The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-06-04

her to have a nice lmpromptu one on
a few minutes notice; and it will be
doubly nice, if she can supplement it
with cream, a delicacy which most
country housekeepers can command.
Not only are canned peaches and
pears very nice but canned apples are
equally SO. In the early autumn, pick
out such apples as are a little specked,
or which do not keep well through
the winter. Peel and core them, cut
them up in small bits, and pour
enough water over them to keep them
from sticking to the kettles. Stew
them down fine, and run them through
a colander as if you e. making apple
float. Then can them, and you will
find them very serviceable in winter,
either just eaten with cream and
sugar, or made into pies or a valise
pudding. Sliced apples for frying
are also nice for canning, put on IN a
little hot water, and allowed to come
to a boil before canning, They are
far more palatable than dried apples.
| do not think it worth while to put
sugar on canned fruit, as it adds moth
ing to it's keeping, and if the fruit
spoils increases your loss. 1t is time
enough to sweeten the fruit just be-
fore you put it on the table. Ii you
run short of preserves during the win
ter, you can readily convert your can
ned fruit into these. Canned peaches,
If thew are soft. make as good ice
cream as fresh ones.
Some housekeepers, intent on les
sening their trouble Qike the pilgrim
who boiled the peas in his boot( can
and preserve On an oil or charcoal
stove which they set under the trees,
in hot weather, but l always find it
more convenient to carry on these
processes in the kitchen, with all the
various utensils I need, at hand; and
besides, | can preserve or car in sew
| eral vessels at once OF the kitchen
stove. l think it is a good plan for a
housekeeper to can a little every day,
instead of going at it with a rush,
every now and then. Whenever you
have a gallon of tomatoes more than
you need for table use, it iswell to be-
gin canning; directly after breakfast,
or after dinner is the best time,-the
former if you have only a few to can.
In this case, put them in a large bowl.
| or dish-pan, before breakfast, pour
scalding water over them and cover
| them, and they will then be ready to
peel and put on, Immediately after
breakfast, before the fire dies out in
the stove. Get together everything
you will need before you begin can
ming. Lay an old newspaper on the
kitchen table to protect it from any
tomato juice or cement that may be
spilled, and set the cans on this paper.
I have discovered that you a boil
tomatoes perfectly well in iron dinner
pots washed free from grease, and this
plan saves you a world Of securing
| which the use of a brass kettle would
necessitate, as tomatoes turn brass
green. When the tomatoes come to
a boil, dip them up with a tin dipper
and pour them into the cans. Have
at hand a lot of soft, clean old rags to
wipe the rim of the tin a perfectly
dry, after filing it.
I cannot insist too st%renuously on
the Importance of having this rim
bone dry; one drop of moisture on it
will cause the cement to fall off IN a
few days, and the contents of the can
to consequently ferment. L lost my
cans steadily for three years till some
experienced housekeeper pointed out
to me the vital Importance of having
the rim of the can bone dry. Since
then, [ have been highly successful in
canning. I pass a soft, old cloth
twenty times around the rim to make
sure that it is perfectly dry. Taper
cement is very nice, and saves much
trouble. If you use stick cement,
keep an old frying-pan to melt it in,
and a pewter teaspoon to applyit with.
Drop it from the point of this spoon
into the groove intended for it, after
tightly fitting down the top. If you
hear a kissing sound when you are
dropping the cement, it indicates the
presence of moisture, and you must
stop short and wipe the rim dry.
The general directions given above
for canning tomatoes will apply in all
essential particulars to any fruit or
vegetable. The main thing, as we
have said above, is, put up the article
boiling hot, fill the vessel brim full,
and make it perfectly alright. The
cans may be used for several years, if
you will have them well washed and
dried Immediately after emptying
them, and scour any stains that may
appear on them. Put them away
promptly till the next season. If you
leave them out they will get battered,
stained up and lost. Fit the rim
| tight on to each one. as Won nut it