If using hot-water-bath outfit sterilize from twenty to thirty minutes. After sterilizing remove packs, seal glass jars, wrap in paper to prevent bleaching, and store in a dry cool place.
When using a steam-pressure canner instead of the hot-water bath sterilize for ten minutes with five pounds of steam pressure. Never allow the pressure to go over ten pounds when you are canning soft fruits.
WHEN TO CAN
Inexperienced canners may not know when certain fruits are in season and at their prime for canning. The list below is necessarily subject to change, as seasons vary from year to year; but in normal years this table would hold true for the Northern States.
| Apples | September |
| Apricots | August |
| Blackberries | August |
| Cherries | July |
| Currants | July |
| Gooseberries | July |
| Grapes | September |
| Huckleberries | July |
| Peaches | August-September |
| Pears | September |
| Pineapple | June |
| Plums | August |
| Quinces | September |
| Raspberries | July |
| Rhubarb | All summer |
| Strawberries | May-June |
For your canning you will need as your guide the charts on the pages which follow. They are very simple and will tell you how to prepare all the various fruits, whether or not they are to be blanched, and if so exactly how many minutes, and how long to cook or sterilize the products, according to the outfit you are using.
CHART FOR CANNING SOFT FRUITS AND BERRIES
| NUMBER OF MINUTES TOSTERILIZE | |||||||
| KIND OF FRUIT /PREPARATION | NUMBER OF MINUTES TO BLANCH ORHOT-DIP | IN HOT WATER BATH OUTFIT AT212°F | IN CONDENSED STEAM OUTFIT | IN WATER-SEAL OUTFIT214°F | IN STEAM PRESSURE 5 TO 10POUNDS | IN PRESSURE COOKER 10 POUNDS | REMARKS |
| APRICOTS: To remove skins hot-dip andcold-dip. Can be canned with the skins. Pits give a goodflavor | 1 to 2 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thick sirup |
| BLACKBERRIES: Pick over, wash andstem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| BLUEBERRIES: Pick over, wash andstem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| CHERRIES: Wash, remove stems, andremove pits if desired. If pitted save the juice | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup if sour; thinsirup if sweet |
| CURRANTS: Wash and pick from stems | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| CRANBERRIES: Wash and stem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| DEWBERRIES: Wash and stem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| FIGS: Wash and stem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Figs can be hot- dipped for a minuteor two if desired. Hot-dipping shrinks the figs so more can bepacked in a jar |
| GOOSEBERRIES Wash and snip off stemsand blossom ends | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thick sirup |
| GRAPES Wash and pick from stems | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| HUCKLEBERRIES Wash and stem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| PEACHES Blanch and cold-dip, thenremove skins. | 1-2 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 (Use only 5 poundspressure.) | X | If peaches are canned under morethan 5 pounds of pressure they become flavorless and dark incolor |
| PLUMS Wash; stones may be removed ifdesired. | 1-2 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | For sweet plums use thin ormedium-thin sirup; for sour plums use medium-thin sirup |
| RASPBERRIES pick over, wash andstem | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thin sirup |
| RHUBARB Wash, cut into ½ inchpieces. Use sharp knife | 1 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Be very careful not to hot-dip therhubarb more than one minute, for it gets mushy |
| STRAWBERRIES Pick over, wash andhull | None | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | Use medium-thick sirup |
| HARD FRUITS | |||||||
| APPLES Pare, core and cut into halvesor smaller pieces | 1½ to 2 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 | Use thin sirup |
| PEARS Wash, pare or not as desired.Small pears may be canned whole or quartered | 1½ | 20 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 | Use thin sirup |
| PINEAPPLE Cut into slices or inchcubes. The cores can be removed | 5 | 30 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 18 | Use thin or medium-thin sirup |
| QUINCES Remove skins and cores. Cutinto convenient slices | 6 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 20 | Apples, pears and quinces should bedropped into salt water to keep fruit from turning brown. Use saltin the proportion of one tablespoonful to one gallon of water. Usethin sirup |
| WINDFALL APPLES FOR PIE FILLING Cutinto halves | None | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | Can in water |
| QUARTERED APPLES FOR SALAD | None | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | Can in water and save the sugar forother purposes |
| CRAB APPLES Pare and core | None | 16 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 5 | Can in water or use thin sirup |
| CITRUS FRUITS | |||||||
| ORANGES, WHOLE Remove skins and whitefiber or surface, then blanch | 1½ | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | Add boiling thin sirup |
| LEMONS, WHOLE Remove skins and whitefiber or surface, then blanch | 1½ | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | Add boiling thin sirup |
| GRAPEFRUIT, WHOLE Remove skins andwhite fiber or surface, then blanch | 1½ | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | Add boiling thin sirup |
| ORANGE AND OTHER CITRUS FRUITS, SLICEDSlice with a sharp knife | None | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Use thin sirup |
| FRUITS CANNED IN WATER WITHOUT SUGARSIRUP | 30 | 30 | 20 | 12 | 10 | ||
NOTE.—When cooking products in pint or half-pint jars deduct three or four minutes from the time given above. When cooking in two-quart jars add 3 or 4 minutes to time. The estimates given are for quart jars.