutes No. 2½ cans 90 minutes Spinach (and Other Greens) Can only freshly picked, tender spinach. Pick over and wash thoroughly. Cut out tough stems and midribs. Place about 2½ pounds of spinach in a cheesecloth bag and steam about 10 minutes or until well wilted. _In glass jars._—Pack hot spinach loosely to ½ inch of top. Add ¼ teaspoon salt to pints; ½ teaspoon to quarts. Cover with boiling water, leaving ½-inch space at top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 70 minutes Quart jars 90 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot spinach loosely to ¼ inch of top. Add ¼ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; ½ teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill to top with boiling water. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 65 minutes No. 2½ cans 75 minutes [Illustration: 78351B To raw pack squash, pack uniform pieces of squash tightly into jars.] [Illustration: 78352B Cover squash with boiling water just before closing jars and putting in pressure canner.] Squash, Summer •Raw Pack.—Wash but do not pare squash. Trim ends. Cut squash into ½-inch slices; halve or quarter to make pieces of uniform size. _In glass jars._—Pack raw squash tightly into clean jars to 1 inch of top of jar. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts. Fill jar to ½ inch of top with boiling water. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 25 minutes Quart jars 30 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack raw squash tightly into cans to ½ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; 1 teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill cans to top with boiling water. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 20 minutes No. 2½ cans 20 minutes [Illustration: BN21467 When processing time is up, let pressure in canner drop to zero. Slowly open petcock or take off weighted gage. Unfasten cover, tilting far side up so steam escapes away from you.] •Hot Pack.—Wash squash and trim ends; do not pare. Cut squash into ½-inch slices; halve or quarter to make pieces of uniform size. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to boil. _In glass jars._—Pack hot squash loosely to ½ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts. Cover with boiling-hot cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch space at top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 30 minutes Quart jars 40 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot squash loosely to ¼ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; 1 teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill to top with boiling-hot cooking liquid. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 20 minutes No. 2½ cans 20 minutes Squash, Winter Follow method for pumpkin. Sweetpotatoes, Dry Pack Wash sweetpotatoes. Sort for size. Boil or steam until partially soft (20 to 30 minutes). Skin. Cut in pieces if large. _In glass jars._—Pack hot sweetpotatoes tightly to 1 inch of top, pressing gently to fill spaces. Add no salt or liquid. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 65 minutes Quart jars 95 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot sweetpotatoes tightly to top of can, pressing gently to fill spaces. Add no salt or liquid. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 80 minutes No. 2½ cans 95 minutes Sweetpotatoes, Wet Pack Wash sweetpotatoes. Sort for size. Boil or steam just until skins slip easily. Skin and cut in pieces. _In glass jars._—Pack hot sweetpotatoes to 1 inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts. Cover with boiling water or medium sirup, leaving 1-inch space at top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— Pint jars 55 minutes Quart jars 90 minutes As soon as you remove jars from canner, complete seals if necessary. _In tin cans._—Pack hot sweetpotatoes to ¼ inch of top. Add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 2 cans; 1 teaspoon to No. 2½ cans. Fill to top with boiling water or medium sirup. Exhaust to 170° F. (about 10 minutes) and seal cans. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F.)— No. 2 cans 70 minutes No. 2½ cans 90 minutes Questions and Answers Q. _Is it safe to process foods in the oven?_ A. No, oven canning is dangerous. Jars may explode. The temperature of the food in jars during oven processing does not get high enough to insure destruction of spoilage bacteria in vegetables. Q. _Why is open-kettle canning not recommended for fruits and vegetables?_ A. In open-kettle canning, food is cooked in an ordinary kettle, then packed into hot jars and sealed without processing. For vegetables, the temperatures obtained in open-kettle canning are not high enough to destroy all the spoilage organisms that may be in the food. Spoilage bacteria may get in when the food is transferred from kettle to jar. Q. _May a pressure canner be used for processing fruits and tomatoes?_ A. Yes. If it is deep enough it may be used as a water-bath canner (p. 4 ). Or you may use a pressure canner to process fruits and tomatoes at 0 to 1 pound pressure without having the containers of food completely covered with water. Put water in the canner to the shoulders of the jars; fasten cover. When live steam pours steadily from the open vent, start counting time. Leave vent open and process for the same times given for the boiling-water bath. Q. _Must glass jars and lids be sterilized by boiling before canning?