i T X6 o( CoBiigtoK?. COPYRIGHT DEPOSm SAVE IT FOR WINTER Save It For Winter Modern Methods of Canning, Dehydrating Preserving and Storing Vegetables and Fruit for Winter Use With Comments on THE BEST THINGS TO GROW FOR SAVING AND WHEN AND HOW TO GROW THEM BY FREDERICK FRYE ROCKWELL Author of "Around the Year in the Oarden," "Home Vegetable Gardening," etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS ,\ -^^^"l Copyright, 1918, hy Frederick A. Stokes Company All Rights Reserved JUL 22 !9I8 ©a.A499822 ■i^L ^- ACKNOWLEDGMENT 1^ In the preparation of this little book I have P found much assistance in the bulletins and pamphlets prepared by the Department of Agriculture, the National War Garden Com- mission, the various Agricultural Colleges, especially of California and Pennsylvania, and the helpful literature of Ball Brothers Manufacturing Company, The Kerr Man- ufacturing Company (** Economy *' jars), The Southern Canner and Evaporator Company, The Home Canner Company, The Weis Fiber Manufacturing Company, etc. The Author. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Preface ix I Why You Should Keep It for Winter 1 II Why Food "Spoils*' and How to "Keep" It 6 What causes it to "spoil"; how to prevent its spoiling; various methods; canning; dry- ing; pickUng and preserving; storing. III What Can Be Saved 16 How to get it in the best condition; vege- tables and fruits available for keeping for winter; how to get them in the best condi- tion; when to plant and what varieties to use. Planting table. IV Canning 43 The different methods; glossary of terms; different types of containers; details of the work; detailed instructions for individual vegetables and fruits. Time tables. V Drying and Dehydrating .... 85 New use of terms; dehydrating methods; drying methods; containers; details of the work; detailed instructions for individual vegetables and fruits. Time table, vii viii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE VI Pickles, Preserves and Jellies . . 119 Different types; instructions for individual vegetables and fruits. Recipes. VII Storing 137 In general; providing storage quarters; de- tailed instructions for individual vegetables and fruits. VIII Equipment and Accessories . . . 167 Outfits of various kinds; washers; slicers; cookers; cans; jars; paper containers; knives; labels; etc.; etc. IX Conclusion 195 How to plant the summer's work for best re- sults; systematic work; suggestions on co- operation. A little look ahead. Index 203 PREFACE What is the most important thing in the world? Did you ever stop to think that it is noth- ing more nor less than saving food for win- ter? Upon our ability to keep food for future use is built the whole fabric of civilization. With the science, or the art — for it partakes of both — of food preservation wiped out of existence, that civilization would have to fall, and the races of mankind revert to nomadic tribes scouring the earth ^s surface for such food as Nature provided, and starving when they could not find it. All industry is based upon saved food. Only when one man can produce and keep food enough for himself and for some one else whose labor is devoted to the making of other things, can there be any beginning of ix X Preface commerce and industry, even in crude forms ; and our tremendously complicated industry and social system of the present day depends wholly upon one man^s being able to grow and save the food for many men. Even with our improved machinery and improved agricultural methods, however, there is a limit to the number of men whom one man can possibly support. When enough persons have been removed from food pro- duction, and enough of the stored food of the world has been consumed and destroyed, we must inevitably reach a point where the world will face starvation. How far off that point is no one can say with certainty ; but now, in the third year of the Great War, it is nearer than it has been at any time in modem his- tory — so near that a large part of the world already faces chronic hunger. And at vari- ous local points many thousands will die of actual starvation during the coming year; it is already a physical impossibility to get food to them all in time to prevent that. And starvation for the world is certainly so near Preface xi that a year of poor crops may precipitate it among us, even here in our own land where, although we have not produced very good average yields per acre, our farmers have been producing more per capita than those of any other country. Hunger is Emperor! After all is said and done, despite the pur- ple and ermine trappings of royalty, the clat- tering scabbards of stalking generals, and the subversive glitter of banker's gold. He, half- shod and in rags and tatters, is revealed as the autocrat supreme, unmaking autocracies — as the Great Dictator, directing, from gar- ret and gutter, the destinies of empires ! Hunger is Emperor, and his kingdom is anarchy. His purposes are accomplished not by evolution but by revolutions. His real entry into the war will bring the tides of bat- tle rolling back from the far-flung fronts to the capitals from which they started. Then order must fall before chaos. The world will stand on the brink of the chasm of the past, xii Preface facing the possibility of slipping genera- tions backward. Thus there are indeed pregnant possibili- ties that the Great War may be succeeded by a greater war, a war of Humanity against Famine. The saving of food therefore becomes of more importance than ever before, from every point of view : as a personal necessity ; as the most commonsense kind of patriotism; and as a social obligation. The individual may feel that the few quarts of beans or of tomatoes saved for winter use that would or- dinarily be allowed to go to waste, or the few square feet of ground which he may plant es- pecially for winter use, make but a very triv- ial effort toward stemming this tide of star- vation. But it is only by the continued ef- forts of thousands of individuals that the menace of hunger can be averted, and each one who does his or her part is contributing to the common cause. Every jar of canned goods or preserves put up, every pound of dehydrated vegetables or Preface xiii fruit, will be not only a help to the home bud- get, but mean an extra portion for some hungry family across the seas. F. F. R. Fordhood Farms, May, 1918. SAVE IT FOR WINTER SAVE IT FOR WINTER CHAPTER I WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP IT FOR WINTER Does it pay to save summer foodstuffs — vegetables and fruits — for winter? Does it really pay to do it — or has all the recent agitation for the canning and drying of vegetables and fruits been merely a war measure made necessary by the unusual con- ditions which exist throughout the world and therefore of little importance once the great conflict ends'? To any one who has had much experience with the real modern methods of keeping food for future use there can be no doubt that it does pay, and pay handsomely. The new methods require very much less time and in- volve much less work than those which have been in general use up to the present time. 1 Save It for Winter The practice of both canning and drying has been practically revolutionized within the last few years. The new methods compared with those formerly in vogue are so simple that many persons have been inclined to doubt their efficacy until they became con- vinced by actual trial. The saving of food by these methods does pay even those who are located in cities and have not the facili- ties for producing the vegetables and fruit they can so easily save for winter. Saving food for winter pays because it pre- vents waste. The surplus from the home garden, or the cheap products of a glutted summer market, may be kept for the time when vegetable food is scarce and high in price. Saving food for winter pays because it en- ables you to make use of your garden, if you have one, to help support your family dur- ing twelve months of the year instead of only six or seven. The commonly held idea that these methods of saving foodstuff apply wholly or chiefly to surplus garden products You Should Keep It for Winter 3 is erroneous. To take full advantage of the benefits which food-saving makes available one should grow crops especially for this pur- pose. This not only makes the work easier but permits making the most profitable sec- ond use of the ground occupied by the sum- mer garden and allows one to plan systemati- cally for the winter's requirements instead of just having what is * * left over ' ' from the summer garden. Saving food for winter pays because it furnishes a healthier diet. Home saved prod- ucts, if carefully prepared, will be better than those which you are likely to be able to buy, and so much cheaper that a greater propor- tion of them in the daily menu will be used. We Americans have been, next to the Austra- lians, the greatest meat eaters in the world — not because so much meat constituted a healthy diet but because, owing to our prairie ranges and other cheap sources of produc- tion, meat was more inexpensive to get and easier to procure and prepare than vege- tables. Times have changed; meat in Amer- 4 Save It for Winter ica, in comparison with vegetable products, will never be so cheap again. Those who pre- pare to take advantage of the cheap vege- table supplies of summer, whether bought or home grown, will be on the road to more hygienic as well as more economical living. Saving food for winter pays because the actual expense of preparing and keeping vegetable food for this purpose has been greatly decreased by the new method, in spite of the higher prices of many of the things used. Dehydrated vegetables of many kinds will largely take the place of canned vege- tables. This means a tremendous saving in the cost of containers and in the amount of space required to keep the products. Im- proved utensils have cut down the labor re- quired in preparing and putting up the food. The percentage of food lost by ** spoiling'* has been cut from a very considerable amount to almost nothing. And, above all, saving food for winter will pay, while the world-wide holocaust of the present war continues, with its consequent You Should Keep It for Winter 5 bringing of famine conditions to millions of people, because it is a duty to one^s country, to humanity in general, which cannot with a clear conscience be shirked. Inasmuch as you can save food, even though it be but a single pound, you have contributed directly to the well-being of one of the starving fellow-citi- zens of the world ! CHAPTEE II WHY FOOD ''spoils^' AND HOW TO '*KEEP'' IT As soon as vegetable food products mature or are gathered for market or for the home table they begin to deteriorate, and in most cases within a very short time become de- cayed, shriveled, or otherwise unfit for use as food. Why does food spoil? The answer is to be found in that now well- khown household word — *' bacteria/' Bacteria, or vegetable molds, in such forms that they are not visible to the naked eye, are ever lying in wait to attack the surface or the tissues of every form of vegetable life immediately the latter dies or is killed by harvesting. Some vegetables, however, naturally go through a dormant period after actual growth ceases, before their natural cycle of life is completed. These things. Why Food ''Spoils' which are generally termed *^ non-perishable'' vegetables or fruits, are, under favorable con- ditions, more or less immune for a certain length of time from the attacks of the destruc- tive