DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING FRUITS
77. The chief difference between the canning of fruits and the canning of vegetables is that sugar in the form of sirup, instead of salt water, is used for the liquid. Fruits may be canned without sugar if desired, but nothing is gained by so doing, for sugar will have to be added later. Because of the sugar used in canning and the acid contained in the fruit, canned fruit has better keeping qualities than canned vegetables. In fact, it is much more likely to keep well even though it does not receive such careful attention as vegetables. It is for this reason that canned fruit does not require so much time for sterilization as vegetables do. Still it should not be inferred that care is not necessary in the canning of fruits. Indeed, the more care that is taken, the better are the results likely to be.
SIRUPS FOR CANNING FRUITS
78. SIRUPS FOR CANNING.--Before the canning of fruits can be undertaken, it is necessary to possess a knowledge of the sirups that are needed. Such sirups consist simply of sugar dissolved in boiling water. The quantity of sugar and water required for a sirup depends on the acidity of the fruit and the purpose for which it is to be used. Plain canned fruits that are to be used for sauces, etc. require less sugar proportionately than those which are preserved, and fruit canned for pie making may have less than either. Thus, fruits of the same kind may be canned with sirups of different proportions. To a great extent, the quantity of sugar to use with fruit may be regulated by the taste, but it will be readily seen that such fruits as sour cherries and plums will require more sugar to make them palatable than pears and blueberries. It will be well to note, though, that the sugar does not penetrate the fruit unless the two are cooked together.
79. In order to make sirup for canning, place the desired quantities of sugar and water in a kettle and proceed to heat them. Stir the liquid while it is heating, in order to assist in dissolving the sugar. When it has begun to boil rapidly, remove the sirup from the fire and use it at once. Do not continue boiling.
In preparing such sirups, it will be well to note that the greater the proportion of sugar to water or the longer the sugar and water are allowed to boil, the denser, or heavier, will the sirup become. It is this density of sirup that regulates its use for the different kinds of fruit and determines its nature. Thus, a sirup in which the proportion of sugar to water is so large as to make the sirup thick is known as a heavy sirup; one in which the proportion of water to sugar is so large as to make the sirup thin is called a light sirup; and one in which the proportion of sugar and water is such as to produce a sirup that is neither thick nor thin, but stands between the two extremes, is called a medium sirup.
TABLE I
SIRUPS FOR CANNING FRUITS
| Sirup No. | Proportions | Degrees With Hydrometer | Uses | |
| Sugar Cups | Water Cups | |||
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 28 | Open-kettle canning, or pie fruit canned by any method. |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 30 | Open-kettle canning, or pie fruit canned by any method. |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 40 | Open-kettle canning, or sweet fruits canned by cold-pack methods. |
| 4 | 2 | 1-1/2 | 48 | Sweet fruits canned by cold-pack methods. |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 54 | Sour fruits canned by cold-pack methods. |
| 6 | 2 | 1/2 | 68 | Very rich fruits canned by cold-pack methods; preserves canned by open-kettle method. |