The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-09-05
CANNING VEGETABLES.

How Lima Beans, Corn and Tomatoes
May Be Put Up for Winter Use.
The canning of vegetables is an i'm
portant part of the work of August,
when lima beans, corn and tomatoes
are put up for the winter season. While
the preparation of fruits in a light sirup
of sugar is comparatively easy matter,
it is difficult matter to can vegeta-
bles; and, SO high an authority as M.
Filopena goes SO far as to assert that
this cannot be done, in the family, IN
the case of peas, lima beans and corn,
which are usually cooked in large can
neries in super-heated steam-chests to
prepare them for canning. But what
is accomplished in this more rapid man
ner in the regular canneries may be
done at home by continuous slow pro-
cess
Fill cans with corn cut and scraped
from the cob. Pack them as close as
you can, pressing them down and fll-
ing each jar to the top. Then put on
the tops, but do not put on the rubbers.
Arrange the cans in kitchen boiler on
a wooden rack with pieces of straw or
kitchen towels between them to pre-
vent them knocking together. Fill the
boiler with cold water up to the neck OF
the cans, put the cover on the boiler
and bring the water to the boiling
point Let it boil for three hours con-
tinuously, adding more boiling water
when it boils down, and keeping the
cover tightly on, except when adding
&c nf tho
cans have been corked in this way Tor
the time specified, remove them one by
one. Put on the rubbers, screw down
the tops as tight as you can, and when
they are cold screw the tops down
again. Wrap each in paper and keep
them in cold dark place.
With the best Of care corn is very
difficult egetable to prepare, but for
some reason or other, if it is put up
with tomatoes, the acid of the tomato
seems to assist in preserving it Mix
the corn and tomatoes about half and
half. Stew them together for three
quarters of an hour and Fill the cans.
Season them with salt and pepper as
you would if the vegetables were to be
served on the table. This mixture
makes very agreeable dish.
Okra and tomatoes are also stewed in
the same way before they are canned.
1t seems to us, however, that it is SIM
pier and easier to cook all vegetables in
the can. In such a case, put them in
the can raw and proceed in the way
you do in canning corn, but cook them
only three quarters of an hour instead
of three hours. Lima beans require te
be- cooked three hours and string beans
about an hour.
in canning asparagus, q vegetable
which requires to be cooked long
time. A great many Gamers prefer te
return the cans to the boiling water
after the rubbers are put on and the
vent is closed, and cook such vegetables
as are troublesome to keep about an
hour longer The writer has had per-
feet success in cooking vegetables fol
canning without this last process, but
would certainly advise it if there is any
| trouble in keeping. A frequent cause
of vegetables spelling after they have
been put in the can arises from the fact
| that they were not perfectly fresh wher
they were put in the can. Decomposi
ton, though in SO incipient form as
not to be noticed, has already begun,
| and it continued af ter the process OF
canning Too much stress cannot be
laid upon the fact that, vegetables fol-
successful can ming must positively be
| fresh picked. 1t is perfect waste Of
time to can such vegetables as corn OF
Lima beans when they are purchased
at the city mar kets, when, in the neces-
sity of the case, they must besomewhat
stale, and therefore unfit for this pur-
pose
| When the vegetables are gathered
fresh from the dew of country fields and
are canned in a clean kitchen, there
need be no fear of their spot ling if ordi.
rorv cara ia rsad N " Tribune.