bacteria. Even these food products, how- ever, will quickly *^ spoil,'' either as the re- sult of being attacked by bacteria or through partial evaporation of the moisture which they normally contain, if the conditions un- der which they are kept are not similar to those provided by Mother Nature in the plan of existence which she has worked out for them. How, then, are our foods to be kept from spoiling? Our first problem, of course, is to find some means of keeping the destructive bacteria away from the product which they are wait- ing to attack and destroy. This can be done either by keeping them away by a physical barrier from the product, or by furnishing conditions which are unfavorable to the ex- istence of the bacteria themselves. In the case of non-perishable products such as po- 8 Save It for Winter tatoes, many root crops, and some fruits, we must supply conditions similar to those which nature intended and which will discourage the development of the obnoxious bacteria. By what means may these results be accom- plished? There are, to use common terms, four meth- ods of accomplishing these results : First, by canning; second, by drying; third, by pick- ling or preserving ; fourth, by storing. All of these words are familiar household terms to the layman; yet, without a doubt, not one out of ten persons who use these terms ever stops to think how the various methods ac- complish what they do accomplish, making it possible for us to eat three square meals for three hundred and sixty-five days in every year. Any one who is interested in saving food should have a working knowledge of the general principles upon which the ordinary methods of saving food are based. Such knowledge should be had not merely as a mat- ter of information but because it is of prac- tical use in enabling one to do the work Intel- Why Food "SpoiW' 9 ligently and accurately, thus assuring better results. CANNING By *^ canning'' we mean the saving of fruits or vegetables for future use by placing the product in a container of tin, glass, or other material, which is afterward hermetically sealed. The product *^ keeps," because the bacteria, which would otherwise cause it to spoil, are actually prevented from getting at it. If we merely put it in cans or jars and filled it up, however, millions of the bacteria would be sealed up with it and continue their nefarious work. Therefore, before sealing it up, it is necessary to destroy all the bacteria already in the product. This is done by heat- ing to a certain temperature for a required length of time. The bacteria already in the food, when sufficiently cooked to be de- stroyed, have become harmless. This may not sound particularly appetizing, but it is what actually happens. The food has been ** sterilized," and if it can be sealed up be- 10 Save It for Winter fore any other bacteria can get to it, it will be safe to keep for an indefinite period until wanted for use. These facts have been known for a long time. Eecently, however, a further fact has been discovered which has very greatly sim- plified the different methods of canning. For generations housewives have known that corn was very hard to keep even if carefully canned. Corn and tomatoes put up together, however, keep very well. The reason for this, as we have now come to know, is that the add in the mixture, supplied by the tomatoes, makes living conditions Avhich the bacteria refuse to tolerate. Experiments proved that they expired much more quickly in, and were easily kept out of, a slightly acid solution. As a result, the modern practice of putting a lit- tle acid, such as lemon juice, with vegetables which are hard to keep, has resulted in the saving of a tremendous amount of work in canning these things and a great saving in the amounts lost by ^^ spoilage'' after can- ning. Why Food ''Spoils' 11 DKYING Most vegetables and fruits in their normal condition are made up very largely of water. Many of them contain 80 to 90 per cent, of plain ordinary H2O. A pumpkin is actually more fluid than milk — if its cell-structure were the same as that of milk it would be served at the table in a pitcher and poured out into glasses ! Now these little bacteria which I have referred to — and will have to mention again many times in the following chapters — cannot increase and multiply un- less their surroundings contain a certain amount of moisture. Long ago our ancestors, when they still wore callouses instead of cordovans on their feet, and furs around their loins instead of around their necks, discovered that certain fruits put on hot stones in the sun or strung up on strings to dry, could be saved for win- ter. Of course they knew not the reason for this, but the fact was of very practical im- portance. Up until the days of our grand- 12 Save It for Winter mothers, fruits generally and a few vegeta- bles were **sun dried,'' or dried over the stove, or ''evaporated," very generally. Then canning came in, and as these dry products were hard to prepare and not wholly satisfactory, evaporating became almost a lost art in the home. In certain dry climates it continues to be used extensively in the preparations of certain fruits for market. But by the new methods vegetables and fruits of almost all kinds can be dried easily, quickly, and cleanly in the home with inex- pensive apparatus. There is every indication that within the next few years dried vegeta- bles will again be as common in every home as canned vegetables. By the new methods we take the moisture out with a continuous current of heated air, called the process of ' ' dehydrating, ' ' which in plain English means ''taking out the water'' — and thus frustrate the diabolical purposes of the destructive bacteria which would otherwise claim our vegetables and fruits as their natural prey. Whij Food ''Spoils'' 18 PICKLING AND PEESERVING Fruits, vegetables, or nuts to be ** pickled'' are put into an acid or saline solution. Pick- led products ^^keep'' merely because the bac- teria, which constitute the army of General Decay, refuse to live and have their being in the brine or acid saturated tissues of the product. Those who are familiar with the old fashioned Dill Pickle, hooked out of an open barrel and handed out on a piece of brown wrapping paper, can in this instance sympathize with the bacteria! But there are good pickles, mighty good pickles. No supply of things to be kept for winter can be considered complete without a generous proportion. And, personally, I have never been able to understand why it is impossible to get manufactured pickles which are as good as those made at home, but such seems to be the case. Sugar, like salt and acid, is used to help to preserve certain fruits and vegetables by making a condition that is unfavorable to 14 Save It foi^ Winter the growth of destructive micro-organisms. It is the '* common-denominator'' in most jel- lies, preserves, and conserves. In many- cases, however, much more sugar is used than is really required. This not only makes an unnecessary expense, but also a product that is insipid or oversweet, where a much more appetizing one might just as well be obtained. The use of perfectly fresh fruit and of sani- tary methods in putting up the product will help materially in cutting down the amount of sugar necessary. STOKING Vegetables to be ** stored'' for winter are merely put where they will be under condi- tions, as nearly as possible, like those Nature intended them to have, and where the pres- ence of bacteria will be discouraged, and the evaporation of water from the plant tissues, causing them to wilt or shrivel, will be as far as possible prevented. Storerooms, cellars and vegetable-pits are familiar to most peo- ple. It is, however, surprising how little use Wh2j Food ''Spoils'' 15 is made of some of the simple methods of keeping vegetables over winter where there is not a storeroom or a good cellar. These may be found described in detail in the chap- ter on the storing of vegetables and fruits. And so, after all, the general principles in- volved in the matter of saving food for fu- ture use are not complicated, and the work by modem methods is not difficult. If you would live more cheaply and more healthfully than you have heretofore, *^save it for win- ter!'' CHAPTER III WHAT CAN BE SAVED What range of variety can we have in the garden which is grown for storing in the cel- lar and on the pantry shelves for winter? With the old methods which were used al- most exclusively until within the last few years, the number of vegetables and fruits which could be conveniently put up with any degree of certainty that they would not ^'spoiP' was quite limited. With the newer methods, however, sug- gested in the previous chapter and described in detail in those to follow, and by using all of the methods of food saving outlined, it is pos- sible without any elaborate equipment or ex- pert training in the work, to save for winter almost the complete range of vegetables and fruits which we enjoy from the summer gar- den. 16 4) (D ^ a "Bi 0) a; > o rr. m ^ o; II ^^ ^■f So ^ a; o ^ C '-' tC ■£ 00 ^•5 What Can Be Saved 17 There are, of course, many conditions which affect the success of the food saving enterprise in any particular case. Some vegetables may be kept very easily and others are very difficult to keep; for this and for other reasons no general rules for either can- ning, drying or storing will apply. The first thing which any one who is beginning the practice of food saving should thoroughly understand is that directions must be fol- lowed carefully. Another factor affecting success is the con- dition of the product to be saved. The old rule of procedure that, ^'We eat what we can and what we can't we can*' — or as the Englishman repeated it, ^^We eat what we can and what we can't we tin" — cannot be counted upon if one wishes either satisfac- tory quality in the product put up or full success in keeping the things that are put up. In this chapter are mentioned most of the fruits and vegetables which ordinarily can be satisfactorily kept for winter. 