The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-08-23
Official
Food NeUs
Issued by
} Federal Food Administra-
ton for South Dakota,
c. N. HERREiD, Administrator.
LESS SUGAR NEEDED FOR CAN.
MING.
N. HERRElD, Administrator.

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.
A careful perusal Of food admins
tration bulletins brings out two points
which at first seem Incompatible, ana
which are difficult for the average
housewife to reconcile, namely, ~
To can everything in sight, (2) 20 do
It with very little sugar The average
housewife uses a lot Of sugar in put
ting up her preserved fruits and TO DE
confronted by two such government
requests is so discouraging that many
of them have decided to put up less
than the usual amount. This attitude
Is wrong and to certain extent un'
patriotic, for as a 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 nol
believe preserves will keep we'll with
out considerable quantity OF sugar
and in many cases the combined ell
forts of the department OF agriculture
the home economics department and
the marked successes OF the more
progressive housewives are not sur
hcient to break down this prejudice
II Is a we'll known fact that care
lessly made preserves will keep long
or II put up with sugar than they viii
without. But be that as it may, sue
cess in preserving any perishable
product consists in killing all the
germs and spores therein, and if the
process Is adequate to accomplish TINS
it 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 temperature of about lSt
degrees Fahrenheit, or Ii other word;
80 degrees below the boiling point oi
water.
To those who doubt the keeping
properties of fruit preserves put ul
without sugar the experience Of the
White canning factory may prove IL
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
per cent. In all cases these swells
were 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 ears Of the company
regarding it's pack, Il is a safe assump
ton that the consumers were pleased
with the product. To thinking per
son such evidence must of necessity
be conclusive.
Last, but by no 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 oi
diet which should be palatable to the
taste as we'll as stable in keeping
qualities. There are three answers tc
this question sufficiently compreheD
sive to be effective in the presen'
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 same result
Second, in q mistaken effort to insure
keeping qualities in the preserves 81
much sugar Is usually added that tn,
flavor Of the fruit is impaired AM
the result is less palatable than !
less has been used. Third, Our frs
duty is to keep our boys abroad At
and sugar is the quickest acting goo
stimulant that Is known. They need
lot more Of 1t than we do, and the,
nuat have II