After one has learned how to can fruits and vegetables successfully, the next thing to attempt is the canning of soups.
Soups may be canned with or without meat. We make one variety which is a pure vegetable soup. We use no stock or meat, and can it in its own juice or liquor, thus using no water.
When we wish to use it we dilute it three or four times and serve it as a vegetable soup or, more frequently, when we have chicken bones or any meat bones on hand, we add a can of this concentrated vegetable mixture to the bones and make a delicious stock soup.
I will give this recipe as I have given it to many friends, all of whom have pronounced it excellent:
Scald the tomatoes by placing them in a wire basket and plunging them into boiling water for one and a half minutes. Cold-dip them immediately. After removing the core and stem end of the tomato, the skin slips right off. Save all the tomato juice. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Put into a large pail or bucket with the juice. Blanch the cabbage, carrots, turnip, string beans, okra and sweet red peppers five minutes. Cold-dip. Of course you blanch and cold-dip each product separately. Cut each vegetable after it is blanched and cold-dipped into small cubes and add to the tomatoes.
Spinach must be carefully washed to remove all grit and sand. All greens must be washed through several waters to cleanse them thoroughly.
Instead of blanching the spinach in a kettle of boiling water, as we do the other vegetables, we steam it by placing it in a colander over boiling water or in a regulation steamer with tightly fitting cover, such as is used for steaming suet puddings and brown bread. If you can with a steam-pressure canner or a pressure cooker, then steam the spinach there. If we boiled the spinach for fifteen or twenty minutes we would lose a quantity of the mineral salts, the very thing we aim to get into our systems when we eat spinach, dandelion greens, Swiss chard and other greens. After the blanching or steaming comes the cold dip.
There is something about blanching asparagus, either for soups or when canned alone, that is worth knowing. Instead of blanching the whole stalk of asparagus for the same length of time, we use a little discretion, giving the tougher, harder ends a full four minutes' blanching, but allowing the tender tip ends only two minutes. You are possibly wondering how that is done.
Tie the asparagus stalks in bunches and put the bunches with all the tips standing one way on a piece of cheesecloth. Tie the cloth or snap rubber bands round it, and then stand the asparagus in boiling water in an upright position for two minutes; next lay the asparagus lengthwise in the blanching water for another two minutes, and you have accomplished your purpose. You have given the tougher parts two minutes' more blanching than the tender parts. Use a deep enough kettle so the asparagus will be completely covered when laid lengthwise. After the blanching, cold-dip the asparagus.
Wash the beets. Leave two inches of the top and all the tail on the beets while blanching. Blanch for five minutes, then cold-dip. Next scrape off the skin, top and tail. The tops can be put right into the soup too. Any surplus tops can be steamed with the spinach and can be treated similarly.
Blanch corn on the cob five minutes. Cold-dip. Cut the corn from the cob, cutting from tip to butt end. Add the corn to the other vegetables. Add no water. Pack the mixed vegetables into clean glass jars; add one level teaspoonful of salt to every jar; partially seal; cook one hour and a half in wash-boiler or other homemade outfit. At the end of that period remove jars from canner, seal tight, and the work is done.
Of course you are interested in the cost of this soup. Most of the ingredients came right from our garden. We had to buy the okra and the red peppers, but I figured everything just as if I had to buy it from the market; and on this basis, the cost of our soup would have been only seven and a half cents a can. We canned it in tin, using size Number Two, which is the same as pint size in glass jars.
Another vegetable soup without stock, dried beans and peas being used, is made as follows:
Soak six pounds of Lima beans and four pounds of dry peas over night. Boil each thirty minutes. Blanch sixteen pounds of carrots, six pounds of cabbage, three pounds of celery, six pounds of turnips, four pounds of okra, one pound of onions, and four pounds of parsley for three minutes and dip in cold water quickly. Prepare the vegetables and chop into small cubes. Chop the onions and celery extra fine. Mix all of them thoroughly and season to taste. Pack in glass jars or tin cans. Fill with boiling water. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; sixty minutes if using water-seal outfit or five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure cooker.