18 Save It for Winter GETTING THE KAW MATERIALS RIGHT All the products used for canning, drying, or storing should be in perfect condition. Neglect in this particular is the cause of more trouble and loss than probably any other one thing in connection with keeping food for future use. For the best results it is necessary not only to have products which are absolutely free from decay, but to have those that are at just the right stage of develop- ment or ripeness to be used to give a product of superior quality. Much of the prejudice against canned vegetables and fruit has been due to the fact that the general source of raw materials was surpluses from the gar- den. These surpluses were not made use of for canning or for drying until they had passed their prime, so far as table quality was concerned, and had begun to deteriorate in this respect even if perfectly firm and sound and free from decay. Vegetables of many kinds change decidedly in texture as they reach maturity, and become pithy or What Can Be Saved 19 fibrous; this makes them not only poor in quality but much more difficult to prepare. There is another reason why the product to be used for saving for winter should be obtained or gathered while comparatively young. In many vegetables and fruits, fur- ther growth or chemical changes continue to take place even after harvesting. There is always a tendency for the vegetable or fruit to reach complete maturity before being sub- ject to the attacks of destructive bacteria. Therefore all products which are fully ma- tured or overripe have a tendency to spoil much more quickly than the same products if taken at an earlier stage of development. Hence there are many reasons why all de- cayed stuff, or even overripe or overmatured vegetables or fruit, should be discarded, or, if not bad enough for that, put up by them- selves, when canning or drying. These sec- ond grade products, if put aside for early use, may be well worth keeping; mixed with other things, however, they might become a 20 Save It for Winter source of contagion that would result in con- siderable loss. The modern idea of saving foodstuffs for winter, however, is not merely to make use of surpluses, but to plant and to grow crops especially for this purpose. In this way they may be had when there is most time to do the work and gathered when they are in per- fect condition. Most of the fruits, of course, must be taken in their regular season, but provision can be made in advance to can or dry them im- mediately they have been obtained. All soft fruits begin to spoil very quickly^ and where there is a day or two of delay in getting ready to do the work after they have been bought or picked, there is a great deal more work in putting them up, and a product of doubtful quality. In both canning and drying vegetables, also, it is important to use them the same day that they are gathered, if possible. With products from the home garden, everything should be in readiness in the kitchen before What Can Be Saved 21 one goes into the garden after the crops that may be wanted. In the following paragraphs the sugges- tions are given as to just when the different vegetables or fruits should be used to be in the best condition, with a mention of the vari- eties w^hich will prove satisfactory for this purpose, and especially satisfactory for sav- ing for winter. In the planting table at the end of the chapter are shown the approxi- mate number of days that it will take the different crops to be ready for use and the date for planting to have them ready at a given time. VEGETABLES AND FRUITS THAT CAN BE SAVED AND HOW TO GET THEM IN THE BEST CONDITION Asparagus: This is usually kept by can- ning but may also be dried. Surplus may readily be used, but if setting out a new bed it will be well to allow for saving part of the crop for winter use. Preparation for both canning and drying is easy, and the keeping qualities are good. The crop is ready to save 22 Save It for Winter from early spring to June. If white stalks are preferred they should be produced by hilling up along the rows before the sprouts start. Beans: These are one of the most valuable and most profitable vegetables to be saved for winter. Many kinds, of course, can be saved in the dry state, and generous plant- ings of these should be made. The snap and butter or Lima beans can be saved for winter by canning or dehydrating. They are easy to prepare and sometimes they are kept by pickling in a salt pack. While surpluses may be used, it is better to make plantings espe- cially for winter use ; otherwise the seeds will be of uneven development with many too old to be of the best quality. Beans are very easily grown and yield heavily, the prepara- tion is easy and they keep excellently. The snap and butter varieties can be had any time during summer or early fall. Those wanted to keep in a dry state are usually planted in time to mature early in the fall. For canning or drying beans, use Stringless What Can Be Saved 23 Green Pod or Brittle Wax or other similar types. Where the space is limited a large yield may be obtained by planting pole vari- eties, such as Kentucky Wonder, McCasland, or Golden Cluster. For drying there are, among the dwarf sorts, several different types, such as Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, and Boston Pea Beans, all of which grow readily even on soil which might be consid- ered a little poor for most garden vegetables. Pole beans, such as the Horticultural and Case Knife, are grown especially for keeping in the dry state ; most of the early varieties of bush beans, the bush Limas and the pole Limas can be kept for winter in the dry state if the surplus pods are picked and carefully dried and stored as soon as they mature. Beets: While the simplest way of keeping beets, where the facilities are present, is to store them, they can also be tinned, dried or pickled. While small amounts may be put up from the garden surplus by the drying method, it is much better to make one or more plantings particularly for winter use. 24 Save It for Winter Beets to be stored for winter should always be grown especially for this purpose from a late planting. The yield is large for the space occupied, the crop is one very easily grown, and the keeping qualities are excel- lent, so that altogether beets are among the best vegetables for winter use. They may be had as planned for any time from early summer on. If for drying it will be well to have them ready before real hot weather is over. If for canning, early in the fall when the work can be done more conveniently. The crop planned for storing should be planted so late that they will be just good table size in time to take them out of the ground before freezing. Early Model and Dark Ked Ball are two extra high quality varieties, the latter being of a very deep color which makes it attractive for keeping. For winter stor- age I know of no sort superior to Detroit Dark Eed. .Brussels Sprouts: This member of the cabbage family is particularly hardy and can be kept out of doors where grown until What Can Be Saved 25 Christmas or later and is easily stored there- after. To most people's taste they are more delicious than the best cabbage. The yield, however, is not as great. If wanted for win- ter use, they should, of course, be planted to mature later in the fall. Cabbage: One of the most universally used winter vegetables, as it is readily stored and transported. It is, however, rather bulky, and where space is limited can be kept easily by drying; also used to a large extent pickled. Surplus cabbage in the garden is usually wasted but can easily be kept by de- hydrating. A special planting, however, should be made for winter use. The yield is large, preparation for keeping is easy, the keeping qualities are excellent, and for every family which is not too aristocratic to object strenuously to having its unpleasing odor penetrate through every room in the house, it should form one of the mainstays of the winter vegetable supply. Copenhagen Mar- ket and All Seasons are two of the best vari- eties for summer use, Danish Ballhead and 26 Save It for Winter Flat Dutch are the two standards for winter storage. The latter is more sure to make good heads though not quite so solid. The Savoy or Wrinkled Cabbage is a finer quality than any of the others, and is especially good for dehydrating. Carrots: They are usually stored like other winter root crops. Carrots are very easily and very well kept by dehydrating. By either method, however, the roots should be young and tender when taken; 95 per cent, of the carrots obtained in market or home grown are far too old to be of the best table quality. They are heavy yielders, eas- ily grown, and keep excellently. The surplus from the summer crops may be made use of for dehydrating, and a late planting made for winter use. There are several different types of carrots which vary considerably in shape and length. Danver's Half Long is the stand- ard for general purposes. New Amsterdam and Coreless are newer varieties which, while of moderate length, hold their shape well What Can Be Saved 27 to the end, so that they can be prepared with less waste and are of superior quality. Cauliflower: By proper storing this may be'kept well into the winter; it can also be saved by dehydrating although it turns rather dark. It is, of course, a favorite ingredient for mixed pickles of several kinds. The sur- plus of the spring-planted crop may be used for dehydrating, and a special late planting made for storing and the putting up of pickles in the fall. Dry Weather and Snow- ball or Best Early are the standard sure heading varieties. Celery: This is universally grown as a fall and winter crop. Not everywhere, how- ever, are there facilities for storing it in the ordinary way. Where space is lacking it can be kept very satisfactorily by dehydrat- ing, for which purpose any surplus among the early plants may be utilized. The dwarf growing, easily blanched varieties, such as Golden Self-blanching, Winter Queen, Ford- hook Emperor, and Easy Blanching, should be used. 28 Save It for Winter Greens: This includes such vegetables as Swiss chard, kale, Chinese cabbage, beet tops, Marsh marigolds or ^'cowslips,'' and so forth. Any of these may be either canned or dehydrated. As this kind of vegetable is usually the most scarce, and the most lack- ing in the winter diet, it is a good plan to save such surpluses as there may be through the summer by dehydrating small quantities, which can be done readily, and to make late plantings of whatever sorts are liked the best for canning. Leehs: While less economical to grow than onions, they can be kept by dehydrating the surplus of the summer crop. The regular garden crop saved in this way will answer for most families, as a little will go a long way. Mushrooms: This delicate vegetable is easily kept by canning; and where they may be obtained growing wild in large quantities it makes one of the cheapest as well as one of the most delicious winter dishes. No one should attempt to put them up, however, who What Can Be Saved 29 has not had enough experience to be abso- lutely certain that only the non-poisonous kind are being used — better to go without them at all than to provide subject matter for an obituary in your local paper. Where mushrooms are home grown they may be had fresh in winter as well as in summer. Okra: This may be either canned or de- hydrated, or simply dried. In either case it will make a very agreeable flavoring for a change in the winter's soups and stews. The pods should be taken while quite small. It is easily grown, and one planting will prob- ably furnish all that is wanted for winter in addition to that used for summer. Onions: These are usually kept by stor- ing, but as they are much more difficult to keep than most of the root crops, they are a good product for dehydrating if they can be obtained cheaply when the market is apt to be over-supplied in the fall, or where they can be grown in the home garden although there may be no facilities for storing them. Those for either storing or dehydrating will 30 Save It for Winter be produced from the regular spring-sown crop. They are easily dried and lose little of their flavor in the process. The white vari- eties are easily grown but they are more diffi- cult to harvest and to keep than the yellow and red sorts; the white varieties are the mildest in flavor. Dehydrating is therefore a very good way of keeping the tenderer and milder sorts. Onions are also used in many pickle mixtures or pickled by themselves. Parsnips: This is one of the easiest vege- tables of all to store for winter use, as they may merely be left in the ground. Part of the crop, however, should be taken up to be stored or dehydrated for use during mid-win- ter. To have parsnips of the best quality the seeds should not be planted nearly as early as is usually done. Peas: These are easily either canned or dehydrated, provided enough of them can be got at one time in just the right condition. If surpluses from small plantings are depended on, there