Revision of
A02 I? 1 o
Bulletin 114 I
S (A Revision of Bulletin 103)
June, 1942
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONIVICEPT OF AGR .'i 1j
(Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914)
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE, UNIVERSITY OF FLLAAB R '
FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN ATlA NTA ER3 I' C
AND UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
COOPERATING
WILMON NEWELL, Director '2
CAN SURPLUS FRUITW~PNDt"'?
VEGETABLES-
By ISABELLE S. THURSBY
Fig. 1.-The time has come to understand more fully the value of garden pro-
ducts, fresh or canned, to the health of farm people. Vegetables, fruit, milk and eggs
are grouped as protective foods. A well planned garden and a well canned pantry
should provide a generous year-round variety of these protective foods.
Single copies free to Florida residents upon request to
STATE HOME DEMONSTRATION DEPARTMENT
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
BOARD OF CONTROL
H. P. ADAIR, Chairman, Jacksonville
THOMAS W. BRYANT, Lakeland
R. H. GORE, Fort Lauderdale
N. B. JORDAN, Quincy
T. T. SCOTTr Live Oak
J. T. DIAMOND, Secretary, Tallahassee
STAFF, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE
JOHN J. TIGERT, M.A., LL.D., President of the University
WILMON NEWELL, D.Sc., Director of Extension1
A. P. SPENCER, M.S., Vice-Director and County Agent Leader
J. FRANCIS COOPER, M.S.A., Editor'
CLYDE BEALE, A.B.J., Assistant Editor'
JEFFERSON THOMAS, Assistant Editor1
E. F. STANTON, Supervisor, Egg-Laying Test
RuBY NEWHALL, Administrative Manager'
COOPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL DEMONSTRATION WORK
W. T. NETTLES, B.S., District Agent
H. G. CLAYTON, M.S.A., District Agent and State AAA Administrator
J. LEE SMITH, District Agent and Agronomist
E. F. DEBusK, B.S., Citriculturist and District Agent
R. S. DENNIS, B.S.A., Assistant District Agent
R. W. BLACKLOCK, A.B., Boys' Club Agent
WILMER W. BASSETT, B.S.A., Assistant Boys' Club Agent2
N. H. McQUEEN, B.S.A., Assistant Boys' Club Agent
A. L. SHEALY, D.V.M., Animal Industrialist'
HAMLIN L. BROWN, B.S., Dairyman
N. R. MEHRHOF, M.AGR., Poultryman'
D. F. SOWELL, M.S.A., Poultryman'
WALTER J. SHEELY, B.S., Animal Husbandman
A. W. O'STEEN, B.S.A., Assistant Poultryman
L. T. NIELAND, Farm Forester
C. V. NOBLE, Pr.D., Agricultural Economist1
CHARLES M. HAMPSON, M.S., Agricultural Economist, Farm Management
R. H. HOWARD, M.S.A., Agricultural Economist, Farm Management
V. V. BowMAN, M.S.A., Leader, Land-Use Planning
JOSEPH C. BEDSOLE, B.S.A., Asst. in Land-Use Planning2
R. V. ALLISON, PH.D., Soil Conservationist'
K. S. McMuLLEN, B.S.A., Soil Conservationist
COOPERATIVE HOME DEMONSTRATION WORK
MARY E. KEOWN, M.S., State Agent
Lucy BELLE SETTLE, M.A., District Agent
RUBY McDAvm, District Agent
ETHYL HOLLOWAY, B.S., District Agent
ANNA MAE SIKES, M.S., Specialist in Nutrition
VIRGINIA P. MOORE, Home Improvement Agent
ISABELLE S. THURSBY, Specialist in Food Conservation
CLARINE BELCHER, M.S., Clothing Specialist
NEGRO EXTENSION WORK
A. A. TURNER, Local District Agent
BEULAH SHUTE, Local District Agent
'Part-time.
'On leave.
CONTENTS
Canning a Necessity -.--------
Canning in Wartime Imposes
many Obligations and
Problems -......--------
Nutritive Values -.------
Patriotism Begins at Home -
Sugar for Canning --------..
Vitamins in Canned Foods --
Why Foods Spoil .----------
Sterilization ----------
Canning Equipment .-----
Operations of Water Bath --
Steam Pressure Canner -----
Operations of Steam Pres-
sure Method ..----------...
Processing in the Oven ---.. --
Containers to Use in Canning-
Glass Jars -------
Tin Cans -. -----------
Marking Cans and Jars .---..
Spoilage and Storage --
Using the Hot Pack Method
in Canning ------
Syrups for Canning Fruits -
Sweetening Qualities of
Dextrose, Honey, Cane
and Other Syrups--
Why Fruits Float in the Jar.-
Special Directions for Can-
ning Berries and Fruits-
Avocado ..-- ------.
Berries -.-----------------
Cherries (Surinam or
Florida) ---------- .
Figs -------
Grapefruit --------------
Grapes ------------
Guavas --..------
Loquat or Japanese Plum .
Mangos ----
Mayhaw .------------.
Papaya -----------------.
PAGE
5
S5
6
7
7
8
8
.. 10
S10
S12
12
-13
14
S15
15
.16
S18
18
19
S21
22
23
___ 24
24
24
25
26
. 27
.. 28
- 29
S30
30
31
_ 31
Peaches .------------------ 32
Pears ------------- 33
Pecans ------------- 35
Persimmon -.........----------- 35
Plums ----- 36
Roselle or "Jelly" Okra---.. 36
Standards and Nomencla-
ture Designed for Canned
Fruits ..- ------ 37
Special Directions for Can-
ning Vegetables 37
Beans ------------ 39
Beets ------------ 39
Broccoli ----------- 40
Carrots and Other Root Crops 40
Celery .-------------------- 40
Chayote and Summer Squash 40
Corn --. ---------- 41
Eggplant ----------- 41
Greens ---------- 42
Hominy ...----------- 42
Okra ---------- 42
Okra and Tomatoes ...------- 42
Peas --------..-- 43
Pimientos ------.-- 44
Pumpkin or Winter Squash-- 45
Sauerkraut --------- 45
Tomatoes ---------- 46
Vegetables for Soups -------- 48
Standards and Grades for
Canned Vegetables .-.----- 48
Quality Standards for
Fancy Canned Vegetables-. 49
Table 1. Condensed Direc-
tions for Canning Fruits
and Tomatoes ---------------- 51
Table 2. Condensed Direc-
tions for Canning Non-
Acid Vegetables _----------. 53
Table 3. Approximate Yield
of Canned Products from
Given Quantities of
Fresh Fruits and Vege-
tables --. .------- 55
SCORE FOR
JUDGING CANNED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
1. Package ----- ---- ---- -------------- ------- 10
Of uniform or specified size. Clean, polished. La-
bels neat, comprehensive-as specified. (If tins are
used, they should be bright, with slightly concave
ends, showing some vacuum. A gauge may be used
to determine vacuum.)
2. Pack .. --.---... -- --- --- --- ------ ---- 30
Fullness ----------------------- 10
As full as possible, with proper head space, yet with
contents preserved in good shape.
No air bubbles.
Uniformity .------....-- 10
Pieces of fruit or vegetable of appropriate and rea-
sonably uniform size, convenient for serving; at-
tractive shape and attractively arranged, showing
good workmanship, not careless preparation-a
fancy product, not a fancy pack. No foreign matter
present, such as sand, grit; no unnecessary bits of
stem, seed, core, leaf, silk, etc.
Proportion of fruit or vegetable to liquid- 10
Proper proportion of fruit or vegetable to juice-not
excessive in amount, not more than can be served
with fruit; upper level of liquid should come as near
top of jar as possible to prevent discoloration-
oxidation.
3. Product ---------------- 60
Clearness --. .. -------...-- 10
Greatest degree possible in a rich, concentrated juice
for fancy or grade A fruit; no cloudiness or small
particles of fruit or vegetable.
Color --- ----- --- 10
Natural color good and well preserved through suc-
cessful processing and efficient storage; not unduly
bleached or darkened. No artificial coloring matter
used.
Texture and ripeness or maturity ..- .---- 10
Not tough, too green, or hard; tender but not over-
cooked or mushy.
Flavor .-.- .--------- -------- ---------- 30
Characteristic of the fruit or vegetable. No sugges-
tion of staleness, under- or over-ripeness, over-
cooking, decomposition.
.---T..or---e 100
Total Score
CAN SURPLUS FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Written and Compiled by
ISABELLE S. TIURSBY
CANNING A NECESSITY
Few realize the great service that canned food has rendered
and still is rendering the race. The human machine must have
proper foods in proper proportions. In congested sections of
great cities where thousands live on a city block, unless foods
could be secured in condensed and concentrated form, proper
feeding would be impossible. In the day when an automobile
trip across the continent is a common occurrence and when
men think nothing of a voyage to frozen regions of the North
or to torrid jungles of the South, the canned product is a ne-
cessity.
However, many women have not yet learned the satisfaction
that comes year after year from replenishing the pantry shelves
with home-grown products, furnishing the family with a more
healthful and varied menu, nor have many women appreciated
the opportunities that the great tourist trade offers to those who
make CANNING AN ART. On the other hand, few women in
Florida have worked to develop a product that would rank with
the best and have built up profitable industries in their own
kitchens.
Haphazard canning brings little satisfaction. The home
canner should study the food needs of her family. She should
consider what fresh fruits and vegetables will be available each
month, and can for one season the foods that will be scarce an-
other season. Each housewife should prepare a canning budget.
If interested in budgeting for an adequate, up-to-date food
supply, ask your County Home Demonstration Agent for "The
Canning Budget" and "All-Year Garden and Orchard Record
Book."
CANNING IN WARTIME IMPOSES MANY OBLIGATIONS
AND PROBLEMS
In these uncertain war times it is impossible to foretell the
effect of rationing and priorities on the amount of canning
which may be done in the future. It is often said that "food will
win the war and write the peace" and everyone agrees that
production and preservation of food are matters of vital wartime
CAN SURPLUS FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Written and Compiled by
ISABELLE S. TIURSBY
CANNING A NECESSITY
Few realize the great service that canned food has rendered
and still is rendering the race. The human machine must have
proper foods in proper proportions. In congested sections of
great cities where thousands live on a city block, unless foods
could be secured in condensed and concentrated form, proper
feeding would be impossible. In the day when an automobile
trip across the continent is a common occurrence and when
men think nothing of a voyage to frozen regions of the North
or to torrid jungles of the South, the canned product is a ne-
cessity.
However, many women have not yet learned the satisfaction
that comes year after year from replenishing the pantry shelves
with home-grown products, furnishing the family with a more
healthful and varied menu, nor have many women appreciated
the opportunities that the great tourist trade offers to those who
make CANNING AN ART. On the other hand, few women in
Florida have worked to develop a product that would rank with
the best and have built up profitable industries in their own
kitchens.
Haphazard canning brings little satisfaction. The home
canner should study the food needs of her family. She should
consider what fresh fruits and vegetables will be available each
month, and can for one season the foods that will be scarce an-
other season. Each housewife should prepare a canning budget.
If interested in budgeting for an adequate, up-to-date food
supply, ask your County Home Demonstration Agent for "The
Canning Budget" and "All-Year Garden and Orchard Record
Book."
CANNING IN WARTIME IMPOSES MANY OBLIGATIONS
AND PROBLEMS
In these uncertain war times it is impossible to foretell the
effect of rationing and priorities on the amount of canning
which may be done in the future. It is often said that "food will
win the war and write the peace" and everyone agrees that
production and preservation of food are matters of vital wartime
Florida Cooperative Extension
importance. Being generous with the canning budget to insure
the rural family a good food supply without drawing on the
markets will help everyone. In these days it may be a matter of
thrifty management for urban housewives also to can surplus
crops. In the interest of national defense it is most desirable
that no food produced be allowed to waste, even though "good
food and enough of it" is as much a peacetime as a wartime neces-
sity for every person in the land. Guaranteeing this is a "HOME
FRONT" JOB THAT EVERY COMMUNITY SHOULD NOW
UNDERTAKE. School- lunches in particular need more of the
foods which contribute to better health. All available fruits
and vegetable supplies are needed for expanding the school
lunch program.
The demand for commercially canned foods will be greater
than ever because of increased consumer buying power, the
needs of our military forces and our allies. If commercial sup-
plies can be supplemented by home preservation it will help to
meet consumer needs and will tend to prevent inflation.
While supplies of both tin and glass containers are sufficient
to meet the greatly expanded canning program at the present,
transportation becomes increasingly uncertain and scarcity of
steel and tin is already acute. Eventually all canning supplies
may become very scarce.
NUTRITIVE VALUES
This year the home canner should be more meticulous than
ever before with her products and in her canning methods. It
cannot be too strongly stressed that during this war period,
when greater production than ever before is demanded, the
greatest precaution must be taken to prevent any loss of these
crops. Losses of vitamins and other nutritive values which oc-
cur during the harvesting, preparation, and subsequent preserva-
tion of fruits and vegetables must be kept to the minimum. Im-
proved home storage conditions for maintaining quality in
canned and other products must be provided.
Prepare now for storing food a variety of ways-shelf space
and proper ventilation for canned foods, added cellars, outdoor
storage mounds for sweet potatoes, etc. Obtain plans, get the
necessary materials and do as much of the construction NOW
as practical.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
PATRIOTISM BEGINS AT HOME
The Florida home canner has a PATRIOTIC OBLIGATION
in using the tin the government has set aside for her job-to
can only foods of highest nutritive value-red-ripe tomatoes,
leafy green vegetables, young tender beans and peas, corn in the
milk stage, soup mixtures. Tender young carrots and yellow
squash are important too, since they cannot be stored otherwise
successfully under Florida conditions.
Vegetables, garden-fresh, supply the vital "protective" foods,
which good health requires. A well planned and well tended
home garden and home orchard become a defense obligation
for every farm family, so they can supply their own needs in
good food and also produce a surplus for their urban neighbors
who cannot grow their own. The government recognizes Vic-
tory Gardens and Victory Orchards as important factors in the
agricultural goals set-up and in that vital defense activity on
the "home front"-the nutrition program. All-out production
of vegetables indeed is recognized as being vital to national de-
fense. The government is asking commercial growers and can-
ners to produce the greatest supply of canned vegetables in the
history of the country. Can the home gardener and the home
canner, too, do any less than cooperate to the fullest extent with
the national plan?
SUGAR FOR CANNING
Consumer rationing of sugar will probably stay for the dura-
tion. But there will be no need to reduce the number of con-
tainers of canned fruits and sweets to any appreciable extent!
Just make a few changes and substitutes and the scarcity of
sugar will work no hardship. It may be a means rather by
which there will be a return to a wider use of the less highly
refined forms of sugar, which Florida people can grow so well
on their own farms and which are so healthful-cane syrup,
honey and the fruits that are especially rich in natural sugars.