In many homes cream of tomato soup is the favorite. To make this soup the housewife uses a tomato pulp and combines it with milk and seasonings. You can can a large number of jars of this pulp and have it ready for the cream soup. To make and can this pulp follow these directions:
Tomato Pulp. Place the tomatoes in a wire basket or piece of cheesecloth and plunge into boiling water for one and a half minutes. Plunge into cold water. Remove the skins and cores. Place the tomatoes in a kettle and boil thirty minutes. Pass the tomato pulp through a sieve. Pack in glass jars while hot and add a level teaspoonful of salt per quart. Partially seal glass jars. Sterilize twenty minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; eighteen minutes if using water-seal, or five-pound steam-pressure outfit; fifteen minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Soup Stock.To make the soup stock which is the foundation of all the stock soups, use this recipe:
Secure twenty-five pounds of beef hocks, joints and bones containing marrow. Strip off the fat and meat and crack bones with hatchet or cleaver. Put the broken bones in a thin cloth sack and place this in a large kettle containing five gallons of cold water. Simmer—do not boil—for six or seven hours. Do not salt while simmering. Skim off all fat. This should make about five gallons of stock. Pack hot in glass jars, bottles or enameled or lacquered tin cans. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Sterilize forty minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; thirty minutes if using water-seal or five-pound steam-pressure outfit; twenty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Soups made with soup stock are many and varied. One can utilize the things at hand and change the distinctive flavor from year to year. I will give you a few good specimen recipes which if followed will give good results:
Vegetable Soup.Soak a quarter pound dried Lima beans and one pound unpolished rice for twelve hours. Cook a half pound pearl barley for two hours. Blanch one pound carrots, one pound onions, one medium-size potato and one red pepper for three minutes and cold-dip. Prepare the vegetables and cut into small cubes. Mix thoroughly Lima beans, rice, barley, carrots, onions, potato and red pepper. Fill glass jars or the enameled tin cans three-fourths full of the above mixture of vegetables and cereals. Make a smooth paste of a half pound of wheat flour and blend in five gallons soup stock. Boil three minutes and add four ounces salt. Pour this stock over vegetables and fill cans. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Sterilize ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; seventy-five minutes if using a water-seal or five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Cream of Pea Soup.Soak eight pounds of dried peas over night. Cook until soft. Mash fine. Add the mashed peas to five gallons of soup stock and bring to boil. Pass the boiling liquid through a fine sieve. Make a smooth paste of a half pound flour and add paste, ten ounces of sugar and three ounces of salt to the soup stock. Cook until soup begins to thicken. Pack in glass jars or tin cans. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; eighty minutes if using water-seal outfit; seventy minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Cream of Potato Soup.Boil one and a half pounds of potatoes, sliced thin, and five gallons of soup stock for ten minutes. Add three ounces of salt, a quarter teaspoonful of pepper and a half pound of butter and boil slowly for five minutes. Make three tablespoonfuls of flour into smooth paste and add to the above. Cook three minutes and pack in glass jars or tin cans while hot. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Sterilize ninety minutes if using a hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; seventy-five minutes if using a water-seal outfit; sixty-five minutes if using a five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using a pressure-cooker outfit.
Bean Soup.Soak three pounds of dried beans twelve hours in cold water. Cut two pounds of ham into quarter-inch cubes and place in a small sack. Place beans, ham and four gallons of water in kettle and boil slowly until the beans are very soft. Remove the ham and beans from the liquor and mash the beans fine. Return ham and mashed beans to the liquor, add five gallons of soup stock and seasoning, and bring to boil. Pack into jars or cans while hot. Partially seal jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process two hours if using hot-water-bath or condensed-steam outfit; ninety minutes if using water-seal outfit; seventy-five minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; sixty minutes if using pressure cooker.
Okra Soup.Slice eight pounds okra into thin slices the round way. Blanch ten minutes and cold-dip. Boil one and a half pounds rice for twenty-five minutes. Mix okra and rice and fill cans or jars half full. To five gallons soup stock add five ounces salt, a quarter teaspoonful of coriander seed and a quarter teaspoonful of powdered cloves, and bring to boil. Fill remaining portion of jars or cans. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process two hours if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; ninety minutes if using water-seal outfit; seventy-five minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; sixty minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Chicken-Soup Stock.Place thirty pounds chicken in ten gallons of cold water and simmer for five hours. Remove meat and bones, then strain. Add sufficient water to make ten gallons of stock. Fill glass jars or tin cans with hot stock. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. This stock is used to make soup where the term "chicken-soup stock" is used. Process ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; seventy-five minutes if using water-seal outfit; sixty minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Chicken Broth With Rice.For each gallon of soup stock use twelve ounces of rice. Boil rice thirty minutes. Fill jars or tin cans two-thirds full of rice and the remainder with soup stock. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; seventy-five minutes if using water-seal outfit; sixty minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
Chicken Gumbo.Cut two pounds ham into small cubes and boil thirty minutes. Mince three pounds chicken and chop half a pound of onions fine. Make a smooth paste of a half pound flour. Add above to five gallons of chicken-soup stock. Then add a half pound butter and a quarter pound salt and boil ten minutes. Next add three ounces powdered okra mixed with one pint water. Pack into glass jars or tin cans while hot. Partially seal glass jars. Cap and tip tin cans. Process ninety minutes if using hot-water-bath outfit or condensed-steam outfit; seventy-five minutes if using water-seal outfit; sixty minutes if using five-pound steam-pressure outfit; forty-five minutes if using pressure-cooker outfit.