are likely to be many too old or too young. Special plantings should be made What Can Be Saved 31 for winter use. It is best to plant these to mature just before the coming of hot weather ; then if the crop fails another chance may be taken by planting early in the autumn in time to mature the crop before frost. As extreme earliness is no particular advantage, a large-podded, fine-flavored variety should be grown. In the dwarf varieties there are British Wonder, Blue Bantam and Laxato- nian ; in the taller growing kinds, which need support of some kind, there are Gradus, Thomas Laxton, and Alderman. It takes more room and is more work to put up a given amount of peas than of many of the other garden products, but they keep readily and their delicious flavor makes it well worth while. Peppers : These may be dried, dehydrated, or used in connection with other vegetables in various pickles and condiments. Surplus of the stock for summer and fall use may easily be saved and utilized, as they are easily handled in small quantities. For pickling and preserving, the pungent varieties, such 32 Save It for Winter as Long Eed Cayenne, or Tabasco, are used ; for canning and drying, the milder, thick- fleshed sorts are preferable. Of these one of the best and earliest to mature is Neapoli- tan. The standard general-purpose pepper is Euby King. Chinese Giant is the largest of all, but also the latest to mature, so, un- less it can be planted early, use one of the others. Potatoes: The white or Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes are grown more extensively for winter use than any other vegetable. They are, of course, kept ordinarily by stor- ing, although the ^' sweets '* are not stored so generally in the home, as they are much more difficult to keep than white potatoes. Both kinds, however, are easily dehydrated and keep excellently. Sweet potatoes espe- cially are one of the best vegetables for de- hydrating, and a considerable amount should be put up while the tubers can be purchased cheaply in the fall. While the yield of either Irish or sweet potatoes, where the conditions are favorable, is good, nevertheless they are What Can Be Saved 33 not crops which can be grown profitably, com- pared to most of the other root crops, in the home garden. If one can watch the market carefully in the fall or is able to buy direct from the grower, they can almost always be bought cheaper than they can be grown in a small way, unless one has ground available after planting all the other things which ordi- narily are required in the home garden. Irish Cobbler for early and Green Mountain or Gold Coin for late, are the standard vari- eties of Irish potatoes and are all of excel- lent quality as well as good yielders. Sweet potatoes may be grown much farther north, as a home garden proposition, than they are grown commercially. I have matured good crops in northern Connecticut. An early va- riety such as Jersey Eed should be used. Pumpkin: This is another crop which is easily kept for w^inter either by storing or dehydrating. Table or sugar pumpkins are easily prepared for keeping and will keep well. In many home gardens where they are never grown they could be planted to advan- 34 Save It for Winter tage rather late in the season, as they will make satisfactory growth among sweet corn, pole beans, tomatoes, or near the edge of the garden where they can run out over the grass or climb a fence. If one can get out into the country they can often be obtained for little or nothing from some farmer who has more than he wants for his own use. Rhubarb: A generous amount of this very delicious and very prolific vegetable should be grown in every home garden. A few plants well cared for will give a sufficient supply for the average family for both sum- mer and winter use. Ehubarb, because it will continue to live and throw up a few tough stalks with no care at all, is generally alto- gether neglected in the home garden, the yield being not over a fifth to a tenth of what it would be if properly attended to. Salsify : ^ ' Oyster-plant, ' ' as it is generally known, is somewhat similar to parsnips though making a much smaller root ; and like parsnips it is uninjured by freezing and may be kept in the ground over winter. Part of What Can Be Saved 35 the crop, however, should be taken up in the fall for winter use and saved either by stor- ing or by dehydrating. While they yield less than parsnips they make a very agreeable change in the winter vegetable menu, and un- less the garden space is very limited a supply should be grown by every one who expects to put up a complete assortment of vegetables for winter use. Spinach : While what has been said in gen- eral in regard to *^ Greens'* applies to spin- ach, it should be kept in mind that there are several types and the varieties for planting for winter use should be selected according to preference and to the season during which they will be grown. For spring sowing use All Seasons and Victoria; these are also good for early summer use. New Zealand, which is of a running habit of growth and gives a continuous yield through the hottest weather, is an entirely distinct type. For fall use. All Seasons and Victoria may be sown again. Squash: Squash, like pumpkin, may be 36 Save It for Winter saved for winter by storing, canning, or dry- ing. It would be mucli more generally grown for summer use if it were commonly recog- nized that there are bush and small growing varieties which give a heavy yield of medium- sized fruits which will keep excellently for winter. One of these is Fordhook, which may be obtained either in the vine or the bush form. Another which makes a moderate length of vine, with the fruits set close to- gether, is Delicata. Both of these have very hard thin rinds and will keep excellently; they are much earlier in maturing than the standard winter varieties; and can be sown among sweet corn or along the edge of a gar- den or near a fence, up to the middle of sum- mer, and will yield a generous supply of first quality squashes for winter use, to be either stored or canned or dehydrated. Of the stand- ard winter varieties, Delicious and Warted Hubbard are especially good. Tomato: This is another vegetable that is among the very best for winter use. While there are likely to be surpluses from the reg- What Can Be Saved 37 ular crop, if many are to be put up it will be well to make a planting especially for this purpose. Tomatoes yield very heavily and if staked up and cared for are one of the most profitable vegetables for winter which can possibly be grown in the home garden. Be- ing acid, they not only keep excellently them- selves but serve as a preservative when put up with other things. They are easily pre- pared for canning and can be prepared for table in a great variety of ways for winter. While tomatoes cannot be stored over win- ter, nevertheless, if carefully put up they can be kept until Christmas or later to be used as fresh fruit. Try some this way. (See directions in Chapter VII.) Many home gardeners make the mistake of trying to obtain the largest fruiting toma- toes which they can. The very largest fruit- ing sorts are not the heaviest yielders. Get a medium-sized variety of good dark red color, such as Chalk's Jewel, Bonny Best, Matchless, Stone, or Globe. The first two of these are considerably earlier and therefore 38 Save It for Winter preferable for late planting, especially for canning. There are varieties with smooth, medium-sized fruit of excellent quality. Turnip : This vegetable is one of the most valuable for winter use because of the tre- mendous yields it gives, its freedom from insects and disease, and the very short time required in which to mature a crop, so that it may be planted after most spring and sum- mer vegetables and still have time to mature. Turnips are excellent winter keepers, and where there is storage room that is the sim- plest way to save the crop. They can, how- ever, be either canned or dehydrated readily. The regular varieties of turnips grow so rap- idly that special care must be taken to get them while they are still small and tender. Both for storing and for saving for winter use it is better to delay sowing until about mid-summer and then use a medium-sized va- riety of excellent table quality, such as Amber Globe, Purple Top, Strap Leaf, or White Rutabagas are first cousin to the turnips What Can Be Saved 39 and largely grown for winter use. They take a little longer time to grow and must be planted earlier. While the large, coarse va- rieties are used mostly for stock, a fine- grained, tender sort, such as Bread Stone, or Golden Neckless, is as good as any turnip for table use. FEUITS In the nature of the case, home grown sup- plies of fruit cannot be as readily adjusted to the requirements of the winter table as can vegetables. If fruit is being set out, however, one^s requirements for winter should be taken into consideration. The great majority of country places and even small suburban places could grow with profit several times the amount of fruit which they now produce. Most of the fruits are highly perishable and they may often be obtained in season very cheaply when there is an over- supply; especially if one has the means of getting out to the sources of production they can be had at prices which will make saving 40 Save It for Winter them for winter a very profitable undertak- ing. The hard fruits, such as apples, pears and quinces, may be stored for winter if perfect specimens of the suitable varieties are used. Varieties which will not keep, or specimens selected from good winter varieties which may have been bruised or become spotted, may be either canned or dehydrated by re- moving the injured part. Soft fruits, such as apricots, cherries, figs, peaches, plums, are usually canned ; but they make, of course, rather bulky products and if a generous supply of the fruit is available, more than can readily be canned, some of it should be saved by dehydrating. This will give a product equally good for many pur- poses, occupying very much less space, and not necessitating the use of glass containers to keep it. Citrous fruits may be saved by canning, al- though some of them are more frequently kept in the forms of jam or marmalade. Berries, including blackberries, blueber- What Can Be Saved 41 H PQ d o t-H ►^ d a O O PQ < O > O PQ ^ ^1 < Ph w 03 ^ >0 O lO lOi-Hi-^^ T-l c^^ iO I— 1 T-H rH ,-H ,-H i-H i-H tH H » -^ -^ o -tJ o fe ^^^^^^^^^ 2J2 ^^ ^ 3 ^ ^^ ^ 1-1 1 M5 '^ »6 rH {ji) tH ^ *a C3 5^§'9SS33 ^^3 57 § :3 3 :3 5 ^^^^^1^6 77»if^^ ^i j^j^;A THrH^^^^^^^ ,-H ^ ^ ,-) T-l '-< T-Hi-H i-H i-H .