The Little River news., 1916-03-01

Til. SOME RULES FOR CANNING. By Miss Emma Archer, in Charge
 Girls Club Work for Arkansas.
 The first step in canning is ster1ii. zation. All new glass jars, tops, rub bers, tin cans and caps should be boiled at least five minutes. Old glass jars should be boiled at least fifteen minutes. Never use old rubbers. If old tops are corroded or battered out of shape new ones should be purchas- ed, but if the old ones are in perfect condition steriliZe for fifteen minutes and they will be ready for use.
 Asserting Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables should be as. sorted according to size, color and degree of ripeness. Each variety of fruits and vegetables should be canned by itself It is no moro profit able to can over-ripe fruits than 1t IS green ones.
 Preparing Fruits and Vegetables for the Can: All fruits and vegetables have to be prepared for the can first by a thorough washing. Those from which the skins are to be removed should be peeled or scalded
 Blarching: Blanching consists or plunging the vegetable or fruit into boiling water for 8 short tune. Use q wire basket or cheese cloth square tor this. The blanch gives a more thor ough cleaning, removes the strong Odor and flavor from certain kinds of vegetables, improves the texture and l gives a clearer liquor. 1t also shrinks the fruit or vegetable and makes 1t more flexible. A full pack is then more easily made The time required | for blanching varies with the state c :. maturity Beans should be blanched until tender enough to bend without breaking. Peaches will pack bette: . ] blanched for an instant in water be- | low boiling (about 1S0 degrees t.) lowering peaches into it fer Is sec onds. The same blanch will make | the hard varieties of pears pack bes ter and give them more transpar- ent appearance; and used for cher ries will prevent splitting and crack 1 ing. Spraying fruit with cold water after blanching will make it frmer. Frequently it is well to put the Vegc- | table into cold water for an instan, after blanching to make more crisp. In blanching asparagus, tie few stalks in each bundle, lower bundle ln- to water, tips up, blanching the lower ends one or two minutes before I'm, ! mersing the tips. Blanch the tips on. | ly two or three minutes.
 Packing: The Federal laws require | the cans to be filled as full of food as | is practicable for processing and 10 contain only enough liquor to fill the spaces and cover the contents. Weigh g sufficient number of cars before and after filing to obtain an accurate idea of average net weight. On account of expansion in processing, corn can be packed less full than other vege- tables. These instructi ons do no; cover the canning of corn for market. Mark cans with pencil or knife to show contents. Plan in advance and work rapidly Let one person do packing and another Gttend to the weighing. Do not allow filled cans to stand before adding liquor and eX- hausting.
 Seasoning: Adding brine, syrup or water. After adding to with Ii inch of top, shake can gently to displace all air within the can.
 Exhausting: After placing the rub Der on the tops of glass jars, the tops should be screwed on to the last turn thereby leaving space through which the air can pass out. When exhaust ing tin cans the opening in the ton of the cap is left open for the same purpose.
 Processing: After placlng jars in the hot water the time is not kept un til after the boiling is started The boiling should be kept up until the required length of time is up, whic,7 differs, of course, with the fruits and vegetables. The tops of the jars are fastened tight immediately upon re moval from the boiling water.
 Labelling: After eight 10 ten days or immediately before selling, labe all cans. Place the sealed end dowr so that the opposite end wifi appear < at the top when placed on the shelP Use a rather dry paste and put ii only on tho label at the end so that | all glass jars about oneshalf inch from the sauom of the jar.