Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 15, Number 26, DeMotte, Jasper County, 11 May 1945 — HOUSEHOLD MEMOS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOUSEHOLD MEMOS

by Lynn Chambers

Early Canning, Strawberries and rhubarb, green peas and asparagus are all flaunt-

ing their gay colors before our eyes and begging to be eaten, either now or later. One of the most basic rules In canning is that fruit and vegetables should be

canned at the peak of the season to be their best. If you want a good product, you will have to put up a good food is another way of putting this rule across. Canning at best does not improve the food, it simply preserves it for future use. Unless strawberries are sweet and bright in color, they will not become so in the jars. The same is true of everything else which we put up. Less canning sugar will presumably be alloted this year than previously, and it would be well to decide just how much of what you are going to put up before you start in using sugar. It will have to be strictly budgeted if it is to reach over all the winter’s needs. Those of you who have canned while sugar has been rationed know that it is possible to can with a great deal less sugar if you will put the fruit up not quite so sweet. Most of us can do with less sugar as long as we have nice looking jars of fruit. One of the “musts” on your canning list this year should be sev-

eral jars of jams, jellies and preserves to spread on bread next winter if butter supplies are low. The family will greet these fruit con-

coctions with cheers: Strawberry Marmalade. (Makes 12 6-ounce glasses) 2 oranges 2 lemons M cup water 6 teaspoon soda 1 quart strawberries 7 cups sugar % bottle fruit pectin Remove peels from oranges and lemons; cut off white membrane. Force peels through food chopper. Add water and soda. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add orange and lemon pulp and juice. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add crushed strawberries. Measure 4 cups prepared fruit; add sugar. Bring to boiling and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in fruit pectin. Let stand 5 minutes; skim; seal In hot, sterilized glasses. Currant Jelly. (Makes 4 to 5 small glasses) 1 quart currants Y< cup water Sugar Wash and pick over currants but do not remove stems. Mash a few In the bottom of a preserving kettle and continue until all berries are used. Add water, cover and heat slowly. When fruit is thoroughly heated, put into a jelly bag or in several thicknesses of cheese cloth and drain off juice. Measure 4 cups juice, bring to boiling point and boil 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of sugar and boil 3 minutes, or until jelly sheets off a spoon. Pour into several hot sterilised glasses, cover with paraffin and store. Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam. (Makes 6 to 8 Glasses) 3 cups cooked pink rhubarb 3 cups strawberries 4 cups sugAr Use tender red rhubarb, trim off hard ends, wash without skinning, cut into small pieces. Mix fruit and sugar, let stand several hours. Cook gently in preserving kettle until thick and clear. Pour into hot sterile glasses and paraffin at once.

For canning spring’s first fruits, use the directions given in these recipes to save color, food value and quality. Canning Rhubarb. Wash tender, rosy rhubarb and cut into tt-inch pieces with a sharp knife. Measure the rhubarb and place it in a baking dish and add % as much sugar by measure as rhubarb. Cover and bake in a moderate (350-degree) oven 30 to 35 minutes until rhubarb is tender, but whole. Pack into hot sterile jars immediately after removing from oven and process 10 minuteL ln. A boiling water bath or 5 minutes at 5 pounds pressure in pressure cooker. Canning Peas. Select tender, even-sized green peas. Shell and wash. Place in

saucepan with boiling water to cover. Heat to boiling. Pack as hot as possible into sterile jars. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tea-

spoon sugar to each jar. Process in the pressure cooker 50 minutes at 10 pounds. Vitamin Value and Retention. The more quickly you work once the fruits and vegetables are collected, the better will they retain their nutritive qualities. Everything should be in readiness, so there is no time lost going from step to step. If jars are stored in a cool, dark place there is a better chance of their keeping their vitamins and minerals. Released by Western Newspaper Union.