And remember, all things that are scalded or blanched must be followed immediately by a cold plunge or "cold-dip." The scalding or blanching is the "hot-dip," and this must be followed by the "cold-dip." You may be asking, what is the point of this "cold-dip"? It is a very logical question.
We "cold-dip" a product to harden the pulp under the skin and thus permit the removal of the skin without injury to the pulp; to coagulate the coloring matter and make it harder to dissolve during the sterilization period and to make it easier to handle the products in packing, and to subject the product to a sudden shock by quick change in temperature.
STEPS IN CANNING VEGETABLES
If you will follow these steps for all vegetable canning you cannot help but be successful:
1. Clean jars and test rubbers. If rubbers do not return to normal shape after stretching, do not use.
2. Prepare material to be canned, according to directions given on chart.
3. Hot-dip—blanch or scald—the prepared food. This process consists of immersing the prepared product in boiling water for different lengths of time, according to the material to be canned. See chart. Hot-dipping shrinks the product and enables one to pack more material in a jar.
4. Cold-dip the material. This process consists of plunging the blanched or scalded food into cold water, which makes it more easily handled. Be sure the water is cold; the colder the better.
Take the product out immediately and let it drain. Don't let any food soak in the cold water.
From this point on, speed is highly important. The blanched vegetables which are slightly warm must not be allowed to remain out of the jars a moment longer than is necessary.