TOMATO ACID CHECKS BACTERIA
Some women who have canned soup tell me it spoiled or tasted "sourish and smelled sourish too." This is what we call "flat sour." It may happen to any vegetable you can, as well as to the soups. "Flat sour" affects peas, beans, asparagus and corn more than other vegetables. If the vegetables have been picked for some time and the bacteria have had a chance "to work," and you are not exceedingly careful about your canning, you may develop "flat sour" in the soup. If you let one little spore of this bacteria survive all is lost. Its moist growing place is favorable to development, particularly if not much acid is present. One little spore left in a jar will multiply in twenty hours to some twenty millions of bacteria. This twenty million can stand on the point of a needle, so a can could acquire quite a large population in a short time. Bacteria do not like acids, so it is always a good idea to have tomatoes in your soup mixture, and get the tomatoes into the stone crock early in the game. The tomato acid will safeguard the other vegetables which lack acid.
If you are careless about the blanching and cold-dipping—that is, not doing these full time—if you work too slowly in getting the products into jars and then let the full jars stand in the warm atmosphere, you are pretty sure to develop "flat sour."
Place each jar in the canner as it is packed. The first jars in will not be affected by the extra cooking. Have the water just below the boiling point as you put in each jar. When you have the canner full bring the water to the boiling point as quickly as possible and begin to count cooking or sterilizing time from the moment it does boil.
Some women make the mistake at the end of the cooking period of letting the jars remain in the boiling water, standing on the false bottom of the canner until they are cool enough to handle with no danger of burning the hands. This slow method of cooling not only tends to create "flat sour," but it is apt to result in cloudy-looking jars and in mushy vegetables.
For this reason you should have in your equipment a lifter with which you can lift out the hot jars without the hands touching them. If you use a rack with wire handles this answers the same purpose.
This "flat sour," which is not at all dangerous from the standpoint of health, must not be confused with the botulinus bacteria, which is an entirely different thing.
"Flat sour," perfectly harmless, appears often with inexperienced canners. Botulinus, harmful, appears rarely. You need not be at all alarmed about eating either "flat sour" or botulinus, because the odor from spoiled goods is so distasteful—it really resembles rancid cheese—that you would never get a spoon of it to your mouth.
If you are debating whether this jar or that jar of soup or vegetables is spoiled, do nottastethe contents of the jar.Smellit. Tasting might poison you if you happened on the botulinus bacteria, which is so rare it need alarm no one; whereas smelling is perfectly safe.
TIME-TABLE FOR SOUPS
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 60.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 60.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 60.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 60.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 40.In condensed steam outfit, 40.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 30.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 30.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 25.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 75.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 75.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 80.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 70.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 75.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 65.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 120.In condensed steam outfit, 120.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 75.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 60.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 75.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 60.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
In boiling water or homemade outfit, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 90.In condensed steam outfit, 90.In water-seal outfit, 214 degrees Fahrenheit, 75.In steam-pressure outfit, 5 pounds, 60.In pressure-cooker outfit, 10 to 15 pounds, 45.
For jelly making select firm, slightly underripe fruit that is fairly acid and contains a large amount of pectin. Fruit that is just a little underripe contains more pectin than the mature or overripe fruits. Pectin is the substance that makes jelly harden. This fundamental jelly-making quality does not exist in all fruits. Such fruits as currants, crab apples and grapes contain much pectin and are, therefore, considered excellent jelly-making fruits.
The white inner skin of grapefruit is also a prolific source of pectin, but as it has a bitter taste we seldom use it for jellies, though we find it valuable in making orange, grapefruit and other marmalades.
Rhubarb, strawberries and cherries all lack pectin, but can be made into good jellies if we add the white skins of oranges and lemons to them while cooking.
So the very first thing we must know about jelly making is whether or not a fruit contains pectin. There will be no tears shed over jelly that will not "jell" if all young housewives will learn the simple test for pectin; to find out whether a juice contains pectin or not is a very easy matter.