In addition to their energy value they contain valuable minerals
and vitamins. Many farm families have been too heavy on
the side of rich preserves, jams and jellies and quite too light
on plain canned fruits and fruit juices and vegetables.
While sugar rationing may cause the urban dweller some
mild inconvenience, the average farm family with a few colonies
of bees and an acre of cane need not even notice it. There are
many forms of sugar on the market besides the refined white
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
PATRIOTISM BEGINS AT HOME
The Florida home canner has a PATRIOTIC OBLIGATION
in using the tin the government has set aside for her job-to
can only foods of highest nutritive value-red-ripe tomatoes,
leafy green vegetables, young tender beans and peas, corn in the
milk stage, soup mixtures. Tender young carrots and yellow
squash are important too, since they cannot be stored otherwise
successfully under Florida conditions.
Vegetables, garden-fresh, supply the vital "protective" foods,
which good health requires. A well planned and well tended
home garden and home orchard become a defense obligation
for every farm family, so they can supply their own needs in
good food and also produce a surplus for their urban neighbors
who cannot grow their own. The government recognizes Vic-
tory Gardens and Victory Orchards as important factors in the
agricultural goals set-up and in that vital defense activity on
the "home front"-the nutrition program. All-out production
of vegetables indeed is recognized as being vital to national de-
fense. The government is asking commercial growers and can-
ners to produce the greatest supply of canned vegetables in the
history of the country. Can the home gardener and the home
canner, too, do any less than cooperate to the fullest extent with
the national plan?
SUGAR FOR CANNING
Consumer rationing of sugar will probably stay for the dura-
tion. But there will be no need to reduce the number of con-
tainers of canned fruits and sweets to any appreciable extent!
Just make a few changes and substitutes and the scarcity of
sugar will work no hardship. It may be a means rather by
which there will be a return to a wider use of the less highly
refined forms of sugar, which Florida people can grow so well
on their own farms and which are so healthful-cane syrup,
honey and the fruits that are especially rich in natural sugars.
In addition to their energy value they contain valuable minerals
and vitamins. Many farm families have been too heavy on
the side of rich preserves, jams and jellies and quite too light
on plain canned fruits and fruit juices and vegetables.
While sugar rationing may cause the urban dweller some
mild inconvenience, the average farm family with a few colonies
of bees and an acre of cane need not even notice it. There are
many forms of sugar on the market besides the refined white
Florida Cooperative Extension
sugar to which we have become accustomed. To the alert.
patriotic home canner this wartime rationing offers an interest-
ing challenge-to take the available substitutes, honey, cane
syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, and apply them as sugar substitutes
in a pleasing, appetizing manner.
VITAMINS IN CANNED FOODS
It has been demonstrated by scientists that not only is the
vitamin content of canned foods comparable to that of fresh
foods cooked in the home kitchen but in many cases canned
foods are much the more favorable source. The canning pro-
cess seems to be peculiarly favorable to the preservation of
vitamin C, due to the fact, recently discovered, that the de-
structive force is not heat alone but the combined action of heat
and atmospheric oxygen. In the open kettle method of cooking
vegetables in the home there is far greater chance for oxidation
to take place than when the vegetables are given a short pre-
cook, then sealed hot and sterilized in the can.
As a rule, vitamins A, B and G are not so readily affected
as vitamin C, and vitamins D and E are not appreciably affected
by the heat applied either in cooking or in processing.
As to protein, carbohydrate and mineral contents of canned
vegetables and fruits, it is obvious, after a moment's considera-
tion, that there would be no greater loss of these elements in
the canned vegetable than in the fresh product cooked on top
of the stove. There are today no experimental data to show
that canned foods are less nutritious than foods as usually cooked.
WHY FOODS SPOIL
Successful canning is based on an understanding of the im-
portant causes for the rapid deterioration and spoilage of fresh
foods and on a knowledge of the methods by which this spoil-
age may be prevented. There are two main causes of food
spoilage: the action of enzymes and the action of three groups
of minute organisms that are always present on the outside of
fruits and vegetables, in fact on everything. These are molds,
yeasts and bacteria.. The art of canning is an attempt to free
foods of these substances and to keep them free of reinfection
by sealing them in air-tight containers. If the home canner
fully understands this fact and will remember that micro-
organisms are everywhere she will have greater success.
Florida Cooperative Extension
sugar to which we have become accustomed. To the alert.
patriotic home canner this wartime rationing offers an interest-
ing challenge-to take the available substitutes, honey, cane
syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, and apply them as sugar substitutes
in a pleasing, appetizing manner.
VITAMINS IN CANNED FOODS
It has been demonstrated by scientists that not only is the
vitamin content of canned foods comparable to that of fresh
foods cooked in the home kitchen but in many cases canned
foods are much the more favorable source. The canning pro-
cess seems to be peculiarly favorable to the preservation of
vitamin C, due to the fact, recently discovered, that the de-
structive force is not heat alone but the combined action of heat
and atmospheric oxygen. In the open kettle method of cooking
vegetables in the home there is far greater chance for oxidation
to take place than when the vegetables are given a short pre-
cook, then sealed hot and sterilized in the can.
As a rule, vitamins A, B and G are not so readily affected
as vitamin C, and vitamins D and E are not appreciably affected
by the heat applied either in cooking or in processing.
As to protein, carbohydrate and mineral contents of canned
vegetables and fruits, it is obvious, after a moment's considera-
tion, that there would be no greater loss of these elements in
the canned vegetable than in the fresh product cooked on top
of the stove. There are today no experimental data to show
that canned foods are less nutritious than foods as usually cooked.
WHY FOODS SPOIL
Successful canning is based on an understanding of the im-
portant causes for the rapid deterioration and spoilage of fresh
foods and on a knowledge of the methods by which this spoil-
age may be prevented. There are two main causes of food
spoilage: the action of enzymes and the action of three groups
of minute organisms that are always present on the outside of
fruits and vegetables, in fact on everything. These are molds,
yeasts and bacteria.. The art of canning is an attempt to free
foods of these substances and to keep them free of reinfection
by sealing them in air-tight containers. If the home canner
fully understands this fact and will remember that micro-
organisms are everywhere she will have greater success.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
Enzymes.-All fresh fruits, vegetables and meats contain
substances called enzymes. Up to a certain point they bring
about desirable changes in foods. They cause fruits and vege-
tables to ripen normally and the tissues of meats to become
more tender as they are held in storage, but if allowed to go
on unchecked enzymes hasten the decay of foods. The low
temperature of cold storage retards the action of enzymes and
the heat of cooking or canning destroys them entirely.
Yeasts and Molds.-Members of this group when allowed to
grow on foods cause changes many of which bring about actual
spoilage. Familiar examples of changes that stop short of
spoilage are the souring of milk, rising of bread, fermenting of
sauerkraut, making of vinegar, ripening of cheese. They are
easily destroyed by heat in canning. Temperatures below the
boiling point of water (150 F. to 180'F.) for varying periods
of time are effective in destroying them.
The appearance of mold growth is familiar to everyone. There
are many kinds of yeasts. Some are responsible for consider-
able spoilage of canned fruits and preserves since they are active
destroyers of sugar. When this happens it means that too little
heat was used at some step of the canning procedure, or that
the container was defective and allowed the organisms to gain
entrance from the air.
Bacteria.-These organisms cause the most trouble for the
home canner. While bacteria are growing actively they are
easily destroyed at the temperature of boiling water (2120 F.).
However, some kinds of bacteria go through a dormant or spore
form in the course of their life cycle and in that stage are
very resistant to heat. This occurs under unfavorable conditions
of crop growth, such as long dry seasons. The spores are very
resistant even to long boiling, but at 240 F., the temperature ob-
tained in the steam pressure canner, they may be destroyed in
30 minutes.
Whether foods are acid or non-acid also makes a difference
in the rate at which bacteria may be killed.
"Two hours from garden to can" is a good rule to follow in
canning vegetables and fruits. Quick handling prevents en-
zyme action and bacterial growth, both of which are hastened
when food is allowed to stand in a warm place. Likewise can-
ning success depends to a considerable degree upon clean food,
clean equipment, clean methods, and personal cleanliness.
Florida Cooperative Extension
STERILIZATION
Sterilization means the complete destruction of all forms of
life in the product sterilized. This is usually done by heat. The
product to be preserved is placed in the jar or can and heated
to a temperature fatal to all the micro-organisms it contains.
That sterilized products shall not spoil they must be sealed air-
tight to exclude the entrance of any other spoilage organisms.
The temperature necessary to sterilize varies with the pro-
duct. Bacteria do not develop readily in an acid medium so
the acid fruits and tomatoes require lower temperatures for
sterilization. The yeast and molds, commonly found on fruits
and tomatoes, are destroyed at boiling temperature (212'F.).
and some even below this temperature.
Products low in acid and often high in protein and contain-
ing heat-resistant organisms are difficult to sterilize. All vege-
tables except tomatoes and all meats fall in this class. These
products should be canned only in the steam pressure cooker.
Bacteria in these products are destroyed in the pressure cooker
which subjects them to a temperature of 240' to 2500 F., moist
heat, for varying lengths of time.
Most fruit juices can be safely sterilized at temperatures of
from 165 to 175' F., and temperatures above boiling should
be avoided, as they change the flavor of the juices. The original
character and flavor of the fresh fruit are desirable.
CANNING EQUIPMENT
Take stock of equipment, as well as supplies needed for can-
ning. Plan for convenient equipment and arrangement-clean
surroundings, well screened; plenty of hot and cold water. Elab-
orate, expensive equipment is not needed, little more is required
than should be found in any well-appointed kitchen.
Shallow trays, pans, bowls and vegetable brushes are needed
for grading, sorting and washing; colanders or sieves for wash-
ing and draining berries; sharp paring knives for peeling and
cutting, a silver or "stainless" steel knife for the fruit that dis-
colors with the use of steel.
Jar fillers, funnels, and flexible wooden or metal spatulas are
all great conveniences in filling jars and bottles. Some sort
of jar lifter is essential, or a wire basket that makes it possible
to lift a large number of jars in and out of the canner at one
time. These baskets can be made at home or by a tinner at
Florida Cooperative Extension
STERILIZATION
Sterilization means the complete destruction of all forms of
life in the product sterilized. This is usually done by heat. The
product to be preserved is placed in the jar or can and heated
to a temperature fatal to all the micro-organisms it contains.
That sterilized products shall not spoil they must be sealed air-
tight to exclude the entrance of any other spoilage organisms.
The temperature necessary to sterilize varies with the pro-
duct. Bacteria do not develop readily in an acid medium so
the acid fruits and tomatoes require lower temperatures for
sterilization. The yeast and molds, commonly found on fruits
and tomatoes, are destroyed at boiling temperature (212'F.).
and some even below this temperature.
Products low in acid and often high in protein and contain-
ing heat-resistant organisms are difficult to sterilize. All vege-
tables except tomatoes and all meats fall in this class. These
products should be canned only in the steam pressure cooker.
Bacteria in these products are destroyed in the pressure cooker
which subjects them to a temperature of 240' to 2500 F., moist
heat, for varying lengths of time.
Most fruit juices can be safely sterilized at temperatures of
from 165 to 175' F., and temperatures above boiling should
be avoided, as they change the flavor of the juices. The original
character and flavor of the fresh fruit are desirable.
CANNING EQUIPMENT
Take stock of equipment, as well as supplies needed for can-
ning. Plan for convenient equipment and arrangement-clean
surroundings, well screened; plenty of hot and cold water. Elab-
orate, expensive equipment is not needed, little more is required
than should be found in any well-appointed kitchen.
Shallow trays, pans, bowls and vegetable brushes are needed
for grading, sorting and washing; colanders or sieves for wash-
ing and draining berries; sharp paring knives for peeling and
cutting, a silver or "stainless" steel knife for the fruit that dis-
colors with the use of steel.
Jar fillers, funnels, and flexible wooden or metal spatulas are
all great conveniences in filling jars and bottles. Some sort
of jar lifter is essential, or a wire basket that makes it possible
to lift a large number of jars in and out of the canner at one
time. These baskets can be made at home or by a tinner at
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
small expense. Half-pint and pint size measuring cups, tea-
spoons, tablespoons, clock and scales all aid in securing accurate
results. A food chopper that delivers its contents into one
vessel without a drip, and a dilver are good investments.
A dilver, or a fruit press, is a valuable piece of equipment,
especially in South Florida, if used only for work with guavas.
The dilver serves as a fruit or vegetable press, sieve, colander
and ricer. A wash boiler, lard tin, peanut butter tin, or any
vessel large enough to hold a convenient number of jars is re-
quired for processing fruits and tomatoes. It should be pro-
vided with a rack and a cover and should be deep enough to al-
--
Fig. 2.-A funnel is an efficient Fig. 3.A dilver.
aid in filling jars.
low water to cover jars to a depth of at least one inch. The rack
or false bottom may be made of wooden strips or of strong wire
netting, which is raised a half inch or more above the bottom
of the vessel, thus allowing full circulation of water under jars.
The water bath or wash boiler method is preferable to the pres-
sure cooker for canning all fruits and tomatoes.
Wartime Note: All counties should check cookers, sealers,
containers and other equipment. All repair work should be
done at once. If new parts are needed they should be ordered
without delay; otherwise, it may be impossible to obtain essen-
tial parts, such as gauges, springs for cooker, petcocks, lugs for
cookers, and parts for sealers.
Those salvaged glass containers that are designed for standard
Florida Cooperative Extension
lids and rubbers should be used for canning by the water bath
method only.
OPERATIONS OF WATER BATH
1. Count time as soon as water reaches the boiling point.
Keep boiling at a moderate rather than a vigorous rate.
2. Have water well over tops of cans or jars.
3. Remove the cans or jars as soon as the processing time
is complete. Tighten covers immediately without lifting the lid,
if not completely sealed before processing. Test for leaks.
4. Cool jars quickly, but do not allow a draft as the jars may
crack in quick contraction, as a result of too rapid cooling. If
tins are used, plunge immediately in cold water.
If an imperfect seal is discovered within a day after a jar has
cooled, open it and use contents, if good; discard if not good.
It is not wise to reprocess after the contents have cooled, as this
overcooks the food.
STEAM PRESSURE CANNER
The steam pressure canner, or cooker, is recommended for
USE IN PROCESSING NON-ACID VEGETABLES AS WELL
AS FOR CANNING ALL MEATS, FISH AND SEA FOOD.
Those who can these
foods should equip
themselves with pressure
cookers, not only because
of the great saving of
time, energy and fuel,
but especially because of
S the greater security af-
Sforded through cooking
'- at high temperature
^*" R these products which are
unsafe to can by means
'. 'I of the water bath.
S[ Pressure cookers, or
S[ i steam pressure canners,
range in size from the
-, "' 'I small one which will
hold only three quart
''i jars to the factory sizes
J which have a capacity of
Fig. 4.-Steam pressure cooker. thousands of cans per
Florida Cooperative Extension
lids and rubbers should be used for canning by the water bath
method only.