_ A. No, not when boiling-water bath or pressure-canner method is used. The containers as well as the food are sterilized during processing. But be sure jars and lids are clean. Q. _Why is liquid sometimes lost from glass jars during processing?_ A. Loss of liquid may be due to packing jars too full, fluctuating pressure in a pressure canner, or lowering pressure too suddenly. Q. _Should liquid lost during processing be replaced?_ A. No, never open a jar and refill with liquid—this would let in bacteria and you would need to process again. Loss of liquid does not cause food to spoil, though the food above the liquid may darken. Q. _Is it safe to use canned food if liquid is cloudy?_ A. Cloudy liquid may be a sign of spoilage. But it may be caused by the minerals in hard water, or by starch from overripe vegetables. If liquid is cloudy, boil the food. Do not taste or use any food that foams during heating or has an off odor. Q. _Why does canned fruit sometimes float in jars?_ A. Fruit may float because pack is too loose or sirup too heavy; or because some air remains in tissues of the fruit after heating and processing. Q. _Is it safe to can foods without salt?_ A. Yes. Salt is used for flavor only and is not necessary for safe processing. Q. _What makes canned foods change color?_ A. Darkening of foods at the tops of jars may be caused by oxidation due to air in the jars or by too little heating or processing to destroy enzymes. Overprocessing may cause discoloration of foods throughout the containers. Pink and blue colors sometimes seen in canned pears, apples, and peaches are caused by chemical changes in the coloring matter of the fruit. Iron and copper from cooking utensils or from water in some localities may cause brown, black, and gray colors in some foods. When canned corn turns brown, the discoloring may be due to the variety of corn, to stage of ripeness, to overprocessing, or to copper or iron pans. Packing liquid may cause fading of highly colored foods. The use of plain tin cans will cause some foods to lose color (p. 4). Q. _Is it safe to eat discolored canned foods?_ A. The color changes noted above do not mean the food is unsafe to eat. However, spoilage may also cause color changes. Any canned food that has an unusual color should be examined carefully before use (p. 8). Q. _Does ascorbic acid help keep fruits and vegetables from darkening?_ A. Yes. The addition of ¼ teaspoon of crystalline ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to a quart of fruit or vegetable before it is processed retards oxidation, which is one cause of darkening of canned foods. One teaspoon of crystalline ascorbic acid weighs about 3 grams (or 3,000 milligrams). Q. _Is it all right to use preservatives in home canning?_ A. No. Some canning powders or other chemical preservatives may be harmful. Q. _Why do the undersides of metal lids sometimes discolor?_ A. Natural compounds in some foods corrode the metal and make a brown or black deposit on the underside of the lid. This deposit is harmless. Q. _When canned or frozen fruits are bought in large containers, is it possible to can them in smaller containers?_ A. Any canned or frozen fruit may be heated through, packed, and processed the same length of time as recommended for hot packs. This canned food may be of lower quality than if fruit had been canned when fresh. Q. _Is it safe to leave food in tin cans after opening?_ A. Yes. Food in tin cans needs only to be covered and refrigerated. Q. _Is the processing time the same no matter what kind of range is used?_ A. Processing times and temperatures in this bulletin are for canning in a pressure canner or boiling-water bath with any type of range. Q. _Can fruits and vegetables be canned without heating if aspirin is used?_ A. No. Aspirin cannot be relied on to prevent spoilage or to give satisfactory products. Adequate heat treatment is the only safe procedure. INDEX A Altitude, high, canning at 11, 17 Apples 11 Applesauce 12 Apricots 12 Ascorbic acid 23, 30 Asparagus 18 Aspirin 30 B Beans, dry 18, 19 Beans, fresh lima 19 Beans, snap 19 Beets 20 Beets, pickled 12 Berries 12 Botulinus poisoning 8 C Carrots 21 Cherries 12 Corn 21 D Discoloration, causes 30 F Frozen foods, canning 30 FRUIT— floating, cause 29 how to can 9 juices 13 preparation for canning 5 purees 13 yield of canned from fresh 11 G Gage 3 GLASS JARS— filling 5, 9, 16 preparing for use 4 processing 4, 17 sealing 6 sterilization 29 Greens 26 H Hominy 23 Honey, used in canning fruit 10 J JUICES— fruit 13 tomato 15 L Leaks, tests for 8 Lima beans, fresh 19 LIQUID— cloudy 29 cooking, when to use 16 loss in canning 29 M Mushrooms 23 O Okra 24 Open-kettle canning 29 Oven canning 29 P PACKING— fruits 5, 9 hot pack 5, 9, 16 raw pack 5, 9, 16 vegetables 5, 16 Peaches 13 Pears 14 Peas, fresh blackeye 24 Peas, fresh green 24 Plums 14 Potatoes 25 Preservatives 30 Pressure saucepan 3 Pumpkin 25 Purees, fruit 13 R Recanning fruit 30 Rhubarb 14 Rubber rings 4, 6 S Salt, canning without 29 Sealer, tin-can, testing 5 Seals, testing 8 Sirup, corn 10 Sirup, sugar 9 Spoilage 8, 30 Spinach 26 Squash 26 STEAM-PRESSURE CANNER— care 3 for processing fruit 29 processing in 16 Storage 8 SUGAR— canning without 10 in canning fruit 9 Sweetpotatoes 28 T TIN CANS— exhausting 6 filling 5, 16 holding food in opened can 30 preparing for use 5 processing 17 types 4 Tomatoes 15 Tomato juice 15 V VEGETABLES— how to can 16 preparation for canning 5 yield of canned from fresh 17 W WATER-BATH CANNER— preparing for use 4 processing in 10 MORE INFORMATION