-H lll^g^a^a l^^^^g a| III o 1 1— 1 o 3 lOLO in ^ *-i I0i0l0»0 b»s ,-1 '-< i-H rH lO ,-1,-lr-llO 4^ T-H 1 lO i-H i-H lO '-"-' Uti l-c o 7777^^777^^77^ ^2 i^^^7^ »o lo lo Jj 7 7 Jj -O^J^ ft oT aT to" ,, d d d^ c3 ^ ^ d 3rO f_ •5 1^ o3 ^ d § d d fH (iia»^ 2 to 3 2}4 to 3 3 to 3J^ 3 2y2 to 3 3 to 3)^ 3 to 4 2^ to 3 2y2 to 3 2 to 3 2J^ to 3 2}4 to 3 3 to 214 3 to 3>^ ' " i to 4 ' 3 3 to 4 3 to 4 3 to 4 4 to 6 4 to 6 4 to 5 2 to 4 4 to 6 4 to 6 4 to 6 4 to 6 Temperature (Fahrenheit) Degrees to 140 to 145 to 145 to 145 to 150 to 145 to 145 to 150 to 145 to 140 to 150 to 140 to 140 to 140 to 150 to 145 to 145 to 140 to 140 to 145 to 145 to 140 to 145 to 140 to 145 to 150 to 150 to 140 to 150 to 150 to 150 to 150 to 150 J CHAPTER VI PICKLES, PKESERVES AND JELLIES With the newer and more efficient methods of saving vegetables and fruits by canning and by drying, the necessity for the nse of pickles, preserves and jellies is to a large ex- tent done away with. In other words, it is possible, where it may seem desirable to do so, to keep the products of which these things are made in more nearly their natural form. But no cellar or storeroom of food saved for winter is complete without a goodly propor- tion of pickles, preserves and jellies. They add very greatly to the variety and the zest of the winter diet, and should be provided for in planning the summer's campaign for food saving, just as much so as vegetables and fruit for canning and drying. WHY PICKLES, PRESERVES OR JELLIES **KEEP'' As already explained, vegetables and fruits ^^ spoil" as the result of the presence of cer- 119 120 Save It for Winter tain vegetable bacteria or molds or yeasts, which begin to attack them soon, sometimes within a few hours, after they have been har- vested or are fully matured. Among the sev- eral conditions which make it impossible for the bacteria or molds to exist, is a surplus amount of acid or sugar. In pickles, the acid or saline condition of the product keeps them safe from attack. In preserves, the surplus of sugar accomplishes the same purpose. Most of the jellies are too acid to afford fa- vorable conditions to bacteria. The molds which might develop upon them have to have for their existence a continuous and abundant supply of oxygen, so that if they are sealed tightly or covered with paraffin they are safe from attack because the supply of oxygen is shut off. WHEN TO GET AND USE PRODUCTS MEANT FOR PICKLING, PRESERVING OR JELLIES In the chapters on canning, drying and storing, the necessity for getting the products while young and tender was emphasized. All Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 121 that was said there applies equally to vege- tables or fruits meant for pickling. For pre- serves and jellies, however, another fact must be taken into consideration. That is, the sugar contents of vegetables, and to a greater extent of fruits, increases rapidly as they ap- proach the stage of the becoming fully ripe. If fruits are gathered too green the sugar content is low and both the keeping qualities and the table qualities are affected. In the making of jellies, of course, the test that is always looked for anxiously is to see whether the product is going to ^^jell." The reason why it will do so sometimes, and will not others, under apparently similar condi- tions, is that the ^* jellying,'' or setting or hardening of the syrup, is due to the presence of pectin in the fruit. This material, like sugar, increases as the plant approaches ripe- ness — but it again diminishes rapidly as the fruit gets overripe. Because of the necessity for getting the sugar and the pectin in as great abundance as possible, fruits for preserves and jellies 122 Save It for Winter should be taken as near the stage of just be- coming fully ripe as possible. But to be on the safe side, it is best to aim at getting them slightly before that period is reached. This is a very important point, and one that too often is not taken into consideration. Fruits for pickling, on the other hand, may be ob- tained in a much greener condition; in fact for some purposes they are preferred green, as they are much more firm and will hold their shape better. RECIPES FOR PICKLES, PRESERVES AND JELLIES The following are recipes for a number of the most important of standard pickles, pre- serves and jellies. There are, of course, many more which can be obtained from other sources. No attempt is made here to include everything, but the recipes given cover a wide enough range to save for winter, in this form, practically all of the vegetables and fruits usually obtainable either in the garden or at low prices in the market. Peach Butter: Wash the peaches and re- Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 123 move the ^'fuzz^' by rubbing them with a damp cloth, but do not peel them. Place them in a granite kettle, add a little water, and stew them until they are very tender. Kun them through a fruit press or colander to remove the pits and skins. Put the pulp into a clean preserving kettle and sweeten it to suit the taste. Boil it until it is very thick and of a rich color, stirring it constantly. Pour while boiling hot, and seal at once. Note: Peach butter is ordinarily consid- ered better if it does not contain spices. Caution: Use great care in making the butter; stir it constantly and vigorously, so it will not burn. Pear Preserves: Use the small sugar pears, if they can be secured. Wash and peel the pears, cut them into halves, and steam them until a straw can readily be passed through them. Drop the pears into a heavy boiling syrup and boil them until they are a rich red color, skimming the syrup as often as is necessary. A few slices of lemon im- prove the flavor. Dip the pears out carefully, 124 Save It for Winter place them in jars, and boil the syrup until it begins to jell around the edges. While it is still boiling hot, pour it into the jars until they overflow, and seal them at once. Quince Jelly: Remove the ^^fuzz'^ with a damp cloth. Cut the quinces into small pieces, put them into a preserving kettle, cover them with water, and boil them until they are soft. Proceed according to the directions given for Apple Jelly, Apple Jelly: Wash the apples and cut them into pieces without peeling them or re- moving the cores and seeds. Put them into a kettle, just cover them with cold water, and cook them until they are soft and tender. Transfer them to a jelly bag and let them drain. Carefully avoid applying pressure if clear jelly is desired. When the juice has all drained out, measure it and return it to the kettle. For every pint of juice add a pint of sugar and boil together for twenty or thirty minutes, testing all the time. When it will jell on a cool plate it is done. Pour into jelly glasses and cover it with melted paraffin. Pickles J Preserves and Jellies 125 Apple Butter: Use sweet cider of good quality, and apples that cook easily. Boil the cider down one-half. Wash, peel, quarter and core the apples. Then boil together rap- idly equal amounts of apples and boiled-down cider. If the boiling is slow the apples at once sink to the bottom and are liable to scorch. After the first two hours, constant and vigorous stirring is necessary to prevent burning. If the butter becomes too thick be- fore it is perfectly smooth, add a little more cider and continue the boiling and stirring. Add sugar at any time after the stirring be- gins if the butter is not sweet enough. Spice the butter to suit the taste. Damson Plum Preserves: Measure out equal amounts of plums and sugar, and put them in layers in a stone crock. Set the crock in a moderately hot oven and cook the con- tents for three hours without stirring. Seal the preserves. Preserved Cherries: Put two quarts of seeded cherries into a wide-bottomed granite pan, pour over them three pints of sugar, and 126 Save It for Winter set the pan over a slow fire. Do not stir the cherries, but shake the pan frequently as if popping corn. As the sugar dissolves, a liquid covers the cherries. After about thirty minutes, or as soon as the liquid forms, in- crease the heat enough to cause simmering. Continue the simmering without stirring for twenty minutes. Seal the preserves. Note: Cherries preserved in this manner have a bright red color and a mild flavor. Eegulate the fire carefully and shake the pan frequently to avoid scorching. Preserved Strawberries, — First Method: Prepare the berries as for canning. Place two quarts in a wide-bottomed preserving kettle and cover them with one and a half quarts of sugar. Place the kettle over a slow fire. Do not stir the berries, but shake the kettle frequently as if popping corn. Gradu- ally the sugar dissolves and the liquid covers the berries. When this point is reached, in- crease the heat enough to cause boiling, and continue the boiling slowly for fifteen min- utes. Place a new rubber on a jar, fill it to Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 127 overflowing with berries and syrup, and seal it at once. Proceed likewise w^ith other jars until all the fruit is sealed. Caution: Strawberries heated thus scorch very easily, so the fire must be carefully watched. Strawberries cannot be preserved successfully by this method if a small-bot- tomed kettle is used. After the boiling-point is reached, avoid hard boiling ; allow the ber- ries to simmer. Preserved Strawberries. — Second Method: Prepare the berries and a heavy syrup as for canning. While the syrup is boiling rapidly, drop in large, firm berries until the syrup is thick with them but not crowded. Lower the heat somewhat and continue the boiling for fifteen minutes, or until the berries are a rich red color and the syrup is thick. Place a new rubber on a jar, fill it to overflowing with the berries and syrup, and seal it at once. Proceed likewise with other jars until the pre- serves are all sealed. Caution: Do not cook more than two quarts of berries in the kettle at one time. 128 Save It for Winter Strawherry Marmalade: Marmalade af- fords the best means of utilizing small and overripe berries free from decay. Wash the berries carefully and quickly, stem them, place them in a preserving kettle, crush them, and add three-fourths as much sugar as there is crushed fruit. Boil the marmalade over a slow fire for twenty minutes, stirring it often enough to prevent scorching. Seal it in jars. Gooseberry Preserves: Stem and wash the berries, put them into a preserving kettle, half cover them with water, and boil them until they are tender but not until the skins burst. Add as much sugar as there is fruit. Stew the mixture until it is a rich amber color. Seal the preserves in jars or pour them into jelly glasses and cover them with melted paraffin. Caution: Use care to prevent scorching. Gooseberry and Rhubarb Marmalade: Stem, wash and mash the gooseberries and add any proportion of young rhubarb de- sired. Place the mixture in a preserving kettle, add enough water to cover the bottom Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 129 well, and allow it to simmer slowly until the fruit is soft. Add as much sugar as there is fruit, and continue the boiling slowly for twenty minutes longer. Seal the marmalade jars, or pour it into jelly glasses and cover it with melted paraffin. Caution: Stir the marmalade constantly while it is boiling to prevent scorching. Red Raspberry Marmalade: Wash and drain the berries, crush them thoroughly, place them in a mde-bottomed granite pan, and bring them quickly to a boil. Eun the mass through a fruit press to remove all seeds. Measure the pulp and juice and place it in a clean granite pan with three-fourths as much sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and then allow it to simmer for ten minutes. Pour the marmalade into jelly glasses and cover it with melted paraffin. Black Raspberry Preserves: Follow the directions given for Preserved Strawberries. Use either method. Preserved Pineapple: Peel the pineapple and remove the eyes. With a silver fork re- 130 Save It for Winter move small pieces mitil the core is reached, beginning at the small end. When enough pineapple is thus prepared, place it in the preserving kettle, and add three-fourths as much sugar. Allow this to stand until it forms a syrup. Then cook the mixture slowly until the pineapple becomes transparent. Transfer to jars, till them to overflowing with the boiling syrup, and seal them immediately. Grape Jelly: Wash the bunches thor- oughly, remove the fruit from the stems, put the grapes into a preserving kettle, add a