OPERATIONS OF WATER BATH
1. Count time as soon as water reaches the boiling point.
Keep boiling at a moderate rather than a vigorous rate.
2. Have water well over tops of cans or jars.
3. Remove the cans or jars as soon as the processing time
is complete. Tighten covers immediately without lifting the lid,
if not completely sealed before processing. Test for leaks.
4. Cool jars quickly, but do not allow a draft as the jars may
crack in quick contraction, as a result of too rapid cooling. If
tins are used, plunge immediately in cold water.
If an imperfect seal is discovered within a day after a jar has
cooled, open it and use contents, if good; discard if not good.
It is not wise to reprocess after the contents have cooled, as this
overcooks the food.
STEAM PRESSURE CANNER
The steam pressure canner, or cooker, is recommended for
USE IN PROCESSING NON-ACID VEGETABLES AS WELL
AS FOR CANNING ALL MEATS, FISH AND SEA FOOD.
Those who can these
foods should equip
themselves with pressure
cookers, not only because
of the great saving of
time, energy and fuel,
but especially because of
S the greater security af-
Sforded through cooking
'- at high temperature
^*" R these products which are
unsafe to can by means
'. 'I of the water bath.
S[ Pressure cookers, or
S[ i steam pressure canners,
range in size from the
-, "' 'I small one which will
hold only three quart
''i jars to the factory sizes
J which have a capacity of
Fig. 4.-Steam pressure cooker. thousands of cans per
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
day. Pressure cookers for family use may vary in price from
$10 to $60, depending upon the size and make desired.
The steam pressure canner is constructed of strong material
and provided with a tightly fitting lid which when clamped in
place makes it possible to hold steam under pressure and obtain
a correspondingly high temperature-ranging from 2120F. to
274' F. Each steam pressure outfit is equipped with a pressure
gauge which registers the pressure in pounds and the corre-
sponding temperature, a safety valve, and usually, a steam pet-
cock. It may be easily regulated so as to maintain the desired
pressure and temperature and can be used for cooking as well
as for canning.
In the use of the steam pressure canner the products, properly
prepared and packed into containers, are cooked under a pres-
sure of from 5 to 15 pounds of steam. This means a tempera-
ture of 229 F. to 2500 F. All organisms in both the active
and spore forms are destroyed in a relatively short time under
such high temperatures. Most of the non-acid vegetables and
meat products usually are cooked under steam pressure of 10
pounds or 240' F. This temperature applied for the proper
length of time will not injure the quality of the product, and
will destroy all harmful organisms.
Processing is the most important operation in canning. No
matter how carefully all other steps may have been performed,
if the processing is not thorough, if all organisms are not killed
or rendered harmless, the material will spoil. When all bacteria,
yeasts and molds present in the food and in the can are de-
stroyed, and when the can is sealed air-tight so that no new
organisms can enter, the food cannot fail to keep. If either
one is partially done, it cannot fail to spoil.
OPERATION OF STEAM PRESSURE METHOD
1. Fill pressure cooker with water to a depth of two inches.
Heat. Place properly packed jars or sealed tins on rack.
2. When canner is filled, place cover in position with the
mark on the cover and canner in conjunction. Fasten mod-
erately tight, one pair at a time, the clamps which are opposite
each other; then go back over all the clamps tightening each.
3. See that no steam escapes anywhere except at the pet-
cock when it is open. Allow the petcock to remain open until
the steam escapes with a hissing noise, or for at least 7 minutes,
then close.
Florida Cooperative Extension
4. Allow temperature to rise until gauge registers the de-
sired pressure. Usually 10 pounds is sufficient for canning.
5. Count time from moment desired pressure is reached and
regulate fire to maintain that pressure. Fluctuations in pressure
when canning in glass, as from 10 pounds to 7 pounds and back
again to 10 pounds, are very likely to result in loss of liquid from
the jar. The steam formed under the liquid under sudden re-
duction of pressure cannot escape enough through the narrow
space between cover and rubber, and it "boils up" so furiously
that it pushes the liquid out of the jar. This is likely to happen
with any sudden drop in pressure. It is especially likely to
happen if the pressure is allowed to go so high that the safety
valve releases the steam rapidly.
6. Lack of liquid in canned products may be due also to in-
sufficient pre-cooking; to failure to expel all air from spaces
among particles of products when jar was filled with liquid;
to improper packing of jar, i. e., packing loosely in bottom and
tightly near top.
7. Uniform pressure may be maintained by turning the gas
or kerosene flame up or down, as need arises; or in case of wood
stove, by moving the canner away from flame to retard heat.
8. Remove canner from fire at end of processing period. If
glass jars are used let pressure go down to zero before petcock
is opened. If opened before pressure falls to zero the jars will
lose a part or all of their liquid contents. Also if the canner
is opened before the pressure has fallen to zero steam may scald
the operator. Even when No. 2 tin cans are used the release
cock should be opened very slowly and cautiously. For No. 3
cans it is better to allow pressure to fall to zero before remov-
ing, since a sudden release of steam offers too great a strain on
the seams of the cans. The cans should then be immediately re-
moved and plunged into water to cool. Shake tins occasionally
as they cool.
PROCESSING IN THE OVEN
The oven is often recommended for the processing of food in
glass jars. However, the dry air of an oven conducts heat less
readily than does either steam or hot water. The temperature
of the product in the jar never exceeds 2120 F. although the tem-
perature of the oven may be much higher (250-275 F.) than the
boiling point of water. If the jars are completely sealed before
being put in the oven there will be some steam pressure but this
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
is not advised, since the accumulated steam would break the seals
or the jars themselves. THE USE OF THE OVEN FOR CAN-
NING NON-ACID VEGETABLES IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
CONTAINERS TO USE IN CANNING
GLASS JARS
To be satisfactory, a jar should give an air-tight seal and
should have a simple, efficient means of sealing.
Glass jars are known by the caps they wear. They come in
three types: the old, original mason jar with the porcelain lined
metal screw cap; the lightning type with a glass disc cover held
in place by metal clamps; and the automatic seal or vacuum-seal
type that seals automatically when cooled.
The lid or cap of the mason jar is hard to clean and the por-
celain lining may become loosened or chipped. If this happens,
or the metal part of the cap is dented or bent, the cap must be
replaced by a new one.
The lightning type jar with its glass lid can be cleaned and
sterilized easily, but the wire clamps may become loosened from
use and must be adjusted. This type of jar is simple, sanitary,
and gives good service under Florida conditions.
The automatic sealing lids on the third type can be used only
once, necessitating replacement of the cover.
Glass jars should be selected and purchased from the stand-
point of quality of glass, durability or re-use value and ease with
which they can be sealed rather than from the standpoint of the
initial cost. All jars manufactured for use in the home regard-
less of type, WHEN USED ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS
FURNISHED BY THE MAKER, WILL GIVE WHAT IS ESSEN-
TIAL-an air-tight seal. READ AND FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.
All jars, before being filled, should be tested and the imper-
fect ones discarded. First, examine for cracks, nicks and bubble
holes. Next examine the surface upon which the lid or cover
makes its contact with the jar, where the seal will be made.
Both the top of the jar and the lid should feel smooth to the touch
and should form a perfect plane. Bails should be tight. Never
use two rubbers to tighten a clamp. Instead, adjust the bails as
directed. New bails may be purchased from the factory to re-
place old ones, if needed.
Rubbers.-The rubber is an important factor in securing a
perfect seal. Only the best new rubbers should be used. A good
Florida Cooperative Extension
rubber is soft and elastic and should stretch readily and return to
normal size. When sealing jars be sure no salt, seeds or pulp are
on the rubber band or on the part of the jar where the rubber
band or sealing surface rests.
TIN CANS
Canning in tin should be more popular than it is, now that
sanitary tins and an easily operated sealing machine are on the
market at a very nominal price. It is often quite feasible for
several families to join in the purchase and use of a sealer.
Some of the many advantages of canning in tin are: No
danger of breaking, no loss of liquid, ease of handling when
processing under pressure. Tin cans heat through more quickly
and may be plunged immediately into cold water. This rapid
cooling checks the cooking and produces a more desirable
product.
The large opening in the new type tin makes it easier to
pack some products in tin than in glass jars unless the newer,
wide mouth jars are used.
It is recommended that all vegetables except tomatoes be
sterilized under steam pressure. Glass jars are not as satis-
factory to use in a pressure sterilizer as tin. Frequently much
of the liquid boils out of the container, causing the jar after
sterilization to be only three-quarters or one-half filled with
s%
Fig. 5.-Small hand sealing machine for sanitary tins.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
liquid, unless considerable care is used during sterilization and
cooling. These difficulties are overcome in commercial canneries
by the use of compressed air in the pressure canners, but this
is not possible for the home canner.
Sanitary cans are really the most satisfactory containers for
vegetables that must be sterilized under pressure in the home.
Tins with special enamel linings are recommended for canning
certain products. R-enamel or sanitary enamel-bright gold in
appearance-is used for any product whose color would be af-
fected by contact with plain tin and cause it to fade. This
includes all red fruits, berries, beets and pumpkin.
C-enamel is a lacquer which is dull gold in appearance and is
used exclusively for certain vegetables, meats, fish, lye hominy,
and such other products as may form black discolorations either
in the food itself or on the can. This black discoloration is iron
sulphide, and though entirely harmless, it detracts greatly from
the appearance of the food. C-enamel should not be used for
any product which is acid, nor for vegetables canned with an
acid or vinegar sauce.
However, plain tin may be safely used for any food product
and is usually recommended to the home canner who is canning
small amounts of several different products. Tin is not harmful
to the human system in any quantities which might go into
solution in canned foods. Food packed in plain clean tin is
perfectly safe and wholesome. When in doubt as to which kind
of enamel to use, play safe and use only plain tin.
In the time tables for fruit and vegetable canning, pages 51
to 55, recommendations are given for the type of can to be used
with the various products.
Sealing Sanitary Tins.-Very little experience is required to
obtain a perfect seal with the hand-power sealers used for sani-
tary tins if the directions accompanying the sealer are followed
closely. The prepared food is packed boiling hot into the hot,
sterile can, and boiling hot syrup or other liquid is added to
fill it within one-fourth inch of the top and the tin is quickly
sealed before the contents have had time to cool.
If products are not hot when packed (as tomatoes and grape-
fruit sections) it is necessary to place the filled containers in a
boiling water bath, deep enough to come within 2 inches of the
top of the container. Cover the water bath to hold in the steam.
When contents are "smoking hot," indicating that the air is out
Florida Cooperative Extension
of the food and container, seal. Removing the air (called ex-
hausting) before sealing prevents loss of food value and flavor
and causes less discoloration and spoilage.
The sealer should be carefully adjusted when changing from
one type lid to another.
MARKING CANS AND JARS
All containers should be plainly marked with name and grade
of the product. India ink or canners' ink is used satisfactorily
for marking tins, as it stands hot water. Also, wax pencils are
specially made for writing on tin and glass. After sterilization
gummed labels may be used. All lots should be dated so that
products canned earliest can be used first. Also the containers
of each lot may be identified later, and a short record giving
the time of pre-cook and sterilization in each case should be
kept for future reference. Such labeling and records will be
found very valuable in locating the cause of spoilage, should
this occur, and in tabulating helpful reference material.
SPOILAGE AND STORAGE
Spoilage.-Sometimes with an inexperienced person canning
in tin and using the sealer, leaks will occur around the seam
of sanitary cans. Leaks, however, can be detected by bubbles
appearing when the cans are dropped into hot water. Leaks
permit air to enter and the air brings with it "germs" which
cause the fruit or other product to mold, ferment, or produce
a gas that sometimes causes the cans to swell. Flat sour,
however, is not indicated from any outside appearance of the
can. It may result from canning stale vegetables, improper
cooling, or from storage in too warm a place. A sound tin or
glass jar should have a vacuum which is indicated by the suction
of the air into the tin or jar when it is first opened. If the cover
on a jar is difficult to remove it is usually a sign of good vacuum.
'A good vacuum in the sealed container is of primary importance in
the canning of food. A vacuum is produced in the jar or tin either by
heating the food before it is packed (precook) or by heating the product
in the container (exhaust). The application of heat causes the internal
gases and vapors to expand. Upon cooling there is a contraction of the
expanded gases, vapors and solids and a partial vacuum is formed within
the container. In addition to inhibiting the growth of spoilage micro-
organisms, the vacuum serves to maintain an effective seal. The average
vacuum considered safe for foods in tin cans is 12 inches. A device for
testing vacuum may be purchased for about $4.00. The exclusion of air,
through complete filling of containers and closing under a hot exhaust,
is most important in preventing deterioration and protecting the quality
of canned products during the hot summer months.
Florida Cooperative Extension
of the food and container, seal. Removing the air (called ex-
hausting) before sealing prevents loss of food value and flavor
and causes less discoloration and spoilage.
The sealer should be carefully adjusted when changing from
one type lid to another.
MARKING CANS AND JARS
All containers should be plainly marked with name and grade
of the product. India ink or canners' ink is used satisfactorily
for marking tins, as it stands hot water. Also, wax pencils are
specially made for writing on tin and glass. After sterilization
gummed labels may be used. All lots should be dated so that
products canned earliest can be used first. Also the containers
of each lot may be identified later, and a short record giving
the time of pre-cook and sterilization in each case should be
kept for future reference. Such labeling and records will be
found very valuable in locating the cause of spoilage, should
this occur, and in tabulating helpful reference material.
SPOILAGE AND STORAGE
Spoilage.-Sometimes with an inexperienced person canning
in tin and using the sealer, leaks will occur around the seam
of sanitary cans. Leaks, however, can be detected by bubbles
appearing when the cans are dropped into hot water. Leaks
permit air to enter and the air brings with it "germs" which
cause the fruit or other product to mold, ferment, or produce
a gas that sometimes causes the cans to swell. Flat sour,
however, is not indicated from any outside appearance of the
can. It may result from canning stale vegetables, improper
cooling, or from storage in too warm a place. A sound tin or
glass jar should have a vacuum which is indicated by the suction
of the air into the tin or jar when it is first opened. If the cover
on a jar is difficult to remove it is usually a sign of good vacuum.
'A good vacuum in the sealed container is of primary importance in
the canning of food. A vacuum is produced in the jar or tin either by
heating the food before it is packed (precook) or by heating the product
in the container (exhaust). The application of heat causes the internal
gases and vapors to expand. Upon cooling there is a contraction of the
expanded gases, vapors and solids and a partial vacuum is formed within
the container. In addition to inhibiting the growth of spoilage micro-
organisms, the vacuum serves to maintain an effective seal. The average
vacuum considered safe for foods in tin cans is 12 inches. A device for
testing vacuum may be purchased for about $4.00. The exclusion of air,
through complete filling of containers and closing under a hot exhaust,
is most important in preventing deterioration and protecting the quality
of canned products during the hot summer months.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
Spoiled cans or jars of food should never even be tasted. They
may be deadly poison. Do not feed spoiled food to poultry or
animals; it may poison them. Bury it deeply.
