Woman's Institute Library of Cookery. Volume 5: Fruit and Fruit Desserts; Canning and Drying; Jelly Making, Preserving and Pickling; Confections; Beverages; the Planning of Meals

by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

COLD-PACK METHOD

31. The COLD-PACK METHOD of canning differs from the open-kettle method in that the food to be canned is not cooked in a kettle before placing it in the jars and sealing them. In this method, the food to be canned is prepared by washing, peeling, scraping, hulling, stemming, seeding, or cutting, depending on the kind. Then it is scalded or blanched and plunged into cold water quickly and taken out immediately, the latter operation being called cold-dipping. After this it is placed into hot jars, covered with boiling liquid--boiling water and salt for vegetables, meats, fish, or soups, and boiling sirup for fruits. Then the filled jars are covered loosely and placed in a water bath and processed; that is, cooked and sterilized. When food that is being canned is subjected to processing only once, the method is referred to as the one-period cold-pack method; but when the food in the jars has not been blanched and cold-dipped and is processed, allowed to stand 24 hours and then processed again, and this operation repeated, it is called the fractional-sterilization method. The equipment required for the cold-pack canning method and the procedure in performing the work are taken up in detail, so that every point concerning the work may be thoroughly understood.

32. UTENSILS REQUIRED.--The utensils required for canning by the cold-pack method are shown assembled in Fig. 6. Chief among them is a sterilizer, or boiler, which consists of a large fiat-bottomed vessel fitted with a rack and a tight-fitting cover. A number of such devices are manufactured for canning by the cold-pack method, but it is possible to improvise one in the home. A wash boiler, a large pail, a large lard can, or, in fact, any large vessel with a flat bottom into which is fitted a rack of some kind to keep the jars 3/4 inch above the bottom can be used. Several layers of wire netting cut to correct size and fastened at each end to a 3/4-inch strip of wood will do very well for a rack. In any event, the vessel must be deep enough to allow the water to cover the jars completely and must have a tight-fitting cover. Besides a sterilizer, there are needed three large vessels, one for scalding the food that is to be canned, one for cold-dipping, and one for keeping the jars hot. To hold the food that is to be dipped, a sieve, a wire basket, also shown in Fig. 6, or a large square of cheesecloth must also be provided, and for placing jars in the water bath, a can lifter, a type of which is shown on the table in Fig. 6, may be needed. The remainder of the equipment is practically the same as that described under the heading General Equipment for Canning.