Many ready-to-serve dishes may be made up when the ingredients are the most plentiful and canned to keep them for the time when they are difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise. Such foods are very convenient in any emergency. Often, too, when something is being cooked for the table, an extra supply may be made with no greater use of fuel and very little extra labor, and if the excess is canned it will save labor and fuel for another day. In the same way, left-over foods from the table may be preserved by reheating and canning them. Many foods and combinations of foods may be made ready for pies and desserts and then canned, it being often possible to use fruits that are inferior in appearance for such purposes.
Soup may be canned. It may be made especially for canning, or it may be made in larger quantity than is required for a meal and the surplus canned. For canning, it is an excellent plan to make soup more concentrated than that which would be served immediately, as such soup will require fewer jars and will keep better. Water or milk or the liquid from cooked vegetables or cereals may be added to dilute it when it is to be served.
Meat and fish also may be canned, and many times it is advisable to do this, especially in the case of varieties that cannot be preserved to advantage by such methods as salting, pickling, or curing.
7. The preservation of foods by canning and drying should not be looked at as an old-fashioned idea; rather, it is a matter in which the housewife should be vitally interested. In fact, it is the duty of every housewife to learn all she can about the best methods to employ. Canning methods have been greatly improved within the last few years, and it is a wise plan to adopt the newer methods and follow directions closely. Especially should this be done if foods canned by the older methods have spoiled or if mold has formed on top of the food in the jars.
In order to preserve foods successfully and with ease, the housewife should realize the importance of carrying out details with precision and care. The exactness with which the ingredients are measured, the choice and care of utensils, the selection and preparation of the food to be canned--all have a direct bearing on whether her results will be successful or not.
By observing such points and exercising a little ingenuity, the economical housewife may provide both a supply and a convenient variety of practical foods for winter use. For example, one single fruit or vegetable may be preserved in a number of ways. Thus, if there is a very large supply of apples that will not keep, some may be canned in large pieces, some may be put through a sieve, seasoned differently, and canned as apple sauce, and some may be cut into small pieces and canned for use in making pies. Apple butter and various kinds of jams and marmalades may be made of all or part apples, or the apples may be spiced and used as a relish. Combining fruits of different flavor in canning also adds variety. In fact, neither quinces nor apples canned alone are so delicious as the two properly combined and canned together.
In the same way, if the housewife will watch the markets closely and make good use of materials at hand, she may provide canned foods at comparatively little cost. Of course, the woman who has a garden of her own has a decided advantage over the one who must depend on the market for foods to can. The woman with access to a garden may can foods as soon as they have been gathered, and for this reason she runs less risk of losing them after they have been canned. Nevertheless, as has been pointed out, it is really the duty of every housewife to preserve food in the home for the use of her family.