Storage.-It is also generally true of any canned product,
and some are more definitely unstable than others, that while
they may not show spoilage by molding, souring, or fermenting,
even when properly pasteurized or sterilized they still may de-
teriorate. They may change in flavor and in other ways lose
quality and food value from exposure to light and heat through
improper storage.
For this reason, special precautions needed to preserve the
high degree of color, flavor, texture, vitamin content, and other
valuable characteristics of the raw products should be strictly
observed.
Today perhaps as much attention is being called to the need
for better and more modern storage facilities as to any other
item of improvement in canning technology. The home canner
must likewise be concerned with improvement of her storage
facilities. The ideal home storage room should be well venti-
lated, dry, clean, dark, free from odors, and of a favorable or
low storage temperature. This ventilated pantry should be con-
structed so that the cool air which is stored up under the house
or in the house may circulate constantly through the space
throughout the day, keeping the products at approximately the
same temperature that is maintained in a cellar or other under-
ground storage space.2
USING THE HOT PACK METHOD IN CANNING
The newer method in canning is called "hot pack." In this
a short precooking of the vegetables or fruits is substituted for
the formerly recommended "blanching." Some of the cooking
water or syrup is used to fill the container scalding hot and it
is then processed. The difference between the "cold pack" and
the "hot pack" is that the "cold dip" is omitted and in place
of blanching in a large amount of water, the product is pre-
cooked in a small amount of liquid, usually until it boils, and
is thoroughly shrunken. This saving of valuable nutrients is
of great importance. An exception to the "hot pack" method
is found in grapefruit sections and tomatoes which are canned
by the "cold pack."
'For full particulars and suggestive drawings for building ventilated
pantries or in making some structural changes in the old ones, see your
Home Demonstration Agent or write the State Home Demonstration
Office, Tallahassee, Florida.
Florida Cooperative Extension
Steps in Hot Pack Canning.-Select only fresh, sound pro-
ducts. Can as soon as picked; do not let stand overnight. To
avoid heating keep products in cool place while waiting to can.
Grade for size, color and degree of ripeness. Do not can young,
tender vegetables with older ones; the one would be overcooked
before the other is thoroughly processed. Over-ripe products
may disintergrate, spoiling appearance of the product and some-
times leaving the liquid cloudy. Over-ripe but sound fruit
should be used in jams rather than for canning. For choice
products, fruits and vegetables must be in prime condition when
used for canning.
Preparation for Canning.-Clean products carefully, shell,
pare, scrape, core, seed, slice, according to fruit or vegetable
and the purpose for which it is to be used. Peaches and toma-
toes are scalded and then are quickly dipped in cold water. The
skin will then slip easily. Make sure water bath or pressure
canner, whichever is needed, will be ready to receive jars or
tins as soon as packed.
Precooking is heating the fruit or vegetable in a syrup,
steam, or boiling or simmering water for a short time before
processing.
Packing.-Keep previously washed and rinsed jars in near
boiling water until food is ready for packing. Usually it is
more convenient to have rubber in place. Do not wipe out jar.
Merely shake out surplus moisture. Tins may be made ready
in the same way and held in warm place until needed. Give
the rubber and composition gasket covers a dip in boiling water
before using.
Fill the hot food immediately into the container after the
preparation is finished. Select for uniformity in size and qual-
ity, and arrange for a symmetrically placed and attractive pack.
Do not pack so loosely as to waste space in jars or cans, but
do not pack so tightly that there is not room for expansion.
Fill jar as packed with boiling liquid or syrup in which the
vegetable or fruit is precooked, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Paddle or agitate to remove air bubbles as completely as possible.
Sealing and Processing.-Glass-top jars with wire bails may
be fully sealed before processing. Fully sealing this type jar,
when contents are hot and properly packed, results in less loss of
liquid from the jar during processing. READ MANUFAC-
TURERS' DIRECTIONS FOR USE OF THEIR PARTICULAR
TYPES OF SEAL.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
SYRUPS FOR CANNING FRUITS
Sugar is useful not only for sweetening but because it helps
fruits hold their shape, color, and natural flavor. Fruits for
pie making or for diabetic diets are often canned with no sugar.
In time they will fade somewhat in color, lose some of their
taste and texture. Using fruit juice instead of water empha-
sizes the flavor of the fruit and adds also to the food value.
When canning juicy fruits like berries, if sugar is not used
can them in their own juices and add no water. Pick out the
riper fruits and extract the juice by crushing, heating and strain-
ing. Pack remaining fruits closely and firmly into the container
without preheating, cover with the boiling hot juice and process
in water bath. For firm fruits like pears, peaches,
I1 pineapples and guavas which are not juicy enough
to provide their own liquid, a juice may be made
by covering the riper fruits, peelings and cores
T with water and simmering together. Strain and
add sugar or other sweetening to this liquid to
make a syrup of both richness and food value.3
i The least amount of water possible should be used
S to avoid diluting the fruit flavor.
i For all practical purposes syrups for canning
may be prepared with the following proportion
of sugar and water: very light syrup, 1 cup sugar
to 4 cups water; medium, 1 cup sugar to 2 cups
water; heavy, 11/ cups sugar to 1 cup water. Add
sugar to water (or fruit juice), bring to boil,
strain to remove solid impurities and use boiling
hot. When measuring sugar see that it is well
settled in cup and slightly rounded. So measured,
1 cup sugar will equal weight of 1 cup water.
The proper method of expressing syrups is in
terms of percent of sugar. This may be deter-
mined by means of a special kind of hydrometer
Fig. 6.-A known as a saccharimeter.
hydrometer or
Brix sacchari- Which syrup to use depends upon (a) acidity
te measring of fruit, (b) family preference, (c) the amount of
glass) for fruit packed into the jar.
saru content The amount of syrup required to pack a quart
of fruit will depend largely upon the size of the
3For instance, peach skins have been found to contain 2 to 4 times as
much ascorbic acid per gram as the pulp.
Florida Cooperative Extension
pieces of fruit and closeness of the pack. One to 11/4 cups may
be allowed for one quart. This will serve as a guide to the be-
ginner in making syrups.
All fruits intended for desserts should be canned in syrup
(even fruits for salads usually take at least a light syrup). The
syrup should be of such density and of such quantity as to give
a sub-acid taste without obscuring any of the natural flavor
and aroma of the fruit.
CANNING SYRUPS OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES
Syrup Density
Syrup Sugar Water Approximate Character of Syrup
Number (cups) (cups) Percentage
1 1 4 20 Very thin
2 1 2% 30 Thin
3 1 2 40 Medium
4 1 1 50 Thick
5 1V 1 60 Heavy
Fruit intended for cooking purposes may be canned, if de-
sired, without sugar. Sugar is used not to preserve the fruit but
to bring out the flavor and to improve the taste and texture.
A No. 1 syrup may be used where heavier syrups are quoted.
SWEETENING QUALITIES OF DEXTROSE, HONEY, CANE
AND OTHER SYRUPS
In general, honey and cane syrup yield about the same sweet-
ness as sugar and may be used in the place of sugar, cup for cup.
Make into a syrup with water, or preferably fruit juice, just as
would be done with sugar, reducing the amount of liquid called
for by one-fourth or one-fifth.
The honey or the cane syrup flavor combines better with some
fruits than with others. It is necessary to use the mildest flavored
honeys in order that the individual, fruity flavors may not be
overshadowed or masked by that of the honey. Flavors of honey
also vary with age and storage, so it is always desirable to use a
new honey for canning purposes when it is available.
It has become a recognized fact for some time that sugars
other than sucrose (beet or cane sugar) may be used for canning
fruits. The use of dextrose, or corn sugar, in combination with
sugar, for instance, gives greater density without adding ex-
cessive sweetness. This improves texture and aids in developing
the flavor of the fruit.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
Light colored corn syrup may also be used as a sugar sub-
stitute, using it in combination or alone.
Ask for further information about the various substitutes for
white sugar found on the markets, if interested.
WHY FRUITS FLOAT IN THE JAR
Some fruits such as strawberries, guavas, and soft, juicy
plums contain much air and undergo considerable shrinkage
when heated. They give up a large portion of their juice,
when the shrunken fruit rises to the top of the jar. Often the
lower half or even two-thirds of the jar contain juice only
while the shriveled fruits fill the upper half or third.
When fruits are canned in syrup which is too heavy, the
syrup extracts through osmosis a large portion of the juice
from the fruit, causing it to shrink and float to the top of the jar.
When fruits (also tomatoes) are over-processed the cell
structure is broken down, causing the fruits to break up or
to shrink. In either event the fruit becomes lighter than the
syrup or juice, and consequently it will float to the top of the jar.
If given the proper preliminary pre-cook or shrinkage in the
syrups best adapted to their texture, peaches, pears, plums,
Surinam cherries, guavas, and all berries will be evenly dis-
tributed throughout the jar.
The natural color, flavor and texture of fruits must be re-
tained or improved in successful canning processes. Straw-
berries, wild plums, papaya, and some guavas tend to break up
when cooked or heated directly in the syrup. If the sugar con-
centration within the berry or fruit is not equal to that without,
the fruit floats. Hence, if strawberries and certain other fruits
are allowed to stand for a few hours or sometimes overnight in
sugar, the fruit loses water, shrinks and becomes slightly tough.
Then, if heated slowly or removed from the heat a few minutes
before boiling and allowed to stand, usually covered, the sugar
penetrates the strawberry, plumps it, and keeps it from floating.
Also strawberries and plums develop a strong flavor when
cooked a long time. Therefore, the sugar is allowed to penetrate
before boiling. The best results are obtained if the cook is rapid
and the amount of fruit handled is small.
On the other hand, hard fruits such as pears, mangos and
some guavas must be softened first by cooking in water or a light
syrup. They will become hard and shriveled if placed directly
into a heavy syrup.
Florida Cooperative Extension
SPECIAL DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING BERRIES
AND FRUITS
AVOCADO
Methods of preserving the avocado and its by-products have,
to date, been unsuccessful. While color and texture may be
retained the resulting product proves flat and unpalatable after
a short time even when held in cold storage.
BERRIES
Dewberries, blackberries, blueberries, elderberries, young-
berries and mulberries take practically the same method of
canning. The condition of the fruit will have much to do with
the quality of the product. Berries should be gathered in shal-
low trays or baskets and not in deep baskets or buckets which
allow them to be bruised or crushed. They should be uniformly
ripe and sound, and as large as possible. Sort carefully and
wash by placing a shallow layer of fruit in colander or strainer
and dip in and out of water. Do not let stand in water. Remove
hulls or stems. Pack in hot, clean jars as closely as possible
without crushing. Do this by putting a few in a jar at a time
and gently pressing into place, layer by layer, until full, and
removing all air bubbles by gently agitating. Fill jar with hot
medium to heavy syrup. Complete seal and process pint jars
in water bath 10 to 12 minutes; quart jars 15 to 20 minutes.
When cool, store in dry, dark, ventilated pantry.
If in making syrup for berries, berry juice is used in place
of water, the product will be better in color, flavor and food
value. Canned berries have the variety of uses that fresh
berries have. They may be served as a breakfast fruit or for
dessert. They are excellent in pies, puddings or fruit sauces.
Strawberries are an exception and cannot be canned by the
above one-process method as they tend to lose both color and
flavor and rise in the jar, presenting a most unappetizing appear-
ance. The following directions for canning strawberries give
excellent results.
Use only freshly picked, perfectly sound, ripe strawberries.
(It is never desirable to can any fruit that is not in prime eating
condition). Wash carefully and cap. Never allow them to stand
in water nor to stand long after being washed because they
soften rapidly when wet. To each pound of strawberries allow
/4 to 1 cup of sugar. Place berries and sugar in alternate layers
in a kettle, reserving enough sugar to cover the top layer com-
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
pletely. Cover vessel and set aside in a cool place for several
hours, over night if preferred. After standing it will be found
that the sugar has caused much juice to flow from the fruit and
that most of the sugar is in solution in this juice. Now heat the
fruit and syrup over a slow fire in the partially covered kettle un-
til all sugar is dissolved and simmer gently for 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the fire and let stand covered until cold, or better
yet, over night. Occasional stirring of the fruit is advantageous.
Reheat fruit to below simmering (160 F),pack in hot, sterile jars
or R-enamel tins. Seal and simmer pints in water bath 8 minutes.
The above method of canning strawberries, using a minimum
amount of sugar, rather than making preserves in which the
maximum amount of sugar is used, gives a product much to be
preferred and one in which the natural color, shape, flavor and
aroma are retained. These properly canned strawberries are de-
lightfully appetizing to use over cereal, in gelatin or other
desserts, ice cream, sherbet, and punch.
The strawberry is very unstable in color and flavor and should
be canned only in the amount needed until the fresh fruit is
in season again. (See "Conserving Florida Berries" and "Last
Lap on Strawberries" for further information.)
CHERRIES (SURINAM OR FLORIDA)
Prepare medium or heavy syrup as preferred. Select fine,
ripe fruit-that which will drop from the bush into hand when
lightly touched. Wash gently and remove pits. Precook 1 to
2 minutes in boiling water. Pack in hot jars, and add hot syrup,
and process quarts in water bath 16 minutes. Cherries tend to
shrivel in a heavy syrup without preliminary blanch or precook.
Water used in the precook should be used for making syrup.
Surinam cherry juice blended with grapefruit juice fresh or
canned makes a wonderfully fine flavored blend for party punch
or, indeed, any occasion.
The surinam cherry or so-called Florida cherry is one of the
most easily cultivated and ornamental of our subtropical shrubs,
and is used perhaps more for hedging and other decorative pur-
poses than for its fine flavored fruits. The fruit is beautifully
colored, juicy, of high acidity, and individual flavor. It deserves
to be grown more generally as a valuable addition to the home
orchard in southern Florida. For best quality and quantity pro-
duction the surinam cherry asks for abundant moisture.
Florida Cooperative Extension
Surinam cherries are of three varieties, one with brilliant
red fruits-the variety most commonly grown-another almost
black in color and of unusually fine flavor, and a less known type
which is orange in color when ripe.
FIGS
Figs in season must be gathered daily in shallow baskets when
thoroughly ripe, and be canned without delay.
Grade for size, wash and drain. Precook figs in gently boiling
water from 2 to 6 minutes. This preliminary, open-kettle cook
prepares for penetration of sugar syrup, facilitates packing a
well-filled jar or can, and improves appearance.
Place in cans or jars and steam 30 minutes. Add heavy syrup
and process 11/ to 2 hours at boiling. Sterilization must be long
enough to overcome the "raw" appearance (chalky white color).