Take one tablespoonful of grain alcohol—90 to 95 per cent.—and add to it one tablespoonful ofcookedjuice that has been cooled. The effect of the alcohol is to bring together the pectin in a jelly-like mass. If a large quantity of pectin is present it will appear in one mass or clot which may be gathered up on a spoon. You will notice I saidcookedjuice. It is peculiar that this pectin frequently is not found in the juices of raw fruits, though it is very plentiful in the cooked juices. Therefore the test must be made with cooked juice.
There is little pectin in the juice of raw apples, raw quince, raw grapes, and yet the cooked juices are full of pectin.
This test not only indicates the amount of pectin present, but it also gives some idea of the proper proportions of sugar to juice. If three-fourths or more of the juice forms a gelatinous mass or clot this indicates that you should use three-fourths as much sugar as juice. If the pectin is slightly gelatinous or is less than three-fourths of the whole volume of juice, use less sugar. If the pectin is less than one-half add some form of pectin to make the jelly, or can the juice for use as a beverage, for flavoring ice cream or some form of cooking.
By employing this test, sugar can often be reduced, and thus the jelly texture will be fine, less rubbery and the flavor will be better.
After the fruit has been selected and prepared as usual by washing, stemming, and so forth, it is ready to be heated in an acid-proof kettle. With juicy fruits use just enough water to prevent burning—about one cup of water to every four or five quarts of fruit. The juicy fruits are currants, raspberries, and so forth. With less juicy fruits, as apples or quinces, use enough water to cover, or follow the rule, half as much water as fruit. Use the cores, skins and seeds; these improve the flavor and color of the jelly.
Berries can be mashed. Heat the fruit slowly in a covered kettle, stirring once in a while to obtain an even cooking. When the simmering point is reached, crush the fruit with a well-soaked wooden masher. When the fruit is tender or has a transparent appearance, it is ready to strain.
The jelly bag must be of closely woven material; one with a large mouth is advisable. If cheesecloth is used double it and tie opposite corners together. When a very clear jelly is desired use a flannel or felt bag for straining the juice.
What drips into the dish or pan is called Extraction One. When this Extraction One is fairly drained out, which takes about thirty minutes, do not squeeze the pulp for a second grade jelly as so many housewives do; instead, make another juice extraction. To do this, empty the contents or pulp in the bag into the preserving kettle, cover with water, and stir until thoroughly mixed; then cover, bring slowly to a boil as before and drain again. The juice that drips out is called Extraction Two.
The pectin-alcohol test can be used here again to find out whether there is much or little or no pectin left. If much pectin is present, you can repeat the operation and get Extraction Three.
Three extractions usually exhaust the pectin, but sometimes you can get as many as five extractions.
You may say, "Why bother with extractions—why not squeeze the juice and be done with it?" You will get clearer, better-flavored and more glasses of jelly if you will make the extractions than if you squeeze the jelly bag.
I always make the jelly from Extraction One by itself, but usually combine Extraction Two and Three.
The next step in jelly making is vitally important—that is, how much sugar to use to a given amount of fruit juice. This is where many housewives "fall down" on jelly making. They use the same proportion of sugar to all juices.
To make jelly that does not crystallize the right proportion of sugar must be added to the juice. To make jelly that is not tough or unpleasantly sour, the right proportion of sugar and juice must be used.
Currants and unripe or partly ripened grapes are so rich in pectin that they require equal amounts of sugar and juice—that is, to every cup of extracted currant and grape juice we add one cup of sugar.
Red raspberries and blackberries require three-fourths of a cup of sugar to every cup of juice. All fruits which require much water in the cooking take three-fourths of a cup of sugar to every cup of juice. Crab apples and cranberries are examples.
It is harder to make jellies from the fruits to which a large amount of water is added than from the juicy fruits.
I am frequently asked, "When should you add the sugar to the fruit juice in jelly making? Do you add it at the beginning of the boiling, in the middle of the process, or at the end, and should the sugar be hot when added to the juice?" It is better to add the sugar in the middle of the jelly-making process than at the beginning or the end. Skim the juice well before adding the sugar, so as to lose as little sugar as possible.
If the sugar is hot when added it will not cool the juice, and thus the cooking time will be shortened. To heat the sugar put it in a granite dish, place in the oven, leaving the oven door ajar, and stir occasionally. Be careful not to scorch it.
After the juice is put on, the jelly making should be done as quickly as possible. No simmering should be allowed and no violent boiling. A steady boiling, for as few minutes as possible, will produce good results.
