The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-10-02
SAVE THE SURPLUS FOOD

Assistance for housewives and
welfare organizations which are CEN
tering their attention right now on
saving the surplus fruit and veget-
able crops is offered by the Bureau
Of Home Economics and other bu-
reaus of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture in the form of i'm forma-
ton on canning, preserving, picking,
drying, and storing practically all
native fruits and vegetables.
With the passing of the day when
each family had to make most of the
preparations itself for the winters
supply of food, the practice of home
canning and preserving has gradual
ly declined. During emergencies
such as the World War and in the
present economic situation there is a
revival of individual and community
effort to put away foods, while they
are plenty, for winter use. Encour-
aged by large crops and attendant
low costs many persons are working
to save the surplus, not only for
their own personal use, but for re-
lief distribution.
Recipes for the various methods
of food preservation were formerly
a matter of great family pride. But,
with the shift to commercially pre-
pared foods, the home has lost much
of this sort of knowledge so that
this season when this "save the
surplus" campaign got underway.
Gamers had to seek outside infor-
nation. Moreover the Surplus
savers" are canning kinds of fruits
and vegetables which they have
never canned before. And for some
of these there has been little or no
satisfactory canning information in
the homes.
In this category are included the
non-acid vegetables, such as peas,
beans, corn, okra, and SQUASH,
which are difficultto sterilize. They
require temperature of about 24O de-
grees is to $50 degree F. that can be
obtained only in a steam pressure
cooker. 1t is dangerous and it is
wasetful to take chances on mad e.
quately sterilized canned foods.
Canned goods that spoil waste the
food itself, and also the labor and
expense of canning. Spoiled food is
dangerous. The saving of non-acid
vegetables by canning should not be
undertaken, the bureau says, unless
they can be obtained fresh and held
under cold storage if canning is to
be delayed even briefly. Many of
these vegetables, however, can be
dried successfully and some may be
preserved by sailing.
The Bureau of Home Economics
has available to the public a bulletin
on canning fruits and vegetables at
home, which was revised this year
and which contains detailed infor-
nation on the various methods of
home canning. Other publications of
A.
the bureau discuss jelly making;
pickles and relishes; jellied grape
fruit and lemon peel; jams and con-
serves; and some special ways of
utilizing peaches.
Other bureaus of the Department
OF Agriculture have published bulle-
tins on homemade fruit buffers,
which include peach, plum and pear,
as well as the better known apple
butter; home drying of fruits and
vegetables; vinegar making; infer
mented apple juice; unfermented
grape juice; home storage of vege-
tables; and the making of fermented
pickles: and commercial production
of sauerkrant.
Any or all of these may be had
free of charge upon request to the
Bureau of Home Economics, or the
Office of Information of the u. S.
Department of Agriculture.