The resulting product should be tender, plump, unbroken and
translucent in appearance with a syrup that will test 35 to 40
degrees, Balling hydrometer. Or, after the first short prelim-
inary cook in water, figs may be placed in a heavy syrup at once
and be cooked in the open kettle until they are clear and the
syrup is fairly heavy. This takes at least an hour, usually longer.
The figs should then be allowed to stand over night to plump and
further absorb syrup.
All open-kettle boiling should be done gently and in an abund-
ance of syrup, that as few as possible of the figs be broken. The
next day bring figs to boiling point, pack in hot, sterile jars and
seal immediately. Any left-over syrup is excellent to serve with
hot biscuits or waffles.
It has been demonstrated by the commercial canners that
there is a much greater potential demand for figs canned in a
syrup of medium sugar concentration than for the time-honored
fig preserves as prepared in the South. While fig preserves are
popular and appeal to most palates, they are extremely sweet and
only a small quantity can be eaten at a time. Also they are rel-
atively expensive to make. On the other hand, figs canned in
medium or thick syrup are not excessively sweet and not unduly
costly. They make a delightful breakfast fruit as well as a
dessert when served with cream cheese and crisp crackers.
Fig Spread.-This is made from the broken figs or over-ripe
stock. Clip off stems, run through coarse food grinder. Measure.
Place in heavy aluminum kettle and cook until thickened. Add
one-half to three-fourths measure of sugar to one measure of fig
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables 27
pulp and cook to 2210 F. Pack in hot jars, seal and process by
boiling 5 minutes. This makes a most wholesome "spread" for
lunches and may be used also for cake filling and ice cream.
Over-ripe figs also may be pre-cooked in open kettle, without
sugar, packed solid in jars, and sterilized for use in baking and
for making ice cream. (See "The Fig, a Prize Package of Food
and Medicine" for further information and recipes.)
GRAPEFRUIT
Wash and dry strictly fresh, sound grapefruit. With a sharp
knife remove all peel and white membrane or rag. There are
different methods of doing this. In one method slices are cut
from both ends of the unpeeled fruit, cutting into the flesh or
segments. Then remove the rest of the peel and rag in wide
slices, cutting from one end to the other. When this operation is
completed you have a juicy ball minus all rag, with all the seg-
ments exposed. It is then an easy matter to run the blade of a
paring knife or the pliable blade of a grapefruit spatula between
the segments and separate them from the rest of the membrane
or rag. It is possible in this way to remove every segment en-
tirely whole, free from all rag and seed.
With the segments free from rag and seed, pack firmly and
solidly into a sterilized jar or preferably a No. 2 tin, keeping the
rounding sides to the jar or tin. Add 2 tablespoons of extra heavy
sugar syrup to a pint jar or tin when half full. Run knife blade or
spatula down next to the side of container to permit syrup to
flow more freely into spaces between sections and to release air
bubbles. Syrup may be omitted, but flavor and texture are better
when used.
When jar is full adjust rubber, cover and pasteurize 35
minutes at 180 F. If canning in tin exhaust for 10 or more
minutes or until hot in center of tin. Seal, then process as above.
Cool in cold water. Store in cool, dry place.
It is very important that the processing temperature for
grapefruit be not allowed to go beyond 1750 F. or 1800 F. or
its fine, delicate flavor will be destroyed. If a thermometer is
not at hand to keep check on the temperature, bring the water
to a boil then remove water bath from heat and allow cans to
remain in hot water 25 minutes. Be sure there is an average
of a quart of water for every pint can.
Florida Cooperative Extension
We sometime speak of using "culls" for canning purposes.
By "culls" is meant absolutely fresh, sound, ripe fruit, free from
all forms of decay, but they may be under-sized, over-sized, or
misshapen in some way.
Grapefruit is most commonly canned in No. 2 tins. The plain
tin container has been found more suitable for grapefruit than
the glass container, affording greater protection as to flavor.
Grapefruit is becoming more and more popular as a canned
fruit in its ready-to-serve form. The "hearts" are excellent for
breakfast, for fruit cocktails, salads, and for desserts of all kinds
and in many combinations.
GRAPES
Use firm but fully ripe fruit. Weigh, wash, separate skins
and pulps. Place hulls in kettle, adding 1 cup water for each
6 pounds of fruit. Cook covered until hulls are quite tender and
water evaporated. Heat pulps and juice in another kettle until
soft enough to liberate seed. Put through colander or fruit
press. Combine pulp and hulls, add one pound sugar to each
six pounds fruit. Bring slowly to boil and boil 4 to 5 minutes.
Pack in hot jars, seal and process 5 minutes. This makes a
most wholesome, delicious "spread" for lunches and may be used
for cake and pie filling, for ice cream, and for making into grape
catsup.
Whole Grapes.-Select firm, ripe grapes preferably of the
muscadine variety. Insert sharp pointed paring knife in stem
end and pick out seed with point of knife. Pack seeded whole
grapes cold in jars. Pour over them a heavy syrup (measure
for measure). Let stand one-half hour; refill if necessary; adjust
rubber and top, leaving bail up. Steam jars at boiling until
fruit is softened but unbroken; add more syrup if needed, and
seal boiling hot. The time for steaming or processing varies
with the variety. The Scuppernong requires approximately an
hour, the James 11/ hours and the Thomas fully 2 hours.
Many think this makes a delicious canned product, quite equal
to the Northern canned cherry. Seed may be left in but if so,
slit each grape in order that syrup may penetrate and so prevent
the grapes from shriveling. However, it is not at all a difficult
task to remove them. (See "Grapes and Grape Products" leaf-
let for further information on utilization.)
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
Fig. 7.-The common guava grows wild in Florida in great abundance from
Marion County southward. Because of its high nutrtive value, wider use should
be made of this beautifully colored, characteristically flavored fruit, sweet or sour.
Guavas may be used fresh or processed, alone or combined with citrus or other
fruits. At present, guavas are used principally for making jelly, butter, preserves
and sweet pickles. Plain canned, they are a dessert fruit deluxe. Recently chemists
in Florida have determined its unusual potency in vitamin C, finding the guava
exceptionally rich in this important substance.
GUAVAS
There are several ways of canning guavas. They may be
canned whole, peeled or unpeeled; may be halved, have the seeds
removed by means of the dilver or a fruit press, and this pulp
returned to halves and cooked with them; or shells and pulp
may be cooked as two separate products.
Wash, remove blossom and stem, and peel. Cook 1 to 3
minutes (according to the size and ripeness of fruit) in boiling
thin or medium syrup. This preliminary cook is given in order
to have full pack when processing is completed. If a "peach"
pack is desired and guavas are large and thick meated, halves
may be packed in jars, after very slight precook, in overlapping
Florida Cooperative Extension
layers; the concave surface of each half should be downward
and the blossom end should face the glass. A tablespoonful of
syrup should be added to each layer. Process 16 to 20 minutes
at boiling.
Guava Sauce.-Wash fruit and remove blossom end and any
blemishes on skin. Run through dilver to remove seed. Measure.
Cook in heavy aluminum kettle until somewhat thickened. Add
2 cups sugar (according to acidity of fruit) to 4 cups of pulp
and cook rapidly again for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Pour
into hot jars, put immediately into boiling water bath and process
5 minutes. This is excellent for pudding sauces, shortcakes,
cobblers, gelatin desserts, or ice cream. (See "The Goodly
Guava" for many other uses of the guava.)
LOQUAT OR JAPANESE PLUM
The loquat is one of Florida's most beautiful ornamentals and
produces most delectable fruit of a slightly tart, yet sweet flavor.
The fruit used fresh in fruit cups and salads is always enjoyed.
The loquat ranks high as a pie fruit and also makes delicious
preserves.
To Can.-Use freshly gathered (clipped) not over-mature
fruit. Remove stem and blossom ends, skin and seed, or can
with seed left in (seed are objectionable only because of space
consumed). Give 2 to 4 minutes precook in light, medium or
heavy syrup depending on the acidity of the fruit which varies
with different varieties. Pack in jars, process quarts 20 minutes.
Loquat Sauce.-Prepare loquats by removing blossom end,
stems, and seeds. It is not necessary to remove skin. Run
through food chopper, using medium blade. Measure. Add 1
cup of water to 4 cups loquat. Cook until tender, adding more
water if needed. When tender add 1 to 2 cups of sugar, cook
5 minutes longer. Pour in hot jars and seal. Process immediately
5 minutes at boiling.
Loquats canned without pitting develop a "bitter almond"
or pit flavor, very pleasing to some and disliked by others.
MANGOS
If fruits of the seedling type are used for canning they will
have to be selected before they show color, otherwise the stringy
fiber will be objectionable. If these are used, peel, slice in
convenient pieces, immerse in medium syrup for 1 to 2 minutes
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
or until pliable, pack in jars, boil syrup until heavy, and strain
over fruit. Process immediately 16 to 20 minutes at boiling.
If the finer, budded varieties are used, select at the stage of best
flavor and handle as you would freestone peaches.
Mangos, unlike other fruit, are delicious if used at any stage
of growth. There are endless ways of preparation-jelly, but-
ters, preserves, sweet pickles and relishes. The mango forms the
basis of most chutneys of the East India type.
Because the supply of the delicious budded varieties of
mangos is limited, they usually command a high price and are
mainly used fresh as an incomparable dessert fruit or in com-
bination with citrus fruits, pineapple or papaya. They are used
also in fruit cups, salads, and frozen desserts.
The flavor of the seedling mangos when green or half ripe
is generally liked and may be used for making pies and a sauce
that is highly acid and of the most intriguing flavor. Mango
slices or the sauce should be more generally canned to serve
with meat, as a dessert, as shortcake filling or ice cream, sherbet,
and mousse.
MAYHAW
Juice, jelly and a sauce or butter are made from the fruit
of the mayhaw. They should be gathered at the first indica-
tion of color and used promptly. It is recommended that the
fruit be cooked in an abundance of water and the pomace or
pulp left from this drip be put through the fruit press to re-
move seed and be made into a sauce or butter. Use V/ cup
sugar to each cup pulp and cook rapidly, stirring carefully until
the consistency desired is reached. Pour into hot sterile jars
and seal at once. (See "The Jelly Tree" for further information.)
PAPAYA
The papaya may be canned very much as peaches are canned,
but due to lack of acidity in most papayas the flavor is im-
proved by the addition of lemon juice or by canning with equal
parts of grapefruit segments. The bright color and firm tex-
ture of the papaya make it a desirable addition to some types of
mixed fruit salads.
Papaya lends itself to the making of sauce, butter, salad com-
binations, preserves, and spiced pickles-the latter product being
exceptionally delightful. Papaya may be canned for pie filling
as the fruit makes pie deluxe. It may be used in either the
green stage, when the skin is still tender and green in color
Florida Cooperative Extension
(do not peel) and the seeds are yet white (do not remove) for
sweet pickles or it may be used full ripe. Use the same formula
for papaya pickles as for peach pickles. The syrup from ripe
papaya preserves is a rich golden color and of a delicate, in-
teresting flavor. Papaya juice is being manufactured in large
quantities at present, its popularity due mainly to its exploita-
tion as a health drink and to the addition of other fruit juices
of a sprightly nature, such as grapefruit and pineapple and
even to strongly flavored products like ginger.
Papayas are on the markets of South Florida during the entire
year, barring unusual weather conditions, such as frosts and
heavy rains. The quality and flavor vary considerably and for
many people the taste must be acquired.
In full ripe stage the papaya makes a delectable breakfast
or dessert salad, served with lemon or lime. In cocktails and
salads it combines deliciously with pineapple and citrus fruits.
The fresh papaya pulp with milk or cream makes a most de-
licious frozen dessert. Sliced and seasoned in the same way as
peaches, papayas are used for pie or, with pulp put through a
sieve and milk, eggs, and spices added, for a custard pie. The
papaya ranks high as a pie fruit.
PEACHES
Before preparing fruit make a thin or medium syrup, allow-
ing 1 cup of liquid for each quart jar. If the almond flavor
is desired a few cracked pits may be boiled in a small amount
of water and this water used in making the syrup to give the
desired flavor. Make a No. 3 or No. 4 syrup and strain before
pouring in containers.
Sort fruit, using only firm, ripe, sound peaches for canning.
Put aside the soft, broken or extra ripe ones for jam or butter.
Immerse peaches in boiling water for about 1 minute or until
skins will slip easily. Plunge in cold water and remove as soon
as cool. Skin, cut into halves and discard seed. Peaches will
pack better if dropped in hot syrup long enough to render
pliable, about 2 minutes or longer. Do not cook until soft.
Remove at once and pack in hot jars. If little juice is desired
place the halves in overlapped layers, the concave surface of
each half being downward and the blossom end facing the glass.
As each layer is built up add a tablespoon or more of the syrup,
paddling carefully to remove air bubbles. Process quarts 22
minutes if fruit is quite firm, or 16 minutes if riner and more
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
tender. Clingstones require about 10 minutes longer time than
freestone peaches. If the peaches are packed cold in tin cans,
cover with hot syrup and exhaust in boiling water 5 minutes
before sealing. Then process as directed in Table 1.
The peach season is not very long, hence it behooves all peach
lovers to make the most of it while it lasts. (See "The Suc-
culent Peach" for further information.)
PITTI NG SPOON niS,.
CLITTING,CORPING 2
PEELING K.N IVES
-6.-
Fig. 8.-Special devices such as these make canning easier, facilitate good work-
manship. They may be user! in paring guavas, mangos, papayas; coring pears and
tomatoes; pitting peaches; and removing sections of grapefruit. 1, Medium sized
peach pitter; 2, loop pear coring knife; 3, peach pitter (may be used for coring
tomatoes); 4, paring and coring knife for pears, pototaes, etc.; 5, peeling and coring
knife especially for use with tomatoes; 6, small knife for use with all fruits,
especially good for removing sections from citrus fruits.
Sweet Spiced Peaches.-Put in a kettle 3/2 pounds of sugar,
1 pint vinegar, 1 pint water, 1/4 ounce ginger root, % ounce
whole cloves, /2 ounce stick cinnamon. Bring mixture to boil.
Let stand over night to absorb spice flavor. Strain and add
boiling hot to jar or can; or preferably, pour over prepared
peaches and let stand overnight. Then strain off, boil again
and add to peaches that have been packed in the jar. Process 12
to 16 minutes.
PEARS
Peal, leave whole, cut in halves, or slice, according to size
and use to which pears will be put. When packed whole, leave
stems on. Use apple corer from blossom end to remove core.
If very small leave core in fruit. Cook from 5 to 10 minutes,
Florida Cooperative Extension
according to size, in a medium syrup until barely flexible. This
preliminary cook is necessary to make full pack. When packed
whole, if pears are small, place each layer stems up. Let the
second row fill the spaces between the two stems. Pack the
fruit in hot sterile jars firmly enough to give an attractive but
not over-crowded appearance. Add the hot syrup (strained) as
the layers are built up. Use a 30 to 40 percent syrup. Process
quarts 16 to 20 minutes, depending on length of precook.
