12. When dry sealing is used let the product stand twenty-four to thirty-six hours, then add strong brine to fill the containers. The water from the vegetables usually only half fills the containers.
TABLE FOR PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLES BY SALT
| METHODS | VEGETABLES ADAPTED TO METHOD | AMOUNT OF SALT | OTHER INGREDIENTS NEEDED |
| I. Dry salting with fermentation. | Cabbage, which is converted by this method into sauerkraut, string beans, beet tops, turnip tops, greens, kale and dandelions. | ¼-lb. salt to 10 lbs. food or 2½ lbs. salt to 100 lbs. food. | No other. |
| II. Fermentation with brine. | Cucumbers, string beans, green tomatoes, beets, beet tops, corn and green peas. | ¾-cup salt, 1 gallon water, 1 cup vinegar for brine. Amount of brine required is equal to ½ volume of food. | Dill and spices can be added. 1 lb. dry dill or 2 lbs. green dill and 1 oz. spices for a>4-gallon crock. |
| III. Dry salting without fermentation. | Dandelions, beet tops, turnip tops, spinach, kale, chard, cabbage, cauliflower, string beans, green peas, and corn. | 25 lbs. salt to 100 lbs. of food. Salt should be ¼ weight of vegetable. | Blanch and cold-dip vegetables for five minutes before dry salting. |
CHAPTER XVI
CURING, SMOKING AND PRESERVING MEAT
Many farmers seem to have more trouble with the curing of meats than with the slaughtering. This part of the work is indeed very important as it determines whether one will have good tasting cured meat or meat that is too salty or possibly that is far removed from the original taste of the raw product.
It is worth every farmer or farmerette's attention to spend some time on this problem as it pays so well in the resulting, good tasting meat. Why not have a superior grade of home-cured meat as easily as a poor grade? Work carefully and accurately done will produce good results while work slovenly or carelessly done can produce nothing but poor results. To cure meat so that it is not only delicious but has good keeping qualities is an art and accomplishment worth striving for. A pride in this work is just as fine and worth while as the housewife's pride in her culinary skill or the pride of any other professional in his or her line of work. To-day we are thinking of food and its problems as never before and it behooves us all to put more time, thought, care and skill on all things that pertain to foods. And as meat is such an essential item in our diet, meat problems should receive their due attention.
All meat that is to be cured should always be thoroughly cooled and cut into the desired convenient sizes before it is put into the brine or packed in dry salt.