The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-08-19
Fruits for Canning.

Varieties of fruit that are pleasant to
the palate when eaten raw may not al
ways be the best varieties for canning or
preserving. One of the first require
ments in fruit for this purpose is firm
ness or solidity of the flesh. This is es-
pecially the case with berries, but in the
case of all fruits this quality can be Sc
cured in q greater or less degree by
gathering the fruit before it is too fully
matured. If too ripe fruit is used, it
will not retain its shape when cooked,
and the syrup or juice will not be as
clear as if the fruit is hard.
As a rule, those kinds which have the
most decided flavor (genera;ly an acid
tendency, are the best varieties for
canning. Some fruits which have .
pleasant taste when eaten raw lose their
flavor when cooked but nearly all fruits
require sugar to bring out their full ma
vOr when cooked. Sweet or delicate
flavors are dissipated by the heat, while
those in which an acid quality predomi-
mates have q sprightly, agreeable flavor
when combined with q due proportion
of sugar.
On account of its peculiarly distinctive
flavor, the Bartlett pear is one of the
best varieties for canning.
Blackberries make one of the best
canned fruits, and are not excelled by
any other berry; but both blackberries
and Strawberries are fruits which require
considerable skin and experience in cam
ming, in order to have them keep well
and retain perfect flavor. Aside from
the delicious flavor which blackberries
possess, they have q tonic property
which makes them much relished by in
valids. ~
Among the peaches the Morris White
has long been highly priced for canning.
This is pure white peach, the main
point in which it differs from other sorts
being that it is white next to the pit.
Most kinds of peaches have q reddish
tint next to the stone. For my own use
I would prefer to can yellow peaches, as
they have higher color and a richer
flavor. Pit-fruits, as peaches, plums,
&C., when canned whole with the pits
inside, present very beautiful appear
ance; but of course the pits and inter-
stices between the fruit take up much
room, and the flavor impaired to the
fruit by the presence of the pits may not
always be agreeable.
Grapes are well suited for canning,
tender or thin-skinned varieties being
the best, provided the flavor is good.
Grapes should never be canned without
first removing the seeds. 1t is perhaps
saving of time to leave the seeds in,
but it is q waste of bottle-room, and
makes poor quality of fruit. When
grapes can be had plentifully, and are
as cheap as they have been of late years,
they can be made, at small cost, into
very palatable beverage by simply press
ing out the juice, clarifying and sweet
ening it, and bottling it in any alright
receptacle.
The whortleberries usually found in
the markets are not SO good for canning
or eating raw as the ''blueberries" of
the North. These are sweeter, have a
thick, blue bloom, and are not so seedy
as the whortleberries.
The best varieties of tomatoes for can.
ming are those which have the most solid
flesh. The canned tomatoes of COM
merce are not sufficiently ''boiled down"
to make q first-class article. When
boiled to thick and even consistency
they are of much finer flavor, and occupy
less room in the bottles.-C0r. Examiner
and Cronicle.