If pears are canned in tin plunge immediately into cold water
and cool as quickly as possible, otherwise fruit may turn pink
in color. Better quality pears can be obtained when canned in
tin than in glass because of the quicker cooling. If additional
flavor, as lemon or ginger, is desired for canned pears, add to
syrup at beginning of precook. Then add a decoration of the
sliced lemon or ginger root in packing the jar.
Canned Baked Pears.-Select medium sized pears, remove
blossom end and stem. Place in baking pan with a small amount
of water; cook covered until somewhat tender. Remove cover;
brown lightly, dressing with a light covering of mild honey or
sugar; pack into jars and process 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with
or without a caramel or lemon sauce. This is a delicious, whole-
some, and practical method of canning pears.
Compote of Pears.-Off-sized or malformed pears may be
sliced, steamed in their own juices, and canned with a small
amount of sugar for use in making pies, cobblers and other
desserts.'
The Pineapple pear and the LeConte are much more desirable
than the Kieffer, in both color and texture, have a relatively
small number of grit cells, and are more uniform in shape.
The grading is very important and should be done carefully
to obtain a uniform pack. A special guarded knife is used by
commercial canners, and the peeling is done from the stem to
the blossom end and not around the pear. The core, stem, and
'Pears must be carefully gathered at the proper stage of maturity for
canning and be transported without bruising. They develop a better flavor
and are of finer grained texture if ripened after gathering. Fruit ripened
on the tree is apt to be coarse in texture and often softens badly around
the core. Gather pears when full size, somewhat yellow in color, but
while still hard. Hold from 4 to 8 days to ripen in a dark but well
ventilated, cool room. LeConte pears are an exception to this rule and
if picked when three-fourths grown and allowed to mellow in a darkened
room, make the most delicious canned product of any of the pears grown
in Florida. The fruit will not ripen evenly, and it will be necessary to
sort daily during this ripening period in order that fruit of a prime de-
gree of maturity for canning may be obtained.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
blossom or calyx are removed by a loop shaped knife (see Fig.
8), or the core may be removed with a French potato ball cutter.
If pears are caned in halves, cut the pears lengthwise and re-
move all core and the bundle of fibers extending from core
to stem.
If pears are left in contact with the air for any length of
time they oxidize and turn brown very rapidly. This difficulty
can be partially avoided by placing fruit in a dilute salt brine
(3 tablespoons salt to 1 gallon water). Brine checks the action of
oxidase, the enzyme responsible for browning.
It is not desirable to can pears in water. They should be
canned in a syrup of sufficient density to develop the delicate,
aromatic flavor for which pears are valued. A medium syrup
made by boiling together 2 quarts of water with 1 quart sugar
will not be too sweet for most varieties. Strain to remove im-
purities or any sediment.
PECANS
The pecans must be in a perfectly fresh condition, well cured
and freshly hulled. Clean, sort, and use only the perfect, un-
broken halves. Place immediately in a pan in hot oven and
when nuts are hot through, fill into hot, dry, pint or half pint
jars which have previously been boiled to sterilize them. Seal
and process at boiling for 30 minutes or in the steam pressure
cooker at 5 pounds for 10 minutes. Store in a cool, dry place.
Note: Most of the containers in which commercial nuts are packed
are closed with a vacuum sealer and without applying heat or pro-
cessing.
PERSIMMON
The persimmon is pre-eminently a fruit for consumption
while fresh. It is most commonly served when soft and full-ripe,
the pulp being spooned out and eaten as a dessert. However,
it may also be sliced and served with cream. When peeled the
large fruited varieties make a delectable fruit salad on lettuce,
with French, cream or mayonnaise dressing. The non-astringent
varieties, of which Fuyugaki is the finest, can be eaten while
still hard and are used for dicing in fruit salads in the same
manner as apples are used.
The soft pulp may be made into delicious sauce or "spread"
when the abundance of fruit seems justifiable and when its
proper stage of ripeness can be accurately determined. While
persimmons darken when heated, the flavor is not impaired.
Florida Cooperative Extension
For a sauce or marmalade take sufficient fruit to make 1
quart of pulp, remove the skins. Add 1/2 cup strained orange
juice or half orange and half lemon juice, and cook the mixture
rapidly until thick. Add 2 to 3 cups of sugar and cook to the
desired consistency. Seal boiling hot in hot jars. Spice may
be added if preferred.
PLUMS
Cultivated.-Select sound, uniformly ripe plums. Prick with
fork. Let stand in hot medium syrup until cool. Pack in jars
as firmly as possible without crushing; add syrup, somewhat
concentrated, and process quarts 12 to 15 minutes.
Wild.-Select well-ripened but not over-ripe fruit. Wash and
drain. Prepare medium syrup and when boiling add plums.
Cover and remove from fire. If plums have considerable acidity,
when cold-preferably the next day-drain off juice, add sugar
sufficient to make a 50 to 60 percent syrup, bring to a boil and
boil 10 minutes. Add plums and again set aside. When cold,
if plums are tender and slightly transparent and syrup some-
what heavy, pour into hot, sterilized jars, seal and simmer pint
jars 5 minutes. These wild plums, with their peculiar acidity
and tang of the skin, are not only fine for canning but for juice,
jelly and butter making. (See "Plums, Wild and Otherwise"
for other utilization recipes.)
ROSELLE OR "JELLY" OKRA
Pick calyces as soon as they are full grown to get best flavor
and jellying quality, and to extend the roselle season from
November into February-providing, of course, there are no
frosts.
Roselle Sauce.-When served as sauce, use equal measures of
calyces (with seed removed) and water. Cook gently until
tender in open kettle. Sweeten lightly, bring to boil again, pack
at once into hot containers, place in water bath (at boiling) and
process quarts 8 to 12 minutes. If a smooth product is desired
rub through a fruit press before sugar is added.
Note: This annual has been tested sufficiently to indicate its value and
to warrant more extended cultivation in the warmer sections of Florida.
The plant is a vigorous grower and bears abundantly. The stems are
reddish in color and branch profusely. The blossoms fade within one day
and the calyces, which are the edible portion, are ready for picking about
three weeks after the bloom appears. These are open pods, much smaller
than the ordinary okra, bright red in color, and contain a very pleasing
and refreshing acid. Roselle practically takes the place of cranberry, and
a few bushes of this ornamental and useful plant should be found grow-
ing in every garden in South Florida for making "ade", sauces, and jams.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
STANDARDS AND NOMENCLATURE DESIGNED FOR
CANNED FRUITS
Commercially canned fruits and fruit products in great vari-
ety and of varying quality are found in all up-to-date stores.
They are commonly sold under four grades: fancy, choice, stand-
ard, and off-grade or sub-standard. Unfortunately these grades
are not always indicated on the label, nor is the price, in many
cases, indicative of the quality.
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the United States
Department of Agriculture has set up definite grades designated
for fruits as : A, Fancy; B, Extra Standard or Choice; C, Stand-
ard and Sub-standard. While these very simple and definite
terms (A, B, C) relative to quality are not used by all commer-
cial canners, it is believed some type of informative labeling
will eventually come into universal use. With the knowledge
and use of the terms of informative and descriptive labels, the
housewife will know exactly what is in the can before it is
opened. Home canners themselves will do well to observe all
the special precautions and use the same degree of syrup density
as the commercial canners of fruit in order to conserve as nearly
as possible the high degree of color, flavor, and vitamins char-
acteristic of the raw fruit.
SPECIAL DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES
While the water bath canning method has been widely used
in canning non-acid vegetables in past years, we are recom-
mending at this time that only the steam pressure canner be
used. The steam pressure canner not only saves time but also
eliminates all spoilage difficulties when directions are carefully
followed. Since most vegetables have only a small amount of
acid as compared with fruits, this low degree of acidity permits
the growth of certain bacteria which are very difficult to kill
by heating at 2120 F. Hence, a temperature above boiling (2120
F.) is necessary for all non-acid vegetables. This requires the
use of the steam pressure cooker and preferably tin cans and
the hand sealer, rather than glass jars. Neither the steam pres-
sure cooker nor the hand sealer is difficult to operate, and both
can be obtained at reasonable cost (in normal times).
Only fresh, tender, young vegetables should be canned. They
should be perfectly sound, carefully and thoroughly washed and
quickly prepared. NEVER CAN VEGETABLES THAT HAVE
STOOD OVER NIGHT.
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
STANDARDS AND NOMENCLATURE DESIGNED FOR
CANNED FRUITS
Commercially canned fruits and fruit products in great vari-
ety and of varying quality are found in all up-to-date stores.
They are commonly sold under four grades: fancy, choice, stand-
ard, and off-grade or sub-standard. Unfortunately these grades
are not always indicated on the label, nor is the price, in many
cases, indicative of the quality.
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the United States
Department of Agriculture has set up definite grades designated
for fruits as : A, Fancy; B, Extra Standard or Choice; C, Stand-
ard and Sub-standard. While these very simple and definite
terms (A, B, C) relative to quality are not used by all commer-
cial canners, it is believed some type of informative labeling
will eventually come into universal use. With the knowledge
and use of the terms of informative and descriptive labels, the
housewife will know exactly what is in the can before it is
opened. Home canners themselves will do well to observe all
the special precautions and use the same degree of syrup density
as the commercial canners of fruit in order to conserve as nearly
as possible the high degree of color, flavor, and vitamins char-
acteristic of the raw fruit.
SPECIAL DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES
While the water bath canning method has been widely used
in canning non-acid vegetables in past years, we are recom-
mending at this time that only the steam pressure canner be
used. The steam pressure canner not only saves time but also
eliminates all spoilage difficulties when directions are carefully
followed. Since most vegetables have only a small amount of
acid as compared with fruits, this low degree of acidity permits
the growth of certain bacteria which are very difficult to kill
by heating at 2120 F. Hence, a temperature above boiling (2120
F.) is necessary for all non-acid vegetables. This requires the
use of the steam pressure cooker and preferably tin cans and
the hand sealer, rather than glass jars. Neither the steam pres-
sure cooker nor the hand sealer is difficult to operate, and both
can be obtained at reasonable cost (in normal times).
Only fresh, tender, young vegetables should be canned. They
should be perfectly sound, carefully and thoroughly washed and
quickly prepared. NEVER CAN VEGETABLES THAT HAVE
STOOD OVER NIGHT.
Florida Cooperative Extension
To obtain the highest possible flavor and food value, vege-
tables-beans, peas, corn, carrots, and all greens-should be
canned if possible within two hours after gathering unless held
in a very cold place. Loss of fresh flavor and the growth of many
heat-resistant bacteria characterize products held in a warm
kitchen (or a warm grocery store), resulting in a loss of valuable
food constituents and making sterilization more difficult. (Or-
ganisms called enzymes in the product cause a chemical change
in a warm atmosphere.)
Precook for Green Colored Vegetables.-Until recently can-
ning directions have advised precooking green vegetables, in
fact all vegetables, at boiling temperature. Now it is recom-
mended that any green vegetable-beans, English peas, turnip
greens, spinach-be precooked at a low temperature. That is, a
temperature just below simmering (about 17' F.) should be
used in order to better hold the natural green color and the
fresh flavor that is so desirable in the finished product. This
lower cook takes a longer time and extra care to get the vege-
table in the container as hot as needed.
Maintaining the natural green color and the fresh flavor in
canned vegetables has been a serious problem until recent years.
Green has been a problem because it is so elusive, and the heat
of the canning often has faded or changed it to a dull green.
Worse still, with the loss of color has gone some loss of flavor
and fresh texture.
It has been known that chlorophyl, the green substance in
plants, is sensitive to acid applied during heating. Most vege-
tables contain acid which the heat of cooking drives out and
which affects the chlorophyl unless it can pass off in the steam.
If cooked in a closed kettle or sealed can, the acid remains and
attacks the green color. Hence, this newer rule: For the sake
of color and freshness generally, precook at a temperature of
about 170 F., or below simmering. In this lower cook the color
seems to "set" or hold; it will not fade or change later even
when it is exposed to the high heat of processing.
The precook is important and accomplishes three things: It
drives the air out of the vegetables; it wilts or shrinks the
product so that it packs well; and it gives a high temperature
at the start of the processing which is necessary for a good
vacuum in the container.
Spoilage and Storage.-When preparing canned vegetables for
the table they should be examined very carefully. Any indica-
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
tion of spoilage, foreign odor or taste, or any unusual appearance
should be sufficient grounds for discarding that package. With
ordinary care in selection, preparation, and the use of the steam
pressure in canning of vegetables, the Florida housewife need
have little fear of feeding her family unwholesome foods.
Seasoning for Canned Vegetables.-For most vegetables 1
teaspoon of salt is used for each quart. In case of tomatoes,
peas, field peas, field peas and butter beans, corn, carrots, and
beets, a salt and sugar mixture tends to improve flavor. This
is made in proportion of 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of sugar. Use
2 level teaspoons of this mixture for a quart and 1 teaspoon
for each pint.
BEANS
Butter Beans.-Use only freshly picked, young, tender beans.
(Legumes such as snap beans, butter beans, and peas lose vita-
min C rapidly unless held under refrigeration.) Wash pods
before shelling. Wash the shelled beans. Precook 4 to 8 min-
utes. Pack boiling hot into containers and cover with water
in which beans were cooked. When the jar is packed half full,
add seasoning. Seal and process.
Snap Beans.-Only very small, tender, freshly picked beans
should be used for canning. These are the most desirable, are
richest in vitamins, and grade the highest-Grade A, or Fancy.
They are canned whole with ends of pod snipped. Wash thor-
oughly, snip or, if preferred, cut into desired lengths.
Place in kettle, cover with boiling water and simmer un-
covered about 4 minutes or until the beans will bend without
breaking. The larger, less succulent grades will take 5 to 10
minutes precook. Pack hot into the containers, cover with
liquid in which cooked; add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart and
completely seal. Process immediately as directed in Table 2.
If mature beans or so-called "shell beans" (those which have
grown starchy) are used, the time for processing should be in-
creased 10 minutes.
BEETS
Only young, tender beets should be canned. Sort, leave 1
inch stem on each root to prevent bleeding. Wash thoroughly,
using a scrubbing brush if necessary. Boil with skins on 15
to 20 minutes or until skin will readily slip off; or cook 5 minutes
at 5 pounds pressure, allowing pressure to run down before
opening petcock. Skin, trim, and pack (as tightly as possible
Florida Cooperative Extension
without crushing) into glass jars or enamel lined cans. Fill
with clear boiling water, season, completely seal and process
immediately.
BROCCOLI
Select only very young broccoli with tight, unopened flower
buds and can immediately after gathering. Soak 1/2 hour in
salt water to remove any insects. Wash thoroughly. Tie in
small bundles and steam or slightly wilt for 2 or 3 minutes in
water below boiling in uncovered container. Be very particular
not to over-soften.
Remove broccoli, pack, cover with boiling water, add salt,
seal and process at once.
