To produce good-looking jars of food, the fruit or vegetables to be canned should be graded to some extent; that is, the finest of the fruits or vegetables should be separated and used by themselves, as should also those of medium quality. Often it is wise to use the poorest foods for purposes other than canning. The food may then be canned according to the chosen method, but by no means should methods be mixed. In handling the product after it has been cooked by the open-kettle method, any spoon, funnel, or other utensil must be thoroughly sterilized in the same way as the jars and their covers and rubbers; indeed, no unsterile utensil should ever be allowed to touch the food when a jar is being filled.
55. It is by the observance of such precautions as these, some of them seemingly unimportant, that the housewife will be repaid for her efforts in canning and be able to produce canned fruits and vegetables like those shown in color in Fig. 22. This illustration shows, with a few exceptions, such foods canned by the one-period cold-pack method, and merits close inspection. As will be observed, the jars are full and well packed and the color of each food is retained. Each can of food indicates careful work and serves to show the housewife what she may expect if she performs her work under the right conditions and in the right way. This illustration likewise serves to demonstrate that any food may be successfully canned by the one-period cold-pack method, a claim that cannot be made for the other canning methods. In fact, some of the foods illustrated, as, for instance, peas and corn, cannot be canned successfully by any other method.
DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES
56. CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETABLES.--To simplify the directions here given for the canning of vegetables, this food is divided into four groups, as follows:
1. Greens, which include all wild and cultivated edible greens, such as beet greens, collards, cress, dandelion, endive, horseradish greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, New Zealand spinach, and Swiss chard.
2. Pod and related vegetables, which include asparagus, beans, both string and wax, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, peppers, both green and ripe, summer squash, and vegetable marrow.
3. Root and tuber vegetables, which include beets, carrots, kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabagas, salsify, sweet potatoes, and turnips.
4. Special vegetables, which include beans, both Lima and shell, corn, mushrooms, peas, pumpkin, sauerkraut, squash, succotash and other vegetable combinations, and tomatoes.