POINTERS AND PITFALLS TO WATCH IN CANNING
Sheridan, Mary
Sing a Song of Sixpence Pointers And Pitfalls To Watch In Canning By MARY SHERIDAN: MANY of the bigger and well-stocked grocery stores, just before the July rationing rules went into effect,...
...There are "Seven Points for Success" in canning, say Department of Agriculture experts...
...Also, the canners have their own axe to grind...
...As a result of last Summer's efficient campaign, housewives have learned much about modern canning methods and dangers to be avoided...
...Also How to Can Meat, Poultry, Game, and Fish—How to Can Fruits and Vegetables, free...
...4. Heat food hot enough and long enough to make bacteria and other organisms harmless, so they won't "work" in the food and make it spoil...
...Last Summer a very persistent and successful Victory Garden campaign persuaded thousands of new gardeners to raise and can vegetables and fruits...
...When a jar is opened, look for a bulging lid, a leak, gas bubbles, spux'ting liquid, an "off" odor, or mold—all signs of spoilage...
...I don't think they relish the idea of every housewife a canner...
...at 8th Ave., New York, N. Y...
...likely to be dangerous when used in canned foods—formaldehyde, for example, salicylic acid, boric acid, and its compounds...
...As a cynical friend of mine remarked, not so long ago that would have been called hoarding...
...Canning the Victory Garden Crop...
...Still another source of canning woes is canning powder...
...They argued that supplies were plentiful and in some instances jrlutted...
...Beware of Canning Powders Another major source of canning spoilage is improper storage...
...Better Home Canning with Presto Supplies...
...A pressure cooker for canning vegetables (except tomatoes), meat, and poultry is the only sure way, the experts emphasize, to guard against botulinus poison...
...Despite our glib assurances to each other that we know all about botulinus poisoning, more than 20 people—according to Science Service—paid with their lives last year for mistakes in home canning, and untold quantities of valuable food were wasted by spoilage due to improper canning methods...
...Points For Success In Canning This year there's another Victory Garden campaign, but a quieter one...
...Freezing doesn't spoil canned food, but it may crack a jar or break a seal, letting bacteria in...
...A few months back— before OPA did almost precisely that—canners were urging the Government to remove all canned vegetables from rationing...
...Home Canners Text Book...
...64 pages, 15 cents...
...The only way to get these high temperatures is to hold steam under pressure...
...While some may not be harmful in one small dose, if taken frequently, as they would be in canned foods served meal after meal, they might have a most injurious cumulative effect...
...What's more, adds the Department of Agriculture, "most canning powders just do not preserve...
...Botulinus Poisoning Is Serious Business Federal experts oppose oven canning because the food does not get hot enough to kill bacteria and physical mishaps are too likely to occur...
...Anyone who is canning will want the new and excellent folder, Home Canning of Fruits and Vegetables, just issued by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics...
...Also Kerr Home Canning -Guide and 12 Short Lessons in Home Canning, free...
...Co., Sand Springs, Okla., or Los Angeles, Calif., or Huntington, W. Va...
...The Food and Drug Administration has recently taken legal action to prevent interstate distribution of one canning compound, and this has prompted the Department of Agriculture to warn that "there is no magic and plenty of harm in so-called canning powders, often used with the idea that they will preserve home-canned foods...
...5. Follow up-to-date directions and time tables backed by scientific research...
...So far the indications are that the commercial vegetable pack will be larger than last year, even though the armed services and Lend-Lease requirements will be larger too...
...Beans canned by the water bath method recently killed two women in New York state...
...Ball Brothers Company, Muncie, Ind...
...56 pages, 10 cents...
...Open kettle canning is wasteful for fruits and tomatoes and dangerous for vegetables...
...The storage place must be cool, dark, and dry...
...Don't misunderstand me—Victory Gardens and home canning are very fine, and they possibly made the difference during the last year between just enough and plenty...
...Nothing will take the place of heat properly applied in right canning methods...
...Buy a case today...
...Darkness avoids fading and vitamin loss...
...Sing a Song of Sixpence Pointers And Pitfalls To Watch In Canning By MARY SHERIDAN: MANY of the bigger and well-stocked grocery stores, just before the July rationing rules went into effect, advertised, "Asparagus, peas, and tomatoes will be rationed July...
...Home Canning by Hotpoint...
...Dampness is hard on metal caps...
...2. Have food, jars, everything used in canning thoroughly clean...
...For corn, peas, beans, and other common vegetables (except tomatoes), use a steam pressure canner...
...Edison General Electric Appliance Company, 5600 W. Taylor St., Chicago 44, 111...
...Then continue boiling for another 15 minutes...
...Also, despite crop experts, there's always an element of doubt in food supply predictions...
...Authorities of the New York Department of Health say it takes about eight to 10 minutes to reach the boiling point on a gas or electric stove where every part of the food is bubbling...
...Few things make a cook feel more provident than scientifically canned jars of the freshness of Summer, and few things make her feel more wasteful of food, time, and energy than canning that spoils...
...6. Make sure jars are sealed airtight, to keep spoilage organisms outside...
...A List Of New Canning Pamphlets That new, and free, Government pamphlet on canning answers most of the canning questions anyone could ask, but if you're interested in building up a canning library, here are some of the booklets available: Kerr Home Canning Book...
...For fruits, tomatoes, pickled vegetables, use a boiling water bath," recommend Government nutritionists...
...Behind innocent-looking trade names," the Department points out, "hide substances...
...Many of them, if my canning friends are typical, were no enthusiastic and so fearful of a hungry Winter that they canned more than they could use...
...They are: 1. Can only fresh food in tip-top condition...
...3. Work quickly so as to can "freshness...
...There's no denying the material and spiritual satisfactions of canning...
...it's available free from the Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C. This is a honey of a guide, clear in directions and well-illustrated...
...Vegetables not canned with a pressure cooker are safe if they are boiled thoroughly without a cover...
...7. Store canned food in a cool, dark, dry place...
...Here, 1 suspect, is one reason why three vegetables have gone back on the ration list: more people will wonder what Winter supplies and rationing will be and will be persuaded to can more...
...It takes 240 degrees Fahrenheit or higher...
...Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Company, Cambridge, Mass...
...It's not too clear why these three vegetables are back on the ration rolls...
...Some canning powders merely lessen food values, others may be seriously dangerous...
...Fortunately botulinus poison can be made harmless by boiling...
...Kerr Glass Mfg...
...The Ball Blue Book...
...20 pages...
...You can process these foods safely in boiling water...
...5 cents...
...But it's easy to slip up, and the Department of Agriculture is sparing no efforts in offering valuable advice...
...Those wise words from food experts are a constructive warning, not an argument against the wisdom and joy of careful canning...
...56 pages, 10 cents...
...There is naturally less scare pressure because canned vegetables have been freely available...
...Louis 2, Mo...
...Good Housekeeping Institute, 57th St...
...too many things can happen...
...Cupples Co., St...
...To process these foods safely in reasonable time takes a temperature higher than boiling...
Vol. 8 • July 1944 • No. 29
