The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-07-04
CANNING RRUIT.

There is no way by which the pro,
cesses of doing up" fruit a be made
agreeable, but half the nervous force
expedited in this way is sneedlessIy
squandered. In other words, not a lit
tie work and all The worry would be
avoided if housewives could rid them
selves of the belief that there is any
secret or luck about canning II pre-
serving fruit, and know that certain
rules and lines of action closely ads
hered to in every minor detail are as
sure to result in success as two and two
make four. By success l mea that
the preserves shall not only keep"
but have a delicate, natural flavor, and
be attractive to the eye as we'll as to
the palate,
To attain such results, choice fruit is
positively essential, for though the deli
cate flavor of such is easily ruined by
careless treatment, no skill can make
fruit retain what it had, or has
lost from over-ripeness or careless
handling. Fine-favored sugar, either
g~ran1lated or loaf, and proper vessels
and utensils are scarcely less essential.
Canning is far the most popular
method of preserving fruit, and de-
servedly so, for when properly done,
there is no question of its superiority.
The term, however, has come to be
very indefinite, and includes more
grades thad there are varieties of fruit,
and the highest is as superior to the
lower ones as it is to the old-fashioned
/''pound-for-pound" preserves. The
sugar used in canning fruit should
have nothing to DO with its keeping,
and only enough should be used to i'm
part a pleasant flavor; but instead of
that, very much of the fruit canned at
home is cooked until it resembles jam,
and enough sugar is added to overcome
its delicate natural flavor and leave
only one cloying sweetness.
But even when a proper quantity of
sugar is used and the fruit is dipped
inty the jars with little or no breaking,
it is inferior in quality to that which is
cooked in thejars, for no care can pre-.
vent loss of flavor in the escaping
steam. Manufacturers appreciate this,
and why housewives, who are quick
enough to adopt improved methods in
other culinary matters, should be sat-
isied to put up such inferior canned
fruit as the majority of them do, is past
finding out.
Excepting strawberries, all fruit used
for canning should be firm and large.
With them the smaller varieties or the
late pickings of large ones are better,
becauee they contain less water, are
sweeter and lose less flavor in cooking.
The pits of cherries and peaches, the
seeds of pears ard the skins of plums
add much to the flavor of the fruit. If
cherries + potliked with pits in, put
a handful in a net or thin muslin bag
and Mace in the center of each quart
lar and distribute five or six peach
nits Through each jar of like size. Pear
cores can be used the same as cherry
pits. but the fruit never looks as tempt
oa when haIved and canned with
the seeds in.
The Bartlett is still the most deli
Favored pear for canning. Sliced
Green ~ginger-root, in the proportion of
ono te~aspoonfuI to each quart jar, i'm
nirts a pleasant flavor to citron, wa
,orpoeI6n rind, and such varieties of
,aare as are rather devoid Of flavor.
rinnam2n ark, cassia buds, lemon or