A manual of home-making

home, as suggeBted Ln the following paragraph, ita is limited by its small capacity and the amount f»r recjtiires. Commercial outfits capable of accomim > 'Gi- paratively lar^e quantities with convenience are briedf dB*- cussed in succeed inijj paragraphs, A home-made hot-water caiiner may be canstnictecl Oill of any utensil that is large enough to hold a number of cans, ifaal Fio. 124*— C^omrnerciAl hot-water CAtmifiC outfit for out-of-door work, is deep enough to allow the cans to be completely covi*rpd witli j lx>iling water, and that is capable of l)ejjig fitted with a rac*k,| or false bottom, to pn^vent the cans from resting on the iKittotdl of the receptacle, and to insure the free cin*ulation of wat4?f ^ in I lie boiler (Fig. 123)* A tight-fitting cover that utI! rrtain as much heat as possible will help to siive fuel A i in sap-bucket, a large tin oyster^pail, or a clothes boiler may be eoovert^d mtQ A FOOD PRESERVATION a hot-water canner to meet the ri?quirements of the individual housekeeper. A numtrjcr of simple hot-water outfits are now on the market. The main advantages that they have over those adapted at home from some other equipment are that they will hold more cans at one time, and that they have perforated trays, with Fio* 125.- Stt-^vni cooker. handles, on which a number of cans may be lowered into and lifted from the canner at one time. Such trays may and should be made for the home-made outfit. The commercial hot-water outfits are often equipped with a lire-box, which makes it pos- sihlc to use them outdooi-s if desired (Fig. 124), A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKIXG 604 The steam cooker (Fig. 125) is light iti weight and hiiiKlkxI. It is a better shape than the boiler for use on n and is far more economical in the amount uf fuel required. may be used throughout the year, since it is adu dinar>^ cooking as well as for canning. Food that » a steamer retains its shape well. The time of cooking in the time-table must be somewhat increased becauj=ie peratnrc is likely to be i^lightly lower than the boilixi^ water. Steamers are matle in copper and in tin. The cover of the water-,seal outtit is so devised t hat :i water holds it down tight, and thus the steam in tlie tspsur above the cans is held under slight pressure. The teniperatuji? of steam under pressure is above that of boiling water. Hence with the water-seal outfit the time needed for sterilizatioti may be somewhat nxluced. The efficiency of such an nut fit dnnoiKb on the amount of pressure produced. When steam is held under considerable pr^eure, i< urei much higher than that of boiling water may be ol> ,md the rise in temperature is in direct proportion to the nse pressure. A numlier of good portable curmers in which a pre** sure from five to fifteen pounds may be obtained are now on market. Steam-pressure canners are the most succe^ssful for almost oB kinds of vegetables and meats, l>ecause the greater heat ob- tained in them effects complete sterilization in a eompanitiveb' short time and during one cooking. Hence tune, hilKjr, and beat are saved.