CARROTS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS
Only very young, tender carrots, turnips, or parsnips should
be canned. Steam or boil until one-fourth cooked, or cook under
pressure to 5 pounds and open cooker when gauge registers
zero. Cut into halves or slice as preferred. Pack. Cover with
boiling water. Add salt and sugar mixture, completely seal
and process immediately.
CELERY
Often at the celery growing centers this vegetable may be
purchased very cheaply. Celery is easy to can and is delightful
to use in meat soups, cream of celery soup and au gratin dishes.
Prepare celery carefully by brushing well and scraping to
remove any soil, blemishes or defects. Cut into 1/V or 1 inch
lengths. Cover with water and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until
wilted. Pack boiling hot into jars or cans, cover with liquid
in which celery was precooked. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each
quart, completely seal and process immediately.
In many high grade commercial packs of celery the hearts
are merely cut in halves or quarters, container length.
CHAYOTE AND SUMMER SQUASH
Select only young, tender fresh vegetables. Wash and cut
into halves if needed or cut into cubes for convenient packing.
Steam 5 to 10 minutes. Pack into jars, add salt, cover with
boiling water, completely seal and process immediately.
Can Surp!us Fruits and Vegetables
CORN
Only freshly gathered, young tender corn should be canned.
It is best for canning when taken in the LAST DAYS OF THE
MILK STAGE. When corn has passed the milky stage or is
stale it is very hard to sterilize successfully. Sweet corn de-
teriorates with amazing rapidity; hence, it should NEVER be
allowed to wait after being gathered. Shuck, silk, and clean
carefully. A stiff bristle brush will help here. Cut corn from
cob without precooking, but do not cut too deep. Scrape from
cobs with back of knife. Put in kettle and for every pint of
corn add 1 cup boiling water and 1 teaspoon of the salt and sugar
seasoning. Stir and allow to boil 10 to 12 minutes. Add more
water if needed. Pack boiling hot into containers. The pack
should be LOOSE AND MOIST. Seal tin cans and process.
(Do not use quart containers for corn.) Heat glass jars 15 to
20 minutes in water bath before sealing completely and putting
in pressure cooker.
Whole Grain Style.-Corn for the whole grain pack should
be gathered two or three days earlier than for cream style corn.
For whole grain style cut from the cob only deep enough to
remove most of the kernels without objectionable hulls. Do not
scrape cob. The whole grain corn is considered to retain appear-
ance and flavor of fresh corn more nearly than cream style.
Whole grain corn has less tendency to discolor when packed
in plain tin cans than does cream style corn, though the C-enamel
cans give better results for both kinds.
Add seasoning and enough boiling water to cover the corn
and bring to boil. Boil 3 minutes. Fill boiling hot in jars and
heat in boiling water 15 to 20 minutes. Completely seal and
process in pressure cooker as in Table 2. Tin cans are filled
boiling hot, sealed at once and processed. Cool cans in cold
water after sterilizing.
EGGPLANT
Can only freshly gathered, young fruit. Wash, peel and cut
into cubes and hold in salt brine (1 tablespoon salt to 1 quart
water). Drain and steam or cook in a small quantity of water
for about 5 minutes or until boiling hot. Pack hot, add salt,
and seal completely. Process 45 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
Florida Cooperative Extension
GREENS
All greens, if canned when very young, tender and freshly
gathered, are a valuable addition to the diet. Many plants are
used for greens, such as turnip tops, beet tops, mustard, spinach,
chard, and kale. In canning they are all treated practically in
the same manner. Can as soon as possible after they are picked.
Be sure that they are free of insects, blight, wilt and tough
stems. Wash thoroughly in a number of waters, lifting the
greens out each time. Precook in an uncovered vessel until
completely wilted, adding as little water as possible and never
allowing water to heat above simmering. Pack loosely while
scalding hot into cans or jars. Add pot liquor to completely
cover, adding boiling water when necessary. Add 1 teaspoon
salt. Process immediately.
HOMINY
Use a fancy grade of hard, white corn. To make 1 gallon of
hominy, use 1 teaspoon of concentrated lye, 6 cups of water and
6 cups of shelled white corn.
Use an iron or enamel kettle; never use an aluminum one.
Place the soaked corn in the lye solution and boil for 20 to 25
minutes, just long enough to loosen hulls. Remove, rinse thor-
oughly in fresh water; rub to loosen hulls and the dark portion
of the kernel near the germ. Let stand in fresh water 2 or 3
hours, CHANGING WATER OFTEN TO BE SURE ALL LYE
IS REMOVED. Drain. The black coat covering the germ of the
corn should be removed by this time. Cover corn with water,
bring to a boil. Pack into cans hot, to within 1 inch of top. Fill can
with boiling water to 1/4 inch of top. Add 1/ teaspoon of salt
to No. 2 cans. Seal cans hot and process. Remove cans and cool
quickly in cold water, shaking cans at intervals.
OKRA
Select young, tender pods, 1/2 to 2 inches long. Remove
stems without cutting into seedpod and leave whole. Steam or
precook 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt. Pack hot, covering with
hot liquid in which okra was cooked. Seal and process imme-
diately.
OKRA AND TOMATOES
Use only very young, small pods and sound, firm, ripe toma-
toes. Wash okra and trim without cutting into seedpod. Com-
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
bine okra and tomatoes and heat to boiling. Pack boiling hot,
add seasoning and seal completely. Process.
PEAS
Blackeyed Peas.-Blackeyed peas may be canned with pork,
the most popular way, or may be made "vegetarian" by omitting
the pork. Pork adds much to the flavor and palatability of the
finished product. (The pork generally used is salt pork sides.
Cured bacon, however, adds a very pleasing zest, but is con-
siderably more expensive than salt pork.)
The pork should be cut in cubes or slices. The amount used
per can helps to determine type and quality of product. The
pork for a No. 2 tin should weigh 0.6 ounce, No. 3, 1.0 ounce.
It should be in once piece and should show strips of lean meat
and clear, firm fat. When a tin is opened it should show very
few broken or mushy peas. The peas should be neither tough
nor soft and while approximately firm, should crush easily
between the fingers. They should be full and firm and have
the pleasing, nut-like flavor characteristic of this type of legume.
(See also directions for English peas and butter beans.)
English Peas.-Gather the peas when cool, or early in the
morning. Select fresh young peas and do not allow to stand
long after gathering or shelling. Peas and beans, when piled
up and allowed to stand for even a few hours during warm
weather, may "heat" and develop flat sour." Avoid this by using
refrigeration or by spreading out and keeping as cool as possible.
Wash pods well and shell only enough to fill containers to be
processed at one time. Grade as to maturity and size. Bring
to boil with water to cover and boil 5 to 7 minutes. Pack boil-
ing hot into hot cans or jars. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and salt
seasoning to each pint. A gluey or cloudy liquid may be the
result of over-cooking, often too full a pack, or too much min-
eral matter in the water. Water of high mineral content has a
tendency to increase cloudiness and may harden the peas. (Boil-
'Flat sour is a term applied to a type of spoilage of non-acid vege-
tables causing the product to become soft and mushy and have a sour
taste and odor. It may occur between the time the product was gathered
and the time it is served. Gas bubbles are not present as in a fermented
product. The bacteria causing this form of spoilage grow best at tem-
peratures of about 105' to 150 F. and develop rapidly after the vege-
tables are picked. Spoilage in flat sour can be practically eliminated
by packing hot food into containers as soon as possible after harvesting,
processing the jars at once, cooling immediately and thoroughly after
processing and storing in a cool place. Corn, peas and green beans are
subject to flat sour spoilage.
Florida Cooperative Extension
ing, then cooling and straining off carefully will often soften
hard water sufficiently. Or, let the water stand after boiling
until the fine precipitate settles and then pour off the clear
water to use in canning.) Peas which are too mature or which
are given too long a precook may burst, allowing the starch to
escape into the surrounding liquid. A cloudy appearance of the
liquid of peas might also indicate that spoilage had occurred.
Many of the commonly canned garden vegetables are nat-
urally excellent sources of vitamins A 'and C-the vitamins
which are most subject to destruction by oxidation. It has been
found that much of this vitamin content is rapidly lost if the
vegetables stand in a warm place after coming in from the
garden. The less the vegetable is exposed to the air, the better
for vitamin saving, hence beans and peas should not be shelled
until just before canning operations, since it has been shown
that shelled peas and beans lose ascorbic acid (vitamins) much
more rapidly than unshelled ones. When freshly gathered and
just mature enough, sweet corn, peas, snap and butter beans
contain a great deal of sugar as well as vitamins. Likewise,
if these vegetables are held in a warm place after they are picked
the sugar rapidly changes to starch. Canning and freezing in-
dustries and commercial shippers of fresh vegetables now make
every effort to cool vegetables right after harvesting. Some-
times the vegetables are plunged in ice water to take out the
"field heat" and are kept in a cold room. Sometimes they are
packed in ice before shipping. The housewife may well take a
tip from these industries and use her refrigerator to slow up
enzyme action and spoilage as well as to save vitamins, flavor
and crisp texture.
PIMIENTOS
The best sweet peppers for canning are the Spanish varieties
known as pimientos. These peppers have very thick flesh and
tough skins and are comparatively smooth and free from ridges.
(The bell peppers are not suitable for canning.) Pimientos
should be ripe, sound and free from bruises. Sort, using whole
peppers for canning and the small or broken ones for sauces,
soups, chutneys and Dixie relish. Prepare peppers for peeling
by placing them in a hot oven for 6 or 8 minutes to blister
and crack the skin; if the oven is not hot enough it will cook
the flesh of the pepper before the skin is blistered. Dip quickly
in cold water to cool. Peel, cut out stem, remove seed cores,
fold and pack in flattened layers in cans or jars. No liquid is
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
used in the preparation of these peppers; the processing brings
out a thick liquor which almost covers them in the can or jar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint.
PUMPKIN OR WINTER SQUASH
Wash the pumpkin, cut in halves or convenient slices, remove
seed and steam until tender (if in pressure cooker, 10 minutes
at 10 pounds pressure). Remove pulp from shell, run through
dilver or fruit press. Spices may be added to the pumpkin if
intended for pie filling. Some think flavor is better if added
at the time of canning than when making the addition at the
time of using.
The proportion of ground spices generally used for each quart
of steamed, strained pumpkin is: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tea-
spoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Stir
pulp until of a smooth, even consistency and pack into cans or
jars while steaming hot. Heat in water bath at boiling for 10
minutes. Completely seal and process immediately in the pres-
sure cooker as directed in Table 2.
SAUERKRAUT
Cabbage is converted into sauerkraut by a lactic acid fermen-
tation which takes place in the brine made from the juice of
the cabbage drawn out by the salt. Kraut making affords a
convenient means of conserving surplus cabbage during periods
of temporary overproduction. Sauerkraut, as well as the juice,
is a most valuable and healthful food and should be more com-
monly used in Florida homes. It is delicious served with hot
meats and fowl. It is especially good with spareribs, roast pork,
duck and chicken. It may be served cold as a relish or as a salad.
Method.-Select only fresh, sound heads of mature cabbage.
(It is a great mistake to wait until the cabbage is over-mature
and sunburned in the field before using it for kraut making.)
One pound of salt is used with 40 pounds of cabbage; 2 ounces
(31/2 tablespoons) with 5 pounds cabbage; 2 level teaspoons with
1 pound cabbage. A 2 gallon crock holds 10 pounds or more;
1 pound fills a pint jar.
Remove outside green and dirty leaves. Quarter the head
and cut out the core. (In many commercial factories core is
not removed.). Weigh cabbage. For shredding, use a kraut
cutting machine which shreds finely and rapidly. (Cost of cut-
ting machine is about $1.75 to $2.50, or a 50-cent slaw cutter
Florida Cooperative Extension
may be found very efficient.) Mix salt and cabbage in large
pan thoroughly for even distribution and until juice flows freely.
(For further information write for Circular 62, Making and
Using Sauerkraut.)
TOMATOES
Plain Canned.-Select fresh, firm, uniformly red-ripe toma-
toes. They should be sorted carefully and be absolutely free from
spots or decay. Wash thoroughly to remove all soil. Scald in
boiling water in wire basket or square of cheesecloth about
1 minute, or long enough to cause skins to slip readily. Chill
in cold water. Over-scalding will make the tomatoes soft and
under-scalding will cause waste of time and fruit in removing
their skins. Valuable nutrients lie immediately under the skin
and must not be removed. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE
TOO MANY AT ONE TIME, AS THE WHOLE PROCESS MUST
BE CARRIED THROUGH QUICKLY. Avoid delay at any stage
of the canning process.
Drain, core and peel promptly. Cut out core with a short
bladed, sharp pointed knife or a tomato corer. Slip off skins.
Often there is a small, black spot at the bottom end which should
be removed. Pack at once, as fruit is prepared, firmly and
solidly into the hot jar or tin with back of wooden spoon or hand
until enough juice is released to cover the solids and to fill all
spaces between pieces. Cutting into suitable sizes facilitates a
more rapid fill. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and salt mixture
(made by 2 parts sugar and 1 part salt) for each quart. If to-
matoes are canned in tins, the tins filled to /4 inch of top must be
heated in boiling water or live steam until contents are hot
before sealing.
Glass jars may also be packed to within 1/4 inch of top. Steril-
ize as directed in Table 1. Do not add any water as it is a viola-
tion of the Pure Food Law to add water or even the juice from
other tomatoes. The only liquid allowed is the juice which is
pressed out of the tomatoes during their preparation.
Tomato Juice.-High grade, choice, ripe tomatoes only should
be used for juice. They should be red-ripe, well developed, firm,
and smooth, as well as high in acidity, Green tomatoes, or over-
ripe, moldy or decayed fruit, will impair the flavor and must
be avoided.
Wash carefully and drain. Cut out all cores. Place in kettle,
crushing a few to secure enough free juice to start the cooking.
Cook the tomatoes lightly in a covered container to release the
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
color from the skins and give a larger yield of juice. Avoid
boiling. This cooking also liberates the vegetable gums and
the nectin around the seeds and fleshy tissue, drives out air, ren-
ders enzymes inactive and permits a better separation of pulp
from skins. Allow to cool somewhat WITHOUT STIRRING
before pulping. Extract the pulp by passing first through a
coarse sieve and then a fine sieve. The first sieve will remove
the skin, seeds and coarse fiber; the second one should be very
fine in order to disintegrate the pulp as finely as possible so that
it will stay in suspension for a long period. It is difficult, with
the equipment found in the home, to sieve tomato juice fine
enough for the particles of red to stay in suspension like the
commercially prepared juice. Even if the clear juice, in storage.
goes to the top and the pulp settles to the bottom, it may be
shaken together before serving.