little water, and boil slowly until the grapes burst open and are soft enough to drain. Drain the juice through a cheese-cloth bag, measure it, and add an equal amount of sugar. Cook the sweetened juice in a porce- lain kettle rapidly for about twelve minutes or until a little of the juice hardens when cooled on a saucer, skimming it frequently. For green grape jelly the fruit should be gathered just as it begins to turn color. Rhubarb Marmalade: Put into preserving kettle two quarts of young rhubarb cut into Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 131 cubes. Add from one to two quarts of sugar (depending upon the desired richness ), the pulp and juice of two oranges, and one cup- ful of blanched almonds chopped fine. Boil the mixture very slowly for three hours, or until it has a rich red color. Seal the mar- malade in jars or pour into jelly glasses and cover it with melted paraffin. Note: If desired, two sliced lemons may be added ; and the nuts may be omitted. Caution: The marmalade must be stirred frequently while boiling to prevent scorch- ing. Rhubarb Conserve: Cook together for five minutes two quarts of rhubarb, two and a half cupfuls of sugar, and the pulp and juice of two oranges ground fine. Add one pound of seeded raisins chopped fine and cook the mix- ture five minutes longer. Remove the con- serve from the fire, add two cupfuls of nut meats chopped fine, and seal the conserve in jars. Orange Marmalade: Remove the seeds and slice thin six oranges and three lemons. Add 132 Save It for Winter three pints of water for each pint of fruit. Let the mixture stand twenty-four hours; then boil it an hour. When it cools add an equal amount of sugar and boil it an hour longer. Seal the marmalade in jars, or pour it into jelly glasses and cover it with melted paraffin. Note: This makes about twenty glasses of marmalade. A little more sugar may be added if desired. Pickled String Beans: Wash and string the beans, but do not break them. Cover them with cold water and boil them ten min- utes. Drain off the water, and then imme- diately pour boiling water over them. Salt them as for table use and boil them until they are tender. Skim out the beans and place them in jars. While the beans are boiling-hot, cover them with boiling vinegar sweetened and spiced to suit the taste, and seal the jars at once. Pickled Onions: Remove with a knife the outer skins of small silver-skinned onions so that each is white and clean ; put the onions Pickles, Preserves and Jellies 133 into a brine strong enough to bear up an egg, and let them stand twent^^-four hours. Drain them and place them in jars, putting in thin layers made up of horseradish, cinna- mon bark, cloves, and a little cayenne pepper. Heat to the boiling-point a gallon of vinegar and a quart of brown sugar ; pour the boiling syrup into the jars until they overflow, and seal the jars at once. Note: In making the seasoning use these proportions : Half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, two teaspoonfuls of chopped horse- radish, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, four tea- spoonfuls of cinnamon bark. Pickled Beets: Boil the beets in water un- til they are tender, and then put them into jars. Measure out equal parts of good cider vinegar and water, and add a little sugar and salt. Heat this mixture, pour it over the beets while it is boiling-hot, and seal the jars at once. Cauliflower Mustard Pickle: Divide a large head of cauliflower into pieces and boil it with a dozen white button onions in salted 134 Save It for Winter water until it is about half done. Drain the cauliflower and onions, and add a dozen dill pickles chopped fine. To two quarts of vine- gar add two cupfuls of sugar, two teaspoon- fuls of celery seed, and one teaspoonful of mustard seed, and bring the whole to a boil. Mix together three-fourths of a cupful of flour, a quarter of a pound of ground mus- tard, a tablespoonful of tumeric powder, and a little cold water; add this mixture to the boiling vinegar and continue the boiling fiYQ minutes longer. Pour the boiling mix- ture over the pickle and seal it in jars. Note: This pickle is easily prepared. The above amounts make about a gallon of pickle. Chow Chow: Chop together two quarts of green tomatoes, twelve small cucumbers, four green peppers, a small head of cabbage, six onions, and a quart of string beans. Let the mixture stand in a covered enamel pan over night. In the morning put the mixture into a pan with alternate layers of salt, using a cupful of salt, and reserving enough for the last layer. After this has stood twelve hours, Pickles J Presei'ves and Jellies 135 drain it. To a gallon of vinegar add a table- spoonful each of celery seed, mustard, all- spice, pepper and cloves ; heat the mixture to the boiling-point, add the vegetables, and cook them until they are tender. Seal the chow chow in jars. Piccalilli: Chop together a peck of green tomatoes, a head of cabbage, eight large on- ions, and three red or green peppers. Add a cupful of salt and let the mixture stand over night. In the morning drain off the liquid, add two quarts of vinegar, one pound of brown sugar, a quarter of a pound of mus- tard seed, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of ground black pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne pep- per, and a bag containing a tablespoonful of cloves, a tablespoonful of allspice, and two tablespoonfuls of ginger. Boil the mixture for thirty minutes, stirring it frequently to prevent scorching and seal the piccalilli in jars. Chili Sauce: Peel and slice a peck of ripe tomatoes, and add six green peppers chopped 136 Save It for Winter fine, six onions chopped fine, two tablespoon- fuls of cinnamon, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, one tablespoonful of salt, two cupfuls of brown sugar and five cupfuls of vinegar. Boil the mixture two hours, and seal the chili sauce in jars. Sweet Green Tomato Pickles: Mix to- gether one peck of green sliced tomatoes, six large sliced onions, and one teacupful of salt. Let the mixture stand over night, and in the morning drain off the liquid. Boil the mix- ture for fsNQ minutes in two quarts of water and one quart of vinegar. Drain it again. Boil for fifteen minutes four quarts of vine- gar, a quart of brown sugar, half a pound of ground mustard, a tablespoonful of cloves, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, two table- spoonfuls of ginger. Put the drained to- matoes and onions in jars, pour over them the boiling liquid, and seal the jars at once. CHAPTER VII STORING The most natural and the easiest way of saving vegetables and fruits for winter use is to store them. Nature has decreed that cer- tain of the vegetables should keep from the end of one growing season to the beginning of the next, either to renew directly the life cycle, as in the case of the potato, or to fur- nish protection for and sustenance to the sprouting seedling, as in the case of squashes and apples. Such perennial roots as carrots and parsnips complete the all-important job of seed production for the second season. Storage can be used successfully, however, only for crops of this kind, and only where sufficient room and the proper conditions for keeping are available. For these reasons storing alone will not make it possible to have a complete winter larder, and stored prod- 137 138 Save It for Winter nets should be supplemented by the other methods of food saving already described. As a general rule, however, where storing is possible it is the most economical and the most satisfactory way of saving vegetables or fruits for winter. While, as already stated, the list of things which may be saved by storing does not cover the whole garden, nevertheless it does include many more things than usually are saved by this method. This will be seen from the list of vegetables which may be saved, given in the latter part of this chapter. All of these things can be kept for some time after they would naturally perish in the garden, the great majority of them until well into the new year. THE ESSENTIALS OF SUCCESSFUL STOKAGE There are three things essential to make the winter storage of vegetables or fruits suc- cessful. First, a product that is perfect, sound and not overripe ; second, good storage Storing 139 conditions; third, conditions adapted to the product to be kept. Important as it is to use only perfect vege- tables or fruits for canning or drying, it is even more so to have only perfect specimens for storing. The product should be sorted and graded, most carefully. Specimens that are more mature or ripe than the average, or that have been cut or bruised even in the slightest degree, should be culled out from those that are to be kept. These may be kept sepa- rately, to be used first, as they will often keep for some time without any trouble and are perfectly good to use. But the slightest scratch or bruise or ''spot'' must be sufficient to disqualify anything from the box or barrel or bin when they are being put away for the winter. In fact, bruises that are so slight that they can barely be detected will prove a possible source of a great deal of spoilage. For this reason it is a good plan to store temporarily all things which it is difficult to keep, such as hard fruits, onions, pumpkins, squash, etc., and go over them again very 140 Save It foi^ Winter carefully before they are put into final winter quarters. Even with these precau- tions they should be examined occasionally throughout the winter, and sorted over at the first sign of decay. The factors which make for good storage conditions are, in general, three : ventilation, temperature, and the degree of moisture in the air. Of these, ventilation is the one most usually neglected, because its importance is not realized. It is not sufficient, as most persons think, to put the product to be stored in a cold or a warm place to be kept. Closely confined air, either cold or warm, makes for the development of bacteria or mold which causes decay. The first essential to provide for, there- fore, in selecting and making a place to store vegetables — ^whether in the cellar, out of doors, or in the attic — is ventilation. The de- tails of providing ventilation, of course, will depend upon existing conditions, but it should be so arranged as to be easily controlled. Suggestions for providing ventilation for dif- Storing 141 ferent types of rooms and pits for storing are sliowTi in the accompanying cuts. While the temperature in the storage rooms is usually controlled largely by ventilation, that alone cannot be counted upon altogether. With our modern methods of living, where every room in the house is heated and usually there is a furnace or heater of some kind in a small cellar, it is more difficult to find a cool place in which to store vegetables and fruits than was formerly the case. Generally, how- ever, it will be possible either to devote a small room to storage purposes, or to parti- tion off part of the cellar space, which, if it be fitted up to take advantage of all the room available, will accommodate a surprising quantity of vegetables for its size. In mak- ing a storeroom of this kind there should be direct ventilation to the outside, so that the room can be shut off entirely from the heated part of the cellar except when it is required to get things from it. A few things require for their keeping a warm instead of a cool temperature. The 142 Save It for Winter difficulty in providing suitable quarters for these vegetables is in giving them a place where the temperature will