Currant, blueberry and grape jelly usually can be made in from eight to ten minutes. The hot sugar is added at the end of four or five minutes.
Raspberry, blackberry and apple jelly take from twenty to thirty minutes. The sugar is added at the end of ten or fifteen minutes.
The jellying point is hard to determine. If you have a cooking thermometer or candy thermometer always use it when making jelly. It is the one sure, reliable test.
The temperature for jellies is 221 degrees Fahrenheit. If you want a very soft jelly, boil it 220 degrees. If you want to use it immediately, then boil it to 222 degrees.
If you do not have a thermometer the next best test is to pour the boiling sirup from the side of a clean, hot spoon, held horizontally. If the sirup is done two drops will break simultaneously from the side of the spoon.
Another test is to take a little jelly on a cold plate and draw a path through it with the point of a spoon; if the path stays and the juice does not run together, the jellying point has been reached.
When the jellying point has been reached, remove the kettle from the fire, skim the jelly and pour immediately into hot, sterilized glasses, which have been set on a cloth wrung out of hot water to prevent breaking. Fill the glasses not quite full.
Never attempt to make more than six to eight glasses of jelly at one time. If new at the game make only four, because there is danger of the juice jellying in the kettle before it can be removed.
When the jellies are well set cover them withhot, not merely melted, paraffin. The paraffin if hot will kill any germs that may fall on the surface of the jelly. Then cover with the clean tin or aluminum covers and store the jelly in a dry, cool place after proper labeling.
STEPS IN JELLY MAKING
1. Select firm, slightly underripe fruit that is fairly acid and contains a large amount of pectin.
2. Prepare fruit as usual by washing, stemming, and so forth.
3. Heat slowly in acid-proof kettle until fruit is tender. Mash berries before beginning to cook them. A little water may be added if necessary to keep from burning. Cut hard fruits into small pieces; add half as much water as fruit.
4. Pour into dampened bag.
5. Drain through closely woven bag.
6. Make alcohol test for pectin to determine minimum amount of sugar to use, also the character of the fruit. The amount of pectin, the fundamental jelly-making property, varies in different fruits. To make the pectin test add to one tablespoonful of cold cooked fruit juice one tablespoonful of grain alcohol. Shake gently. Allow to stand one-half hour. If three-fourths or more of the juice forms a lump add three-fourths as much sugar as juice in making jelly. If the precipitate—pectin—is not held together in a lump or is less than three-fourths of the whole volume of juice, add less sugar in proportion to juice. If less than one-half forms a lump, add pectin to make the jelly, or can the juice for use as a beverage, flavoring, and so forth.
7. If fruit juice meets jelly-making test put on to cook.
8. Add required amount of sugar after juice begins to boil or midway in the process.
9. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
10. Cook rapidly, but not hard.
11. Test to determine when jelly stage is reached by dipping a clean spoon into boiling juice. Remove and allow juice to drip from it. If done, two drops will break simultaneously from side of spoon. Some prefer to wait until mass sheets off from side of spoon. Better still, use thermometer.
12. Remove from fire and skim.
13. Pour immediately into hot, sterilized glasses.
14. When cool add hot melted paraffin. Melt the paraffin in a little coffeepot or pitcher with spout, so it will pour easily.
15. Cover, label and store.
No time can be given for jelly making, for several things enter into consideration: The proportion of pectin in the juice, the amount of water used in cooking the fruit and the proportion of sugar to juice; the more sugar used, the less time needed.
JAMS AND BUTTERS
Jams and butters are not so difficult to make as jellies.
1. Carefully wash berries and fruits.
2. Weigh the fruit on standard scales or, if scales are not convenient, use measuring cup.
3. Mash berries. Cut large fruits into several pieces.
4. Add enough water to prevent sticking.
5. Stir to keep from burning.
6. Cook gently until the mass begins to thicken.
7. Measure sugar, using three-fourths part of sugar to one part fruit. That is, for every pound of fruit use three-fourths of a pound of sugar, or to every cup of fruit use three-fourths of a cup of sugar.
8. Continue cooking, allowing the jam to simmer gently.
9. Cook the mixture until the desired consistency is reached. When a little of the jam falls in heavy drops from the spoon, it is thick enough.
10. A small amount of mixed ground spices, vinegar or crystallized ginger can be added if desired.
11. Pour into hot, sterilized glasses to within one-half inch of the top.
12. Allow to cool, seal with paraffin, cover, label and store.
Fruit butters are always softer than jam. Marmalades are made much as are jams. The rind is usually used in lemon, orange and grapefruit marmalades.