Reheat the juice at once after putting through the sieve. If
using glass container, heat the juice to 1900 F. (if no thermometer
is available, heat just to boiling), pour into the hot, sterilized
containers and seal. If work is carried on quickly, no further
heating is necessary. Otherwise, process in boiling water 5
minutes. If tins are used, heat juice to 180 F. to 1900 F., pour
into cans, seal and process 10 minutes at simmering. A thermo-
meter, such as a dairy or candy thermometer, would aid in hold-
ing the right temperature for the water bath. Do not leave
headspace in either glass or tin containers. Cool tins in running
water. Store in cool, dark place. It is especially important to
keep tomato juice in glass protected from light to preserve color,
flavor and vitamin content.
The lower the temperature used, the better the flavor. Juice
can be sterilized at a much lower temperature and in a shorter
time than is used for canned tomatoes because it has no solid
pieces to prevent rapid heat penetration and may be sterilized
at 175 to 180 F., as against the boiling temperature (2120F.)
needed in canning whole tomatoes.
Tomatoes for War.-Canned tomatoes were served prominent-
ly as both food and drink for our soldiers in France during World
War I. In World War II canned tomatoes again figure promi-
nently in the food requirement of our allies for lend-lease ship-
ments abroad. As a source of a pure drink and vitamin C, as
a food easily prepared and blendable with other foods, canned
tomatoes are invaluable in bombed areas, in the trenches, and on
shipboard. Once considered poisonous, the tomato is now the
Florida Cooperative Extension
most valued commercial truck crop produced in the United
States. IS IT NOT EQUALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE
HOME-CANNER INCREASE HER SUPPLY OF FRESH, SUN-
RIPENED TOMATOES AND THAT THEY BE USED FREELY,
FRESH AND CANNED?
Tomato Puree and Hot Sauce.-Tomato puree or sauce is very
convenient for flavoring many dishes, such as stews, soups and
macaroni. Cook until soft. Run through fruit press or dilver.
Concentrate the puree by boiling to at least one-half its original
volume. Season. Pack boiling hot into jars or cans and process.
If a hot sauce is desired add chopped onions and hot peppers
to tomatoes before cooking and straining.
VEGETABLES FOR SOUP
Any desired mixture of vegetables may be canned for home
use. The 4-H product consists of 1 quart concentrated tomato
pulp, 1 pint young, tender corn or tiny butter beans, and 1 pint
okra, with 4 teaspoons salt and sugar seasoning, 1 small onion,
chopped, and 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper. Cook the toma-
toes, pepper and onions and put through dilver or fruit press
to remove seed (this is optional), then cook to the consistency
of ketchup. Measure, add the corn or beans and okra, which
have been prepared as for canning, add seasoning, and cook all
together for 10 minutes. Pack boiling hot into hot jars or cans,
seal, and process immediately.
If all the vegetables recommended are not available, others
may be substituted. Celery makes a valuable addition to the
mixture.
STANDARDS AND GRADES FOR CANNED VEGETABLES
Grades for the more commonly canned vegetables have been
developed by the United States Bureau of Agricultural Econo-
mics in cooperation with the canning trade. New grades are
tried out for a number of years and then adopted with modifi-
cations, if advisable, as official grades.
Common vegetable grades are Extra Fancy, Fancy, Extra
Standard and Standard. After the United States standard for
vegetables is accepted and printed on the labels, the contents
are considered misbranded if not up to the standard specified.
Detailed information as to these grades may be secured from
the United States Department of Agriculture and will be of
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
great value to the home canner who is interested in putting
up superior products as well as to the homemaker concerned
with buying canned goods intelligently.
Before placing canned goods upon the market it is advisable
first to establish a high grade of home canner's products and
to maintain a uniform quality. If uniformity is obtained, both
the process of growing the product as well as the packing
(canning) must be carefully controlled. The product must be
brought to certain definite and predetermined standards for
splendid quality and pleasing appearance. It is well, therefore,
to know what standards and prices have been set by the com-
mercial canning trade with whom the home canner competes."
QUALITY STANDARDS FOR FANCY CANNED
VEGETABLES
Lima beans are classified as tiny, fancy, medium, standard
and mammoth. The smallest sizes are most tender, sweetest,
green in color and the most desirable. These may be termed
Grade A or Fancy.
Snap beans should be of a deep green color, crisp, tender,
fleshy and free from fiber and strings; they are substantially
whole when of the highest grade.
Ladyfinger peas should be tender and sweet, with young
snaps free of fiber or string if used. Pork should be in one
piece, show strips of lean meat and clear, firm fat.
Beets for canning must be of small size, of uniform deep red
color, tender and of good flavor.
Sauerkraut must be of normal acid flavor, uniform cut, of
light straw or golden color and crisp.
Sweet corn varieties are most suitable for canning. The ker-
nels should be sweet and tender, of good flavor and cooking
quality. Most commercial canned corn is packed in No. 2 cans.
"The following table will assist in determining the price to place upon
home canned products, after figuring the production cost:
Cost per quart of fruit (total cost divided by total qts.) ..--- $--..
Cost per quart of vegetables (total cost divided by total qts.) -..-.
Profit per hour (net profit divided by total hours) -- -......
Labor returns per hour (add 10 cents to above) .....
50 Florida Cooperative Extension
Fancy canned sweet corn is produced from young, tender corn of
superior flavor and of such degree of maturity that the kernels
are milky or creamy.
Canned tomatoes are prepared from sound, ripe, fresh toma-
toes. Fancy tomatoes are canned whole, are of uniform red
color, free from pieces of skin or core. Tomatoes are canned
usually with a level teaspoon of sugar and salt mixture added
to improve the flavor.
Standard pack tomatoes consist of small ones, those of im-
perfect color, not soft ones and those trimmed reasonably free
from under-colored or green parts and from pieces of skin and
core.
Addition of water in tomatoes is never necessary or desirable
and constitutes an adulteration under the law.
TABLE 1.-CONDENSED DIRECTIONS IOR CANNING FRUITS AND TOMATOES.
Fruit
Berries,
All Varieties
Cherries,
Surinam
Figs
Fruit for Salad
Grapefruit
Grapes,
Muscadine
Guavas
Loquats
Mangos
Preparation Before Processing
Pick over, wash, hull or stem, drain. Pack in con-
tainers, fill with hot thin or medium syrup or hot
berry juice. For strawberries see special directions,
page 24.
Use fine, ripe fruit. Pre-cook 1 to 2 minutes. Pack
hot in light or medium syrup.
Sort, wash, firm ripe figs. Pre-cook 2 to 6 minutes.
Pack hot in medium or heavy syrup.
Use fruit perfect in form and fruit color. Trim care-
fully. Cook each separately in light syrup.
Use only thoroughly ripened fruit. Peel, separate
hearts from all rag or membrane. Add 1 teaspoon-
full heavy syrup or V teaspoonful salt. Process at
1800 F. (below boiling).
Select firm, ripe grapes. Prepare by removing pulps
or keep whole. See special directions, page 28.
Pare, pack whole or cut and remove seed. Pre-cook 2
to 5 minutes. Use thin or medium syrup; or put
through dilver, cook thick and pack hot as sauce.
Remove stem, blossom end and seed, unless almond
flavor is desired. Use light or medium syrup.
Peel, slice, pre-cook in syrup. Pack hot in heavy syrup
Processing Period
Minutes to Process in Water
Bath at 212' F.
Qt. Jars No. 2-3 Tins
Minutes Minutes
12-20 7-15
Type of Can
Recommended
R-Enamel.
Glass for
Blueberries
16 11 R-Enamel
120 115 Plain
Plain
30
At or just 25 Plain
below At
simmering simmering
From 10 mins. From 10 mins.
to 2 hours to 2 hours R-Enamel
16-20 11-15 Plain
20 15 Plain
16-20
11-15 Plain
Drop tins immediately in cold water when removed from water bath. Glass pints require the minimum cook listed above.
TABLE 1.-CONDENSED DIRECTIONS FOR CA NNING; FRUITS AND TOMATOES-(Concluded).
Fruit
ya
hes
s o
ns
apples
s
lle
atoes
Juices
t Juices
d Syrups
Processing
Minutes to Pro
Preparation Before Processing Bath at
Qt. Jars
Minutes
See special directions. __
Use firm, ripe peaches. Scald, cold dip, peel, pit. Pre-
cook. Pack in thin or medium syrup. 16-20
Pare, leave whole or cut as preferred. Boil in syrup
or bake as for serving. Add medium syrup. Pack hot. 16-20
Use fresh pecans. Hull, sort. Keep unbroken halves Pints
for fancy pack. Heat containers and nuts in oven.
Pack hot in dry jars. Seat hot. 30
Wash well, slice, peel and core. Pre-cook. Pack in
medium syrup. 10-15
Select firm, ripe but not over-ripe, fruit. Prick. Let
stand in hot syrup until cool. Pack hot in medium 12-15
syrup.
Use roselle just at maturity. Add equal measure of wa-
ter to prepared calyces. Cook until tender. Pack hot. 8-12
Scald, cold dip, peel and core. Pack whole or cut in
pieces. Pack solid in jars. Add salt and sugar 25
mixture.
Boil fruit until soft, press, strain juice. Can hot. Add 15 at Simmer-
no sugar. (Tins not recommended for fruit juices.) ing at 1800 F.
Pasteurize at
cess at 180' F
Peel, crush or press fruit. Heat slowly covered, to sim- or bring to bc
mering point. Strain. Add 1 cup sugar to one gallon heat and leave
juice. Can hot. Seal. Process below boiling. minutes. Cool
possible, first
in cold water.
SPeriod
cess in Water
212* F. Type
No. 2-3 Tins Recon
Minutes
11-15 Plain
11-15 Plain
5-10 Plain
7-10 Plain
R-Ena
3-7
20-25 Plain
165 F. Pro-
.for 30 min.,
iling, cut off
e in bath 10
as quickly as
in warm, then
Drop tins immediately in cold water when removed from waler bath. Glass pints require the minimum cook listed above.
of Can
amended
Papa
Peac]
Pears
Pecal
Pine,
Plum
Rose:
Tom,
Jelly
Fruil
an
imel
a
a
TABLE 2.-CONDENSED DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING NON-ACID VEGETABLES.
Be
Be.
Be
Ca
Ce
Ch
C
Co
Vegetables
ans,
butter
ans,
Snap
ets
rrots and
Other Roots
lory
ayote and
summer
Squash
rn:
Cream Style
Whole Grain
Preparation Before Processing
Use only young, tender, freshly harvested beans. Wash,!
shell. Pre-cook. Add salt and sugar mixture.
Wash, string, cut; pre-cook in water below boiling to
cover. Add salt. Use liquid beans are cooked in to
fill jar.
Use only baby beets. Do not break root or cut top
too close. Pre-cook, peel, pack. Add salt. Fill
container with boiling water.
Use only very young and tender, freshly harvested
roots. Clean, scrape, pre-cook. Pack, add salt and
sugar mixture. Process at once.
Prepare carefully. Pre-cook. Pack boiling hot in
container, using liquor to cover; salt.
Use only young, tender, freshly picked vegetables.
Wash, cut in halves or cubes. Steam pack into
jars. Salt. Add boiling water to cover.
Use when in milky stage. Gather only as immediately
ready to use in small lots. Prepare, add liquid,
pre-cook thoroughly, add salt and sugar mixture.
Pack hot.
Use when in milk stage. Gather as specified above.
Prepare, cut whole grains. Add liquid, pre-cook
thoroughly, season. Pack hot, seal and process.
Processing Period
Pressure Canner at 10 lbs.
Pressure or 240 F.
Qt. Jars No. 2-3 Tins
Minutes Minutes
Pints only
50 60
30 25
30 25
30 25
30 25
35 30
Pints only
75 70
60 55
1. Corn or butter beans should not be canned in No. 3 cans or quart jars because of difficulty of heat penetration.
2. Place jars or cans in hot canner as soon as filled.
.an
ided
Type of
Recommer
Plain or
Enamel i
obtainable
Plain
Plain
R-Enamel
Plain
Plain
Plain or C
Enamel i
obtainable
Plain or C
Enamel
f
C-
f
e
TABLE 2.-CONDENSED DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING NON-ACID VEGETABLES-(ConcIlded).
Vegetables
Preparation Before Processing
Eggplant ) Pare, cut in pieces, soak in brine.
Wash thoroughly, cook tender. Pac
Lye Hominy boiling water and salt. Seal
B quickly.
All Greens Trim, wash, pre-cook at below bo
Broccoli Pack in container steaming hot.
boiling liquid. Process at once.
Okra Use only young, tender pods, nc
Inches. Wash, trim, steam, pack
Peas, Blackeyed Gather in early morning, do not
and English shell, pre-cook. Add seasoning.
Pimiento Roast in hot oven. Skin, cut out
Spack dry in flattened layers in p
Potato, Sweet Storage rather than canning record
Pumpkin or
Winter Squashl Steam until tender. Pack hot. Pr
Sauerkraut Bring to boil, pack hot and proce,
I low boiling 16 minutes.
Vegetables for
Soup I See special directions, page 48.
Place jars or cans in hot canner as soon as filled.
Steam. Pack hot.
k boiling hot. Add
boiling hot. Cool
iling temperature.
Salt. Cover with
)t longer than 1%
hot.
let stand. Grade,
Pack hot.
stem, remove seed,
ints or half pints.
amended.
'ocess immediately.
ss immediately be-
Processing Period
Pressure Canner at 10 lbs.
Pressure or 2400 F.
Qt. Jars No. 2-3 Tins
Minutes Minutes
50 55
75
55 50
35 30
Pints only
55 50
35 30
55 50
35 30
Recommend
Plain
C-Enamel
Plain
IPlain
Plain or C-
Enamel
Plain or R-
Enamel
R-Ename
Plain or
R-Ename
ded
l
l1
Can Surplus Fruits and Vegetables
TABLE 3.-APPROXIMATE YIELDS OF CANNED PRODUCTS FROM GIVEN QUANTITIES
OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
Amount of
Name of fresh product
Product needed to can
1 quart
Beans (snap) -- 22 lbs.
Beans (lima in
hull) -- 3-4 Ibs.
Beets -..--- 2%-3 lbs.
Berries (not
strawberries) 1% lbs.
Carrots ----- 2 lbs.
Corn 10-12 ears
Greens --. 2-3 lbs.
Peas (in hull) 4 lbs.
Peaches ---- 2-3 lbs.
Pears 2-3 lbs.
Pumpkin or
squash .-_--..- 4 lbs. in shell
Tomatoes --- 3 lbs.
Tomato puree
concentrated
for soup
mixture ..--
No. of Ibs.
per bu. of
fresh
products
28-30
28
50
48-64
50
12-30
30
50
50
40
50-60
No. 2 cans No. 3 cans
or pint jars or qt. jars
:anned from canned from
1 bushel 1 bushel
25-30 14-20
14-18 8-10
30-34 17-20
50 30
30-34 17-20
16
10-13
12-16 7-10
28-32 16-24
38-45 20-25
20
22-26 14-18
7-10 lbs.
50-60
9-12
|