be even — a con- stantly varying temperature is not conducive to good keeping. A considerable amount of moisture in the air is required where root crops and other vegetables, which normally would remain in the soil, are to be kept. A dirt floor tends to equalize the air moisture and keep it nor- mal. Where a cement floor has to be used, however, soil, sand, moss, or some similar ma- terial which will keep the vegetables moist without being wet, can be used to pack them in. Pans of water set where they can evapo- rate will also tend to keep a normal amount of moisture in the air. A surplus of mois- ture, however, is just as objectionable as too little : this is one reason why ventilation is important. For a few things the atmosphere should be kept as dry as possible. These ex- ceptions to the general rule are mentioned in the following paragraphs. Storing 143 PROVIDING SUITABLE QUARTERS No matter what, or how much, or how little, one may plan to keep for winter by storing, the best possible place that can be provided to keep it should be prepared in advance. Even if this involves considerable time and trouble and some expense, it will pay to do it; un- less that can be done, it will be best to give up making the attempt at keeping things in this way, as the waste and loss will more than offset any saving which may be made by purchasing in quantity in the fall. In preparing for winter storage, in addi- tion to the factors mentioned above, conveni- ence and control should also be taken into con- sideration. Convenience in putting the vege- tables away, however, is not the only thing to be kept in mind. They will be wanted through the winter months, and while they have to be put into storage only once, one will have to go to them a great many times to take them out. For this reason it will pay to go to considerably more trouble in fixing a reg- 144 Save It for Winter ular cellar or storeroom than it would take to make a pit outside. Kven where one has a storeroom or cellar, however, an outside pit is of great value in keeping vegetables through the winter for use in the spring. Properly protected, they will remain in much better condition than in the cellar. If the pit is in a sheltered place, potatoes and root crops may be taken out in May in as good condition as they were put in in the fall. In the following paragraphs suggestions are given for making or fitting up the vari- ous types of places in which vegetables and fruits may be stored for winter. CELLARS In most old houses the cellars were de- signed for storing and no changes of any great extent are necessary. The ventilation is sometimes inadequate. This may be im- proved by building a box or hood over the cellar window, so that air can be admitted in stormy weather and without letting in much light if it is desired to have the win- Storing 145 dow open during the day. Another mistake is to allow old bins or partitions to remain after they have become half decayed and make the finest kind of camping place for germs and equally good resorts for mice and rats. All bins should be renewed as often as necessary and kept in good condition. The cellar should be cleaned after the last of the stored products are moved in the spring, and given a good coating of whitewash or calco- mine before they are put in in the fall. Every square inch of bins, walls and ceilings should be dry and clean : this is not a matter of be- ing * ^finicky'' but commonsense precaution against losing the things you have gone to the expense and trouble of putting into stor- age. Ideas for the convenient arrangement of a storage cellar may be had from the ac- companying diagrams. In the cellars of most modern houses, little or no provision has been made for the storing of food products for winter. There fre- quently is but one big room, well lighted and with concrete flooring, more sanitary perhaps 146 Save It for Winter than the old-fashioned cellar but in many- ways not so well suited for the purpose in hand. Usually, however, there is space enough to partition off a small room to be used for vegetables alone, where conditions can be controlled independently of the cellar. The expense involved in doing this work is not great. Eough pine two-by-fours run from the floor to the ceiling may be set up, leaving a space for a door. Artificial wall board or compo board, which comes in strips thirty-two inches wide, may be used to sheathe these uprights, inside and out. This will make a substantial partition with a four- inch air space, effectually keeping out the heat from the warm part of the cellar. The strips of wall board can be bought in any length or height up to twelve feet, so there will be practically no fitting to be done. The door may be made out of the same material, nailed to both sides of a frame made out of two-by-threes. It is preferable to have two windows in a storage cellar, even if they are very small 148 Save It for Winter ones. If they are exposed it may be neces- sary to have double sash or a wooden frame* or shutter to put over the windows in very cold weather. There should, however, be some means of ventilation that can be used A well-arranged storage cellar. The cool air entering is delivered nea' the floor where it can be distributed through the room and find its way out of the open pane at the top, carrying with it surplus moisture. Note air space under the bin for potatoes and other root crops. The hanging shelf not only economizes on room but is safe from rats and mice. even in cold weather. A piece of stove pipe with a damper, placed in the window so that the lower end is near the floor and another piece placed in the second window, or in the top light of the same window, will aid greatly in keeping the cellar ventilated at all times, Storing 149 and the ventilation can be adjusted to suit conditions without the bother of opening or shutting the sash. The cellar should be kept dark as well as cool and thoroughly ventilated. A double thickness of burlap or some other heavy ma- terial can be arranged so that most of the light can be excluded. Convenience in storing and in getting out stored things, as well as the keeping quali- ties of the cellar or storeroom, will depend largely on how the storeroom is fixed up. If there are more than a few bushels of pota- toes and root crops to be kept, bins should be arranged along one side. If the floor is of concrete, they should have raised bottoms with a couple of inches or so of space to al- low free circulation of air. The size, of course, will depend on the amount of stuff to be stored. If there is a considerable quan- tity it will be convenient to have the boards forming the front of the bins held in position by cleats so that they may be removed as the contents of the bin are lowered. Shelves may 150 Save It for Winter be arranged along the wall or depended from the rafters. The latter method makes a way of utilizing space which is not available for other purposes. As most of the canned and dried products will keep better in the cool dark room than where it is warmer, a set of shelves or a cabinet should be arranged for these also. It is often the case that where there is no cellar space available there is a room that can be used for storage ; a small room or even a large closet, if it can be used exclusively for storage, will accommodate a large quan- tity of vegetables and fruit. It should be located, if possible, on the north or west side of the building — the coldest room in the house. If no small room is available, a par- tition like that already described for use in a cellar, may be put in to make a spe- cial storeroom. Ventilation and some method of keeping the room dark should be supplied. One of the chief objections to using a room of this kind is the trouble and the ^^muss" of taking things through the house to be stored. Storing 151 This can be overcome by the simple expe- dient of building a small platform and steps at the window on the outside, so that the baskets or boxes of vegetables may be taken in readily through the window and put in the Store T?oom A convenient outside entrance to a cold store-room. If kept dark and at as low a temperature as possible, potatoes, root crops and fruits may be carried for a long time in such a room. barrels or boxes or other containers in which they are to be kept. The Outdoor Cellar: In some cases, where there is no place available that can be made into a cellar storeroom, and soil conditions outside are favorable, a small outdoor cellar 152 Save It for Winter may be made for this purpose. If there is a deep bank that it can be built into, and light sandy soil for excavating, it is a compara- tively simple and inexpensive job to make a c^I^fst^ The combination cold frame and storage pit is very convenient for the small suburban place. Used for vegetables during winter and early spring, and for starting plants during spring and early summer. room that will keep out frost and remain cool through summer. Storage Pits: A permanent pit on any place where a large quantity of vegetables are to be stored, or where there is no other place available for storing them, is one of the Storing 153 best investments that can be made. A com- bination pit and hot-bed frame will cost little more than if it were to be used as a hot-bed alone, and give considerable storage space that is comparatively easy to get at in all Where the soil is well drained, root crops of all sorts may be carried through the winter, in even better condition than in tlie cellar by burying them in a pit or in a trench with one or two layers of frozen soil, alternating with a covering of leaves, marsh hay or straw. An iron pipe or a wooden flue should be inserted every few feet to carry off the surplus moisture. In extreme cold weather, this may be stopped up with an old piece of bag. but the stormiest kind of weather. The win- ter supply of vegetables will be well out of the way when use for the hot-bed frame in March or April becomes necessary. The Temporary Pit: A temporary pit for 154 Save It for Winter storing things or carrying over a surplus for spring use, in addition to what is stored in the cellar, may easily be made. Good drain- age is the first requisite. Such a pit may be made either in the ground or, where perfect drainage may not be had, on the surface. Both methods are shown in the accompany- ing cut. DIRECTIONS FOR STORING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS Asparagus: While this cannot be *' stored" in the ordinary sense of the word, the roots may be stored and the plants started into growth indoors in a light warm cellar, or in a frame, giving tender shoots during the early spring months. The roots should be dug up with a good ball of earth just before freezing weather, and allowed to remain where they are until the balls of earth have frozen, when they can be put in a shed or cold cellar until they are wanted for forcing. Beans: Any surplus of pole beans, Lima beans or even of most of the dwarf or string bush beans, which get too large, should be Storing 155 allowed to mature on the vines until the pods have become quite dry, and then picked and stored in a dry place in the sun. In the fall they should be shelled by thrashing or break- ing up the pods and the dry beans put in tin pails or other suitable containers and kept in a dry warm place. Beets: These may be stored in a cool cel- Where a pit or trench alone has to be depended upon, for winter storage, it is a good plan to divide the space so that the various vegetables will be obtainable when it is broken into at one end. The cut above