Evening star., 1946-08-25
| HOw to Vim PriSes
| In MHome Canning
| COMPETITIONS
By Margaret McPheeters

| 1OWpELZEtOnS ~
BY Margaret McPheeters
University Of Md. Extension Nutritioniss
To walk away with first prize at
the fair or harvest show, line up the
shining glass jars of peaches, to-
matoes. pickles. meat and other
products Of the home kitchen and
judge them for yourself before
placing them on exhibit for official
scoring.
With good foods preserved by
thousands of city as we'll as rural
families this year, the competition
should be keen at every fair and
1000 exhibit. But the prizes, though
many persons do not realize it, 90
not to the fancy packs. but to good.
STRAIGHTFORWARD clean packs of foods
That were popped into the glass at
their peak of food value and flavor
A mental picture of the score card
Tor canned foods helps many home
maker to remember the points that
rate high for winning prizes. These
same points for the most part are a
good guide for rating the food values
OF the canned product, too. At the
Maryland State Fair at Timonium
September to IL, for example. the
score card lists Is per cent for gen.
eral appearance, 20 per cent on pack,
10 per cent on color, Is per cent on
nrmness and Is per cent on sirup or
liquid.
Clear Glass Counts.
Clean bright jars with no greenish
tlnge in the glass to throw off the
Judges on color of packed foods are
best. Home Gamers where the wa
ter is hard will need to wipe or pol
lsh jars to remove the dull coating
OF minerals on the glass. If a COL
lection OF canned foods Is in one
exhibit, it is better to have all in
similar jars. And if the Jars are
well filled, and have good color, that
adds to general appearance.
A full pack that gets the most
food into the jar without crushing
food. and leaving room for LIQUID to
surround all solid food, is the basis
OF 20 points scored for pack. Food
should not float to the top, nor sink
to the bottom and leave a dead air
space at the top of the jar. Fancy
packs of peaches and pears may be
all right, since these do not waste
space and are fast to fill. But snap
beans, for example, may spoil with
fiat sour If time is taken to arrange
fancy pack, and the beans cool in
the process of packing. The aim is
to get good food into jars, not to
make fancy designs and patterns.
In foods that contain some starch,
such as corn or sweet potatoes, be
sure that the pack is not too tight.
and that liquid surrounds all the
solid parts. The starch tends to
absorb water after the foods have
been packed, and so leave dead air
spaces In the jar if the pack con-
tains too much solid food. AS for
color, the aim is for uniform color
OF any fruit or vegetable when ripe
or mature for canning. Sirup made
with the juices of fruits helps keen
good color and flavor in the canned
fruit.
No Judge is going to pinch the
contents of glass jar for firmness
test. but he can estimate this score
by the texture of the food and by
clean, clearcut edges on cut pieces
Broken or frayed edges, as well as
too dark color show softness or
overlooking of food. Undercooked
foods will keep shape well unless
undercooked to the extent of spoil
age. but do not always have the
right color for properly canned
foods.
| Why Count Sirup?
There is a reason to score sirun for
25 per cent of the points on canned
food. Clear fluid or natural color
Juice that surrounds all food in the
jar denotes a careful pack that
will keep food we'll. Moreover. it
means proper cooking time to avoid
cloudiness, and means that sugar
has not been wasted on fruits. Too
heavy a sugar sirup makes fruits
f1oat to the top. Jellies, too, should
be clear, not cloudy, and firm enough
TO hold shape, yet tender.
Once the home canner has looked
over her jars of canned foods, she
is apt to pick out some for the fair
exhibits. She is also likely to slide
some back into the storage space
and determine to do better next wear
or next time. The person who thinks
or the score card in doing all her
canning Is apt to come out with
better looking food, less spoilape
and food that not only tastes better
but is also higher in food value
Check the Seal.
ANY one who packs glass lars of
food for a trip to the country fair
knows that they need to be handled
carefully. The original cardboard
cartons with dividers are excellent
for standard size jars of food, If thev
are to be taken by car, but heavier
wrapping and labelling NAV be
needed for public transit. Check
every jar before packing not only
for leakage, but also for cleanliness
and for defects in material. Jars
with self-seal tops are best packed
with the screw-tops on to avoid
breaking the seals in transit. Every
jar should be tested for leakage at
the exhibit space before 1t is put into
place for show or for judging.
SOybeans for Food