Food Conservation Is Major Objective For Every Housewife Many a homemaker who has never done so before will roll back her sleeves and make herself at home in her kitchen like the hardy pioneer women from whom she’s descended. For many, this summer will be their first spent i;i good, old-fashioned “putting up fruits and vegetables,” and for others it will be an even more intense effort at canning than in previous years. Out will come the kettles and the colanders, the pressure cookers, the drying racks, yes, and even the old wash boiler, fashioned into an efficient if not stream-lined water bath. Out must come dusty glass jars to be washed into sparkling cleanliness, sterilized and made ready to receive their vegetables and fruits. Once more the kitchen wiH come into its own, filled with the hustle, bustle and preparation for winter months. Tempering all this activity will be one important thought: conservation. Food which cannot be used now must be saved for months when fresh produce is not available. Now, when 50% of the fruits and vegetables and processed foods from commercial producers is going to soldiers and allies, the home must take its place in providing a full larder for the family, assuring its wholehearted happiness and well being. First things must come first—this is the dictate of the times. First things mean fruits and vegetables and perhaps even meats for next winter's well-balanced meals. After that, if there's sugar, fruits and vege­ tables left, Mrs. Homemaker can add to her shelves a few jams, ¡allies and pickles to provide zest and tang to meals. At summer's end, families ca.n look with well-justified pride at their cupboards, for there will be the means with which t Golden Rules Make Canning Easy bill Your Pantry Shelves The Patriotic If ay OU haven’t canned before? Put your worries aside, for if you follow these golden rules of canning, you can put your fruits and vegetables up successfully. Select the freshest possible food, for there’s less chance for organisms to get their work done and cause decay. Both fruits and vegetables should be given a thorough dunking in plenty of water so that dirt, which also harbors germs, is washed off and Spoilage prevented. Don't expect to can your whole victory garden produce all in one grand sweep. If you're overly ambitious, you’ll tire before the job can be completed with the care and atten­ tion to detail that's necessary. Remember, canning's an exact science. Besides, you can’t cut down on processing time. It takes just so long to work the miracle of sterilization which wilt keep your food in first class condition during the months it stands on the shelves awaiting use. On the day that you plan to can, don't figure on getting that laundry out of the way or giving your clothes moth­ proof treatment. You'll be up early to trot to the garden to get fresh vegetables, or if you buy them, set Big Ben for the crack of dawn and tie a bandana around your hair, and off you go to market. It's a good idea to check jars and canning equipment the day before you actually do your canning. See that jars do not have any nicks or cracks around the sealing edges. It's poor economy to re-use rubber bands. Y Check Jars Carefully for Perfect Seal After fruits or vegetables are packed in the jars, wipe the edge of the jar before adjusting cap. Food particles which lodge between edge of jar and cap prevent perfect seal. Avoid packing starchy vegetables too tightly. For the starchy vegetables, leave one inch space between top of jar and vegetable to allow for expansion. For pre-cooked fruits and berries, allow one-half inch from top, for fruits which are cold-packed, allow one inch. Steam-blanching means cooking in steam. Vegetables are steam-blanched before they are packed in sterile jars for processing Some prefer pre-cooking or plunging in boiling waler, but recent research reveals that steam-blanching retains more vitamins. Steam-blanching is necessary to stop enzy­ matic action, set the color, improve flavor to save vitamins. Canners Have Choice of Four Methods A glance at the daily food requirements issued by the government shows that 50% of those requirements include fruits and vegetables. These are essential for health and effi­ ciency. Home-canned foods will enable families to live well within their limited point allowance. There are many different methods of canning that can be used successfully at home. But before actual canning begins there are certain important principles of canning which the homemaker must understand. A safe old-fashioned rule to follow when canning is to see that vegetables and fruits are "two hours from garden to the jar.” That’s a rush, but use only foods which are as fresh as possible, in young, prime condition. Four different methods of canning are by PRESSURE COOKER, WATER BATH, that is, by submerging the jar in boiling water, by a THERMOSTATICALLY CON­ TROLLED OVEN or by the OPEN KET.TLE method. In addition to the equipment used in one of these meth­ CANNING ARITHMETIC Use this handy table for determining the number of quart or pint jars you will need for canning fruits and vegetables. Greens................................. 1 bu. (12 lb.) cans 5-7 qts, Apples............................. 1 bu. (50 lb.) cans 17-20 qts. Apricots... .4 basket crate (1 bu.) cans 20-25 qts. Peaches............................ 1 bu. (50 lb.) cans 18-20 qts. Asparagus............................. 24 lb. crate cans 7-8 qts. Pears................................. 1 bu. (58 lb.) cans 20-24 qts, Beans, lima....................... 1 bu. (28 lb.) cans 6-8 qts. Peas....................................1 bu. (32 lb.) cans 12-16 qts, Beans, snap ................. 1 bu. (24 lb.) cans 16-20 qts. Pineapples......................... 15 pineapples yield 30 pts. Beets.................................. 1 bu. (60 lb.) cans 22-24 qts. Plums.........».................... 1 bu. (56 lb.) carts 24-30 qts. Berries............................... 24-qt. crate cans 15-24 qts. Squash.............................. 1 bu. (40 lb.) cans 16-20 qts. Carrots.............................. 1 bu. (50 lb.) cans 20-22 qts. Strawberries..................... 24-qt. crate cans 10-15 qts. Cherries............................ 1 bu. (56 lb.) cans 20-25 qts. Sweet potatoes.............. 1 bu. (52 lb.) cans 16-20 qts. Corn 1 bu. (whole kernel style) (72 lb.) cans 8-9 qts. Tomatoes....................... 