placed in a pan containing 2 inches of hot water, and put in an oven heated to 250° to 275° F. and kept there for a required time. The Equipment Necessary for Cold Pack— Clothes boiler or any container with a tight-fitting cover, and a rack to keep the jars from resting on the bottom. A steam cooker, or pressure cooker may be used instead. Steps in the Cold Pack Process: i @ II. Ith IV. Selection of Jars—To test the jars, run the finger around the top of jar and of cover where rubber rests. Remove any sharp edges with a file. The most accurate test is to partly fill the jar with water, adjust rubber, and seal tightly. Invert the jar and allow it to stand this way for several minutes so that all leaks will show. Selection of Product—Choose freshly gathered vegetables or fruit, allowing the shortest time possible between time of picking and time of canning. Choose firm products. It is better to have fruit a bit under-ripe rather than over-ripe. Grading Product—Grade material as to size, shape, degree of ripe- nessand color. Put like products together. All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed. Trim off any undesirable parts. Core or pit if necessary. If the product is blanched, the coring and trimming is done after the cold dipping. Blanching—Blanching means to plunge the product into boiling water, allowing it to boil to a certain length of time. The period varies with different products. It is very important to keep the water boiling all the time. Blanching serves four purposes, 1. To loosen skins, 2. To eliminate objectionable acids and flavors. 3. To start the flow of coloring matter. 4. To reduce the bulk. In blanching a product a wire basket may be used to let the pro- duct into boiling water. A square piece of cheese cloth may be used for the same purpose, but should not be held tightly around the product. Blanch greens in live steam. Cold Dip—The product should immediately be taken from the boiling water in the wire basket or cheese cloth and plunged quickly into cold water, or placed under a running tap and allowed to remain until cool to the touch. Do not allow the product to stand in luke- warm water. Cold dipping serves the following purposes: 1. Sets coloring matter. 2. Makes pulp more firm. 114 Blue Ribbon Cook Book VI. Packing—Pack the products carefully in the jar. Avoid packing so closely that thorough sterilization is not possible. On the other hand, do not pack so loosely as to waste space. All products should be packed in hot, thoroughly washed, and tested jars. Place rubber on jar before packing. Use only the best rubbers. There should be no play in a rubber. It should fit closely around the neck of the bottle and should be a little smaller than the top of the jar. Only rubbers that are soft should be used. Rubbers having a fibre woven in them are more suitable than others. Good rubbers cost more than poor ones, but in the long run are more economical. VII. Syrup or Water—To fruit add boiling syrup of the desired thickness. Fill jar within one-fourth inch of the top. To vegetables add one teaspoon of salt to a quart jar and pour on boiling water to fill jar within one-fourth inch of top. VIII. Partially Seal Jars—If using a screw top jar, screw the cover down until it catches, then turn it back one-eighth of a round. In using glass top jars with the wire bail, put the cover in place, the wire over the top, and leave the clamp up. In using Economy or Vacuum Seal jars, put the cover on and the spring in place. The spring will give enough to allow the steam to escape. The cover on a glass must not be tight during processing because the enclosed air will expand when heated, and, if the cover is not loose enough to allow the steam to escape, the pressure may blow the rubber out or break the jar.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

placed in a pan containing 2 inches of hot water, and put in an oven heated to 250° to 275° F. and kept there for a required time. The Equipment Necessary for Cold Pack— Clothes boiler or any container with a tight-fitting cover, and a rack to keep the jars from resting on the bottom. A steam cooker, or pressure cooker may be used instead. Steps in the Cold Pack Process: i @ Ith Selection of Jars—To test the jars, run the finger around the top of jar and of cover where rubber rests. Remove any sharp edges with a file. The most accurate test is to partly fill the jar with water, adjust rubber, and seal tightly. Invert the jar and allow it to stand this way for several minutes so that all leaks will show. Selection of Product—Choose freshly gathered vegetables or fruit, allowing the shortest time possible between time of picking and time of canning. Choose firm products. It is better to have fruit a bit under-ripe rather than over-ripe. Grading Product—Grade material as to size, shape, degree of ripenessand color. Put like products together. All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed. Trim off any undesirable parts. Core or pit if necessary. If the product is blanched, the coring and trimming is done after the cold dipping. Blanching—Blanching means to plunge the product into boiling water, allowing it to boil to a certain length of time. The period varies with different products. It is very important to keep the water boiling all the time. Blanching serves four purposes, 1. To loosen skins, 2. To eliminate objectionable acids and flavors. 3. To start the flow of coloring matter. 4. To reduce the bulk. In blanching a product a wire basket may be used to let the product into boiling water. A square piece of cheese cloth may be used for the same purpose, but should not be held tightly around the product. Blanch greens in live steam. Cold Dip—The product should immediately be taken from the boiling water in the wire basket or cheese cloth and plunged quickly into cold water, or placed under a running tap and allowed to remain until cool to the touch. Do not allow the product to stand in lukewarm water. Cold dipping serves the following purposes: 1. Sets coloring matter. 2. Makes pulp more firm. 114 Blue Ribbon Cook Book VI. Packing—Pack the products carefully in the jar. Avoid packing so closely that thorough sterilization is not possible. On the other hand, do not pack so loosely as to waste space. All products should be packed in hot, thoroughly washed, and tested jars. Place rubber on jar before packing. Use only the best rubbers. There should be no play in a rubber. It should fit closely around the neck of the bottle and should be a little smaller than the top of the jar. Only rubbers that are soft should be used. Rubbers having a fibre woven in them are more suitable than others. Good rubbers cost more than poor ones, but in the long run are more economical. VII. Syrup or Water—To fruit add boiling syrup of the desired thickness. Fill jar within one-fourth inch of the top. To vegetables add one teaspoon of salt to a quart jar and pour on boiling water to fill jar within one-fourth inch of top. VIII. Partially Seal Jars—If using a screw top jar, screw the cover down until it catches, then turn it back one-eighth of a round. In using glass top jars with the wire bail, put the cover in place, the wire over the top, and leave the clamp up. In using Economy or Vacuum Seal jars, put the cover on and the spring in place. The spring will give enough to allow the steam to escape. The cover on a glass must not be tight during processing because the enclosed air will expand when heated, and, if the cover is not loose enough to allow the steam to escape, the pressure may blow the rubber out or break the jar.

Blue Ribbon cook book