shows a cross- section of a trench arranged in this way. It contains cabbage, potatoes, parsnips, and turnips. lar or storeroom or outdoors in a pit or trench. They will keep better if covered with soil or with moss or leaf mold. The latter materials are very light and spongy and will retain enough moisture to keep the roots plump, and are much more convenient to han- dle than soil or sand where they can readily be obtained. Brussels Sprouts : These may be stored in- 156 Save It for Winter doors either by hanging np the plants by the roots, or, as is done with cabbage (see be- low), better still by covering the roots with moist soil, packing the plants in quite close together. Part of the crop may be left where it grows as it will remain in good condition until after the holidays, the flavor being rather improved by freezing. Carrots: Handle these the same way as beets. They should be taken up late in the fall before there is danger of heavy frost that will kill the tops. The tops should not be cut off too close : leave an inch or so of the leaf stem and allow to dry off for a few hours before storing. They may be left out, to keep for a few days, if covered up to protect from frost at night. Cabbage: This standard winter vegetable may be stored either indoors or out. In the former case a good way is to put the trimmed heads in slotted or open vegetable barrels. Or the plants may be taken up roots and all, the loose outer leaves trimmed off, and three or four heads tied together by the roots and Storing 157 suspended from nails in the cellar rafters. In this way they will keep well without oc- cupying any floor space, which is needed for other things, such as root crops and fruits. For this purpose, ordinary corn ties made of stout cord, with a wire clamp at one end which saves the trouble of tying and untying the Well matured cabbage can easily be kept through the winter in an out- side trench or pit. The heads are packed as shown, covered with straw or marsh hay, and as freezing weather approaches, gradually cover with soil. It is important not to put the soil on at first, as this will cause them to heat and spoil. string, may be utilized to good advantage. Cabbage to be stored out of doors may be kept either with the roots on, or in the form of trimmed heads. The method of packing is shown in the accompanying cut. It is well to store at least part of the crop out of doors, as this will keep in perfect condition until late spring, when it will be much more fresh and 158 Save It for Winter crisp than that which has been stored in- doors. Cauliflower: This delicious vegetable is not as easy to keep as cabbage. If brought in from the field and stored in a cold place just before danger of injury from a heavy frost, the heads will, however, remain in good condition for some time. It may readily be kept longer, however, by placing it in a frame or in a cool cellar, covering the roots of the plants with moist soil so that growth will con- tinue. In this way, small immature heads may be saved, and will develop to a surpris- ing extent after they are taken up and put. away. Celery: If there is enough celery to keep for use well into the winter, it should be han- dled in three lots. (1) That wanted for early use may be banked up with earth out of doors and covered up with leaves later and used as wanted directly from the garden. (2) The celery wanted for late fall should be stored in a trench outside. Make this in a well-drained place about a foot wide and Storing 159 deep enough to hold the stalks up to the tops of the leaves. Take up the plants with the roots on, and what soil adheres to them. The tops and stalks should he dry when stored away. When there is danger of severe freez- ing weather, cover the trench up with hay, a few inches at first, and adding more as the weather gets colder. Celery may be kept in a trench of this kind usually until after Christmas. (3) The remainder of the crop should be stored in a cool cellar. The most convenient way of handling it is to get some boxes, about as deep as the celery is tall, in which the celery may be packed away after a couple of inches of light soil or sand is placed in the bottom of the boxes. The plants are packed in the box upright, quite tightly, with the roots on the moist soil at the bottom ; if the soil seems to dry out, give it a little water occasionally, heing careful not to get it on the leaves or stalks. In this way the cel- ery is kept fresh and crisp and will continue growth and blanch thoroughly after being put into the cellar. 160 Save It for Winter Corn: While sweet or sugar corn is not stored, nevertheless the ears that are in con- dition to eat when the first killing frost strikes them may be saved for some time by cutting and shocking the corn in the same way that field corn is handled. The imma- ture ears will remain in their eating condi- tion for some time; of course they gradu- ally shrivel and become tough. Onions: These should always be har- vested as soon as the tops begin to get dried out : if they are left in the ground after that they are apt to begin a second growth, and in that case it will be almost impossible to keep them all through the winter. After being thoroughly dried in an open shed or in the garden, the tops should be cut off and the onions placed in vegetable barrels or in open crates. It is better not to put them into per- manent winter quarters until there is danger of freezing weather. They should be per- fectly firm, hard and dry when put away; to keep well they should be thoroughly venti- lated while in storage. The ordinary Ber- Storing 161 muda or Texas onion crates, which can be bought second-hand at most grocery stores, are the best and most convenient container for keeping onions. A crate holds about a bushel, and the crates can be stacked up on top of each other. The white varieties of onions and the extra large Spanish or Ber- muda onions do not keep as well as the stand- ard yellow or red globe or flat onions. To the former class belong such varieties as Prize- taker, Gigantic Gibraltar, Giant Rocca, Denia, etc. Therefore any of these varieties that there may be on hand should be used first. Parsnips: Part of the crop — say, one-half or two-thirds — should be taken up for stor- ing in the cellar, or in a pit or frame out of doors, and the remainder left in the ground. In the cellar the roots should be covered with soil or moss to retain the moisture and keep them plump. Potatoes: Even if you have not raised enough of your own potatoes for winter use it will pay to buy them to store, as they are usually very much cheaper in September and 162 Save It for Winter October tlian later on. They keep best in a very cool, rather moist, cellar and must be protected carefully from light, as this not only endangers their keeping qualities but makes them less valuable for food and infe- rior in quality. When it is necessary to keep potatoes where the air is very dry, in- stead of allowing free circulation of the air, it should be prevented as much as possible by placing the potatoes in large boxes (such as packing-cases obtained from a store). Line these first with several thicknesses of newspaper, and make a tight-fitting cover. Several days' supply should be taken out at each time, so that the box will be opened as infrequently as possible. Potatoes that are very early may be best kept for future use by being buried in the soil in boxes of con- venient size. If put down eighteen inches or so below the surface in this way, they will keep in as good condition as the delicious **new potatoes'' that are first ready to eat when the summer crop comes in. Potatoes Storing 163 are also one of the best vegetables for keep- ing over in pits. Sweet Potatoes: The sweet potato is en- tirely different in its requirements for win- ter storage from the white or Irish potato. It should be given a rather high temperature, fifty to sixty degrees if possible, and kept in a very dry place. The air should be per- mitted to circulate freely about the potatoes. Onion crates, such as already mentioned, may be used for storing sweet potatoes, and if placed near the chimney in the attic, will fur- nish about the right conditions. PumpUns: These also require dry, warm storage. They should be gathered before danger of hard frost and stored, if possible, temporarily in an open shed or other airy place where they will be protected from freez- ing weather. Leave the stems on when gath- ering. The greatest trouble in keeping pump- kins and squash arises from bruises made when they are being gathered and taken in. In spite of their apparently hard shells they should be handled like eggs. They may be 164 Save It for Winter put in the cellar near the heater or in the at- tic. Each one should be examined carefully as they are stored away, and those which show the slightest sign of decayed spots should be put to one side for immediate use or for drying or canning. Rhuharh: While this cannot be stored, it can be kept for winter forcing in the same manner as asparagus. Salsify: This delicious vegetable is han- dled and kept in the same way as parsnips. Squash: This may be stored and kept as pumpkins are, taking even more care in han- dling them when taking them from the field and putting them away. Tomatoes: Tomatoes may be kept in stor- age much longer than is usually supposed. Fruits that have obtained nearly their full size will ripen up gradually if packed away in a cool, rather dark place. Placed in front of a window in the hot sun, as they some- times are, they merely cook. All fruit to be kept should be very carefully picked and preferably wrapped individually in fruit pa- Storing 165 pers such as those which come around fancy apples, or in pieces of newspaper. Any light piece of paper will do, or they may be packed away in crates in perfectly dry dead leaves or grass. It is also possible to keep the fruits for some time by taking up the best plants by the roots, trimming off the surplus foli- age and hanging the skeleton plant, with the best fruit, up in a dark dry place. The to- matoes will continue to ripen gradually for some time. Turnips: These keep very easily and read- ily, either in the cellar or in houses or pits. Handle in the same way as beets or carrots. FKUITS IN STOKAGE Winter apples and some varieties of pears keep readily. Like potatoes they may also be bought to advantage in the fall even where they are not grown on the place. Wherever obtained, they should be sorted most carefully, saving only the sound and perfect fruits for storing. The others may be used or canned or dried. Though it may seem a little more 166 Save It for Winter trouble, the safest and best way is to wrap eacli fruit individually in a paper wrapper. They may then be packed in onion crates, which hold about a bushel each, are conveni- ent to handle, and can be stacked on top of each other. One reason why apples do not seem to keep well when placed in a cellar with other things is that, like butter, they are susceptible to odors from other things near them, and their quality is affected if they are placed, without being wrapped, near such vegetables as onions, turnips, or even pota- toes. If they must be placed near other things, they may be further protected by be- ing placed in a barrel lined with newspaper or wrapping paper, with a tight cover. Fruit should not be kept where the air is too dry or it will shrivel. A temperature of 35 to 40 degrees is best. If apples are not individ- ually wrapped they should be gone over very carefully occasionally, and all showing any signs of decