Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1944-02-10
Food Preservation
Meeting In Rockville


Demonstration Agent on Feb. 8.
The guest speakers for the day
were Miss Miriam Birdseye, De-
partment of Agriculture Extension
Service specialist on nutrition, and
DR.. W. B. Esslen, foods technol-
ogist, Amherst State College, Am
herst, Mass, and advisor on food
| containers for WPB.
Training Schools
Plans were made for training
schools on food preservation here
in the county. Mrs. E. F. Klinge
of Silver Spring Victory Garden
Center, and Mrs. Chase Donaldson
of the Bethesda Victory Garden
Center told of the canning centers
which will be established in the
lower end of the county under the
Victory Garden program of those
areas.
Mrs. Sumner Wood, chairman of
the Foods Preservation Project of
the Homemaker Council, told of the
plans for training schools in the 81
areas of the upper part of the
county.
Present also at this meeting was
Mrs. Donald Roberts, president of
the Homemaker Council and q
member of the Prevention of Waste
Committee of which Mrs. Peyton
Whalen is chairman; Mrs. Peyton
Whalen attended this meeting also.
Meeting County Wide
In the afternoon the countrywide
committee came to discuss the
foods spoilage situation as observ-
ed since the canning season of 1913
and to learn from DR.. Esslen the
cause and prevention, if possible,
of these troubles.
Miss Miriam Birdseye had had a
national conference on this problem
from January 1875 in Chicago and
she went over some of the
high points Of that convention.
stressing the need for uniformity
of homecoming procedures.
Oven Canning Dangerous
J The local committee recommend
ed that warning be given against
oven canning because of the dan
ger from explosion and danger OF
under-processing due to the slow
rate of heat transfer from air and
uneven heat distribution in the
oven.
They do not recommend the
open-kettle method for canning of
tomatoes or fruits or for non-acid
vegetables and for such products
as meats, poultry and fish. THIS
method is disappointing for fruits
and tomatoes because of the dan
ger of contamination before the
jar is sealed.
Use Water Bath
In the use of the water-bath
method of canning they recon-
mended that jars be completely
covered with boiling water
throughout the processing time.
This method is recommended for
home canning of tomatoes, tomato
juice, rhubarb and fruits and other
fruit juices.
Pressure-C Cooker Method
The pressure-cooker method was
recommended for processing of all
low-acid vegetables and for such
products as meats, poultry and
fish.
The suggestion was made in re-
gard 10 pressure cooker gauges
testing that the homemaker who
has had her pressure cooker for
several years remove her gauge
carefully and send it back to the
company that made her cooker.
This should be done at once so
that they can repair or replace it.
Be very careful in packing such
a gauge for shipment.
The committee feels that there
should be some very definite les
sons given on the use of pressure
cookers, for when DIR. Esslen took
up the cause of spoilage and we
considered the jars that had been
brought in, most of them showed
that they had been under-steril-
lied and that the loss was due to
the fact that the pressure cooker,
most likely, had not been used cor
rectly.
Center To Have Exhibit
The various centers in the coun-
ty will attempt to get together very
shortly an exhibit of commercial
jars and closures and pressure
cookers so that people coming into
1 these cenfers NAV have a four Of