The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-09-05

NiNS.
With the canning season on much
heated discussion Is heard In the local
kitchens regarding the most effective
methods Of putting up" the winter
supply of ~jellies, fruits, vegetables,
etc. sy
A careful perusal of food admins
tration bulletins brings out two points
which at first seem Incompatible, and
which are difficult for the average
housewife to reconcile, namely, (1)
To car everything in sight, (2) to do
it with very little sugar. The average
housewife uses q lot of sugar in put.
ting up her preserved fruits and to be
confronted by two such government
requests IL SO discouraging that many
Of them have decided to put up less
than the usual amount. This attitude
Is wrong and to q certain extent un.
patriotic, for Is q matter of fact the
natural sugar which fruits contain
ought to be conserved, since 1t may in
the future serve In no small measure
to tide over some acute crisis.
The much mooted question now
arises as to what influence sugar has
on the keeping quality of fruit pre-
served. Housewives, as a rule, do not
believe preserves will keep we'll with.
out a considerable quantity of sugar,
and In many cases the combined eff.
forts of the department Of agriculture,
the home economics department and
the marked successes Of the more
progressive housewives are not SUI.
ficient to break down this prejudice.
It is a we'll known fact that care
lessly made preserves will keep long.
er If put up with sugar than they will
without. But be that as 1t may, sue
cess in preserving any perishable
product consists in killing all the
germs and spores therein, and il the
process is adequatepto accomplish this
1t makes no particle Of difference
whether sugar be present or not. The
preserves will keep.
In the case Of berries and most
fruits these germs and spores are
killed at a temperature of about $50
degrees Fahrenheit, or in other words
% degrees below the boiling point of
water.
To those who doubt the keeping
properties Of fruit preserves put up
without sugar the experience Of the
White canning factory may prove H.
Illuminating, and the fact that after
sampling the pack the Reid Murdoch
company were anxious to obtain the
entire output shows the excellence of
the product. The total pack of this
company was held for some months
and at the time of shipment the per
centage Of swells (spoiled cans) was
about 20 in 10000, or one-tenth Of 1
per cent. In all these swells
we're found to have occurred in cans
which were defective, or in which the
soldering was imperfectly done. Fur.
thermore, as nothing but praise has
ever come to the ars Of the company
regarding its pack, it is a safe assump-
ton that the consumers were pleased
with the product. To a thinking per-
son such evidence must Of necessity
be conclusive.
Last, but by n means least, an
ironical pessimist suggests that, after
all, preserved fruits are not regarded
by the general public as technical ex-
periments in organic chemistry, but
as a pleasing and wholesome form of
diet which should be palatable to the
taste as we'll as stable in keeping
qualities. There are three answer to
this question sufficiently comprehen-
sive to be effective in the present
sugar crisis. The first is that when
using the preserves for cooking the
sugar may be added when needed,
helping to tide over the emergency.
Also in the same manner they may
be taken from the shelves as required,
cooked again with sugar, and placed
on the table with the anne result.
Second, In a mistaken effort to insure
keeping qualities in the preserves so
much sugar is usually added that the
flavor of the fruit is impaired and
the result is less palatable than II
less has been used. Third, Our first
duty is to keep our boys abroad ft,
and sugar Is the quickest acting good
stimulant that Is known. They need a
lot more Of it than we do, and they
must have it.