Conserves consist of a combination of several fruits. Nuts and raisins are often added to conserves.
Preserves are thick mixtures containing sugar equal to at least three-fourths of the weight of the fruit.
If you wish to eliminate the necessity of using paraffin or other wax tops for jellies, jams and preserves, you can use the cold-pack method of canning. You may have containers with screw or bail tops which you wish to use in this way. The following is one recipe showing how to proceed.
Cherry Preserves. Place one gallon of water in a kettle and add ten pounds of pitted cherries. Boil slowly for eighteen minutes. Add twelve pounds of granulated sugar and cook until product is boiling at a temperature of 219 degrees. Cool quickly in shallow pans. Pack into glass jars. Put rubber and cap in position, not tight. Cap and tip if using enameled tin cans. If using a hot-water-bath outfit, sterilize twenty minutes; if using a water-seal outfit, a five-pound steam-pressure outfit or a pressure-cooker outfit, sterilize fifteen minutes. Remove jars. Tighten covers. Invert to cool and test the joints. Wrap jars with paper to prevent bleaching and store. When using pressure-cooker outfits on preserves, keep the valve open during period of sterilization.
Fruit Juices. Fruit juices furnish a healthful and delicious drink and are readily canned at home. Grapes, raspberries and other small fruits may be crushed in a fruit press or put in a cloth sack, heated for thirty minutes, or until the juice runs freely, and allowed to drip.
Strain through two thicknesses of cotton flannel to remove the sediment, sweeten slightly, bottle, close by filling the neck of the bottle with a thick pad of sterilized cotton, heat to 160 degrees, or until air bubbles begin to form on the bottom of the cooker, and keep at this temperature one hour and a half to two hours; or heat to 200 degrees, or until the bubbles begin to rise to the top of the water, and hold at this temperature for thirty minutes. The hot water comes up to the neck of the bottle. Cork without removing the cotton. If canned in jars close the jar partly, and seal tight after cooking.
Fruit juices should never be heated above 200 degrees, as a higher temperature injures the flavor.
Strawberry Preserves. 1.Add thirty-five ounces of sugar to one-half pint of water; bring to a boil and skim.
With this amount of sirup the berries can be packed attractively without floating and no sirup will be left over.
To this amount of sirup add exactly two and three-fourths pounds of washed, capped and stemmed strawberries. Boil the fruit until it registers 222 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy or chemical thermometer. If no thermometer is available boil until the sirup is very heavy—about as thick as molasses. Remove the scum.
Fill the sterilized jars full of hot berries. Pour in enough of the hot sirup to fill the jar, leaving as little air space as possible. Put sterilized rings and caps on at once, but do not fasten tightly.
Stand the sealed jars in tepid water up to their necks if possible. Bring this water to a boil. Let pint jars stay in the boiling water for at least fifteen minutes and quart jars at least twenty-five minutes; then close caps tightly at once. At the conclusion of the operation, stand each jar for a moment on its cap to make sure that the seal is absolutely tight.
Recipe Number 2.The following method is preferred by some because it leaves more of the natural color in the preserves:
To two pounds of washed, capped and stemmed strawberries add twenty-six ounces sugar; let stand over-night. In the morning pour juice thus obtained into a preserving kettle, add berries and cook to 222 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the sirup is very heavy. Pack and sterilize, as in Recipe Number 1. These recipes can be used for all other berries.
When wet weather makes strawberries too soft or sandy for the table, they are still useful for making "strawberry acid," a thick sirup which, mixed with water, ice and perhaps spearmint, makes a cooling summer drink.
Strawberries—Sun Preserves.Select firm ripe berries; hull and rinse. Place them in a shallow platter in a single layer; sprinkle sugar over them. Pour over them a thick sirup made of one quart of water and eleven pounds of sugar, boiled until very thick.
Cover them with a glass dish or a plain window glass. Allow them to stand in the hot sun eight to twelve hours. Pack them in jelly glasses and cover with paraffin or put in regular glass jars or tin cans. Put the rubber and cap in position, not tight. Cap and tip or seal if using enameled tin cans. Sterilize for the length of time given below for the particular type of outfit used:
Remove the jars, tighten the covers, invert the jars to cool, and test the joint. Wrap the jars in paper to prevent bleaching.
When using steam-pressure or pressure-cooking outfit on preserves, remember to keep the valve open during the sterilizing.