1 bu. (56 lb.) cans 15-20 qts Grapes................................1 bu. (48 lb.) cans 16-20 qts. ods, you must have utensils for preparing the vegetables, jars, caps, rubbers and storage space. Utensils for preparing vegetables include several large kettles with tight-fitting covers, a wire basket, colander, measuring spoons and cups, a funnel, a large jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet to place on floor of the oven should liquid boil out from the jars during processing by the oven method. The pressure cooker is most reliable for canning non-acid vegetables. There's a very good reason, too. In vegetables there's present a very destructive germ. Botulinus, by name. The germ lodges itself in the soil and becomes absorbed by the vegetable while it grows. It’s hard to detect Botulinus for it doesn't change the color of the vegetables or cause an odor of spoilage. However, one can become ill from eating canned vegetables, and there are many cases on record of Botulinus poisoning in the United States. Extreme Temperatures tiring Death To Hotulinus Only prime quality produce should be preserved For steam-blanching, use a deep vessel with a wire basket or colander and a tight fitting cover. A deep-well cooker will do. Place enough water in bottom of vessel to cover one- half inch, put vegetable in basket, cover tightly, and steam for 5 minutes. Hot pack applies to fruits or vegetables which are pre­ cooked or steam blanched in some way before packing into sterile jars for processing. Cold-pack means that the fruit or vegetable is not cooked before packing into jars and processing. For vegetables, salt and water are added (one teaspoon of salt per pint), and for fruits one of the syrups. Most popular canning syrup this season will be a light syrup which does not require too much sugar. This is fre­ quently referred to as a light syrup and is made by boiling together one cup of sugar and three cups of water for 5 minutes. Fruits may be canned with plain water instead of syrup, but the appearance of the fruit is not as good nor is the taste as good with fruits canned with syrup. families have been advised that they stand a better chance of having an application approved if families team together. If you can’t buy a steam pressure canner, perhaps you can borrow. That is, try teaming with a neighbor who has a canner and will lend it or who will do your canning in ex­ change for some job you can do for her. If you don’t buy or borrow, you may still find a way to use a steam pressure canner, for many a community will set up a food preservation center this summer. A canner for your tomatoes and fruits is no special prob­ lem. The best way to process these foods is in a boiling­ water bath, and probably you have the makings of a canner right in the kitchen. All that is needed is a good-sized kettle or wash boiler, or any other sizable container with a good lid. It must be deep enough for water to cover the jar tops about 2 inches. You will need to contrive a rack of wood or wire to fit in the bottom. The boiling water must bubble and flow all around, over and under each jar. Most effective methods of eliminating Botulinus are ex­ treme heat, extreme cold, dehydration or brining. Extreme heat means a temperature of 240 F. or over. Neither the oven nor the water bath can give THIS HIGH DEGREE OF TEMPERATURE inside the jar, and for this reason the steam pressure cooker must be used with non-acid vegetables. This type of canning gives a temperature of 217CF. INSIDE THE JAR. while the pressure gauge registers 240 F., enough to do away with Botulinus, home canner's enemy No. 1. It is true that steam pressure cannefs are hard to obtain this year. But there are enough new and old canners to do a great deal of work, if they are used wisely and generously. There will be 150,000 steam pressure canners manufactured this year. They will be the size to hold seven quart jars at a time. This isn't neatly so many such canners as homemakers would buy, given the chance. These new steam pressure canners will be rationed, be­ cause that way each state receives its quota, and also efforts can be made to see that the canners go to individuals or groups who will make extra-good use of them. In an agricultural county, the county farm rationing com­ mittee has charge of considering applications and granting purchase certificates. In a non-farming county, a committee will be assigned to take care of this rationing. And city Oven Method of Canning Both gas and electric ovens which have accurate heat con­ trols may be used for canning fruits and vegetables. Coal, gasoline, oil and wood heated ovens are not equipped with thermostats and should not be used. After tomatoes or fruit are packed in jars to within a half inch of the top, to allow room for expansion caused by heat, and for boiling, screw on tops and then loosen % of a turn. Set jars at least 1 inch apart directly on oven racks. Do not use top unit in oven canning. Start counting process­ ing time when indicator registers 250* F., and do not allow heat to exceed that temperature during processing time. Remove jars at end of processing time, and complete sealing. The open kettle method was popular formerly and is still used to some extent for fruits and tomatoes. Many home­ makers who have used it stand by it steadfastly as it can produce excellent results, although, used carelessly, the degree of spoilage can be very high. Tomatoes or fruits are thor­ oughly precooked and then packed into hot, sterile jars. If a higher degree of safety is desired, it's a good idea to take extra precaution and place the jars, after they have been filled and sealed, into a hot water bath for 5 minutes, or in a 250 F. for 25 minutes. Other Methods of Preserving Food Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of canning and is being revived with great interest this year. Oven drying is used with special wood racks or wire racks to dry vegetables thoroughly after they have been steam-blanched. Quick-freezing is used in communities where cold storage locker facilities are available. Foods preserved in this way are easy to prepare, the vegetables requiring only steam­ blanching. then packing in cartons, the fruits and berries are prepared as for table, sugared, then packed in transparent bags and sealed. BE CAREFUL! In panning non-acid vegetables such as beans, peas, and corn, etc., the U. 8. Department of Agriculture recommends the use of a pressure cooker to insure absolute safety. Several states i where the botulinus organism has never been found) recommend the hot water bath for vegetables, but such methods are not endorsed by the Department of Agriculture.