Food Preservation. Canning Vegetables

In this lesson you will find directions for canning, calling for the simplest apparatus - using any approved jar that will be air tight after sealing. There are any number of canning jars, kettles and devices offered on the market that may be used at home if desired. Tomatoes canned according to directions given in this lesson have been kept for years, in hundreds of cooking schools throughout the country.

School Recipe.

MATERIALS: 2 Large Tomatoes or 3 or 4 Small Tomatoes.

1 Pint Water (which has been Boiled and Cooled.) 1/4 Teaspoonful Salt.

Canning Tomatoes

Our Lesson today is on food preservation. The cut shows an illustration of Canned Tomatoes.

Canning is considered the best method of preserving food materials.

The secret of successful canning is, first, the complete sterilization of all of the materials and utensils. To sterilize means to destroy all spores or germs which may cause decay.

Canned materials must be kept in sterilized, air-tight jars.

Food Preservation

To preserve means to save from decay by the use of some preservative agent. Certain bacteria cause the decay of foods. Therefore, foods may be preserved by subjecting them to such treatment as will kill the germs or check their growth and make them inactive. We know that moderate heat, food and moisture are favorable conditions for the growth of germs; opposite conditions will hinder their growth.

The most important method of preserving fruit:

1. COLD STORAGE. Freezing checks the growth of bacteria as long as they are in a frozen condition. Meat and fish may be kept indefinitely while frozen. They should not be allowed to thaw out until shortly before using, as they are more susceptible to the action of bacteria than if they had not been frozen. Eggs and fruit may be kept several months by cold storage in dry air just above the freezing point, 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Vegetables are kept in cold storage.

2. DRYING. Bacteria require moisture, so food is dried in order to preserve it. Dried fruits contain slightly more moisture than dried meats or fish, but this small amount remains safe by the antiseptic (germ-preventing and killing) properties of the acids in the fruits; the natural sugar found in fruits also assists in preserving them.

3. SALTING. Salt has the tendency to absorb moisture from the bacteria so they cannot thrive in food that is well salted. Salt does not kill bacteria, but prevents their growth.

4. RESERVING WITH SUGAR, Sugar, like salt, has a tendency to absorb moisture from the bacteria, thus preventing their growth. Bacteria cannot grow in a thick syrup, though moulds may grow on top. Example: Jams, marmalades, jellies, etc.

5. SMOKING. Meats and fish are usually salted, then smoked. (The products of combustion are antiseptic.) These antiseptics do not penetrate the flesh, but remain on the outside, so disease germs on the inside are not killed. It is, therefore, unsafe to eat uncooked meat in any form.

6. PICKLING. Few kinds of bacteria can grow in acids, so vinegar is used for pickling.

7. CHEMICAL. TREATMENT. Chemical food preservatives are often used in canning factories and by dealers in milk, meat and other foods. It has been found that many of these antiseptics are harmful and laws have been passed to restrict their use.

8. CANNING. Canning is the process of preserving sterilized foods in sterilized, air-tight jars. In this method the sterilizing is done by means of heat. The temperature of boiling water, sometimes even lower temperature, kills the bacteria. Canning is considered the best method of preserving food.

Working Directions To Be Followed By All Odd Numbered Pupils

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 2.

NOTE: In today's Lesson each girl will peel a tomato. You will prepare the water and salt while your partner sterilizes the jar and its cover. See recipe on front page.

Measure 2 cups of water into your saucepan. Place it over the fire. Add 1/2 teaspoonful salt. This water must be kept perfectly clean, as it is to be used in canning the tomato.

Wash the tomato. Drop it into a pan of boiling water for just a second or two; take it out of the water with the vegetable knife; pierce the skin and you will find that you can easily peel off the skin. See FIGURE 1.

Place your peeled tomato into the pint jar which your partner has sterilized. See FIGURE 2. Your partner will place her tomato in the same jar. Cover the tomatoes in the jar to overflowing with the salted water which has been boiling and cooled slightly. The water should be poured gradually into the jar containing the tomatoes until it is filled to overflowing.

Adjust the cover on the jar, but do not screw it down, as the steam must have an outlet while the tomatoes are cooking.

You are to wash the dishes today according to directions already learned.