Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 245, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1916 — CAN NOW FOR WINTER USE [ARTICLE]

CAN NOW FOR WINTER USE

Time Spent In Preparing Vegetables Will Be Found Well Worth While When Cold Weather Comes. Whole tomatoes, green peppers and spinach every day next winter! Doesn’t the thought suggest a pleasant departure from too much meat in the diet? Every woman on the farm should can surplus .-fruits and vegetables during the summer months for winter according to Miss Addle D. Root of the Missouri College of Agriculture. By so doing, the cost of a valuable food will Re-decreased and meals during the winter will be made more appetizing. Fruits and vegetables give variety to the diet and supply certain food materials which are necessary to maintain health. They do not leave us in need ofa spring tontg; In the day of our grandmothers the canning of vegetables was little understood and results werejseldom successful. We know today that foods spoil from the action of small organisms called bacteria, which float in the air around us and we know how tq kill them. If these are killed, in the process of canning and the jars sealed airtight, food will keep indefinitely. Different kinds of bacteria are found in different kinds of foods. Some kinds require a higher temperature to kill them than others and for this reason some fruits and vegetables must be cooked longer than others during the canning process. For the beginner the water-bath canner Is recommended as the simplest form. It can be arranged in any home with but small expense. It consists of a containing vessel with a rack and a cover. A Wash boiler may be used. A rack may jbe made of thin boabds or heavy wire. It should be raised threefourths of an inch from the bottom of the boiler or enough so that water can circulate freely under the jars. This prevents the jars from getting too hot. Water should be an inch over the tops of the jars. Before placing the jars in the boiler, screw the top down as tightly as possible with thumb and little finger. If screwed too tightly, expansion will cause the jars to break. The cans are removed most easily by means of a can lifter. Miss Root has recently issued a circular containing directions for canning all the common fruits and vegetables. It can be secured by writing to the Missouri College of Agriculture, Columbia, Mo.