Canned foods keep because the bacteria in them are destroyed and others cannot enter because the air is kept out. Fruit will not spoil even if the jar is not full, provided the air above it has been sterilized. Unfortunately, ignorance of the processes involved makes the consumer demand impossibilities in color and form, and this has led the manufacturer to use artificial colorings freely. 36 PRINCIPLES OF COOKERY. Preserving in Sugar Canning Preservatives of different kinds have been found to be cheaper than care and time expended in the prepara- tion. Clean foods keep better than unclean ones, but skilled human labor is the means to cleanliness and that is expensive. Pound for pound preserves which include jellies made from fruit juice and marmalades from fruit pulp with equal weight of sugar keep even if exposed to air, because bacteria do not flourish in dense substances. Some fruits are preserved half by drying in the sun- shine, half by sugar. Spiced fruits were more common before the days of air-tight jars, for spices are enemies of bacteria. The canning of food is not a complicated process. Everything must be clean, that is, free from spores of mould or germs that promote decay. Such cleanli- ness may be accomplished in part by water, partly by heat. The jars, covers, tunnels, and spoons must be subjected to boiling water to render them sterile. They are usually put in cold water which is slowly brought to the boiling point. The scalding of tomatoes and peaches not only renders the skin easy of removal but sterilizes the outside so that nothing is rubbed on to the inner surface as it is peeled, An accumulation of dust, mould, and decayed por- tions, even if each be slight, cannot but affect the re- sult. Therefore the fruit for any purpose must be care- fully picked over and washed. Very juicy fruits, like currants, may have the juice expressed without first CANNING. 37 •cooking, while others, like the crab apple, require the effect of heat to start the juice. The utensils for cooking and straining should not be utensils of metal if the best flavors of the fruit are to be re- for Cannine tained. Agate or earthen ware kettles, wooden spoons, and linen strainers are desirable for this work. If PRESERVE JARS. "LIGHTNING." IMPROVED "MASON." necessary to use metal anywhere, do it as quickly as possible, and never leave an iron spoon in a kettle of cooked fruit. Sugar is not essential to canning, but is usually added for flavor and because fruit cooked in a syrup keeps its shape better than when cooked in water. The best jars are those having glass covers and preserve fastening with a spring. The screw tops are easily Jars rendered imperfect and are hard to close and open. 38 PRINCIPLES OF COOKERY. The less lettering there is in the glass the surer we are of keeping it clean. The rubber rings spoil quickly and none that are stretched or brittle should be used. New ones are usually required every year. Pint jars are more satisfactory for the average family than the larger sizes. A grocer's tunnel is desirable for filling the jars, and a half-pint dipper with a long handle is another help. Essential The essential points in canning fruit may be summed Points . . .

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Canned foods keep because the bacteria in them are destroyed and others cannot enter because the air is kept out. Fruit will not spoil even if the jar is not full, provided the air above it has been sterilized. Unfortunately, ignorance of the processes involved makes the consumer demand impossibilities in color and form, and this has led the manufacturer to use artificial colorings freely. Preserving in Sugar Canning Preservatives of different kinds have been found to be cheaper than care and time expended in the preparation. Clean foods keep better than unclean ones, but skilled human labor is the means to cleanliness and that is expensive. Pound for pound preserves which include jellies made from fruit juice and marmalades from fruit pulp with equal weight of sugar keep even if exposed to air, because bacteria do not flourish in dense substances. Some fruits are preserved half by drying in the sunshine, half by sugar. Spiced fruits were more common before the days of air-tight jars, for spices are enemies of bacteria. The canning of food is not a complicated process. Everything must be clean, that is, free from spores of mould or germs that promote decay. Such cleanliness may be accomplished in part by water, partly by heat. The jars, covers, tunnels, and spoons must be subjected to boiling water to render them sterile. They are usually put in cold water which is slowly brought to the boiling point. The scalding of tomatoes and peaches not only renders the skin easy of removal but sterilizes the outside so that nothing is rubbed on to the inner surface as it is peeled, An accumulation of dust, mould, and decayed portions, even if each be slight, cannot but affect the result. Therefore the fruit for any purpose must be carefully picked over and washed. Very juicy fruits, like currants, may have the juice expressed without first CANNING. 37 •cooking, while others, like the crab apple, require the effect of heat to start the juice. The utensils for cooking and straining should not be utensils of metal if the best flavors of the fruit are to be re- for Cannine tained. Agate or earthen ware kettles, wooden spoons, and linen strainers are desirable for this work. If PRESERVE JARS. "LIGHTNING." IMPROVED "MASON." necessary to use metal anywhere, do it as quickly as possible, and never leave an iron spoon in a kettle of cooked fruit. Sugar is not essential to canning, but is usually added for flavor and because fruit cooked in a syrup keeps its shape better than when cooked in water. The best jars are those having glass covers and preserve fastening with a spring. The screw tops are easily Jars rendered imperfect and are hard to close and open. The less lettering there is in the glass the surer we are of keeping it clean. The rubber rings spoil quickly and none that are stretched or brittle should be used. New ones are usually required every year. Pint jars are more satisfactory for the average family than the larger sizes. A grocer's tunnel is desirable for filling the jars, and a half-pint dipper with a long handle is another help. Essential The essential points in canning fruit may be summed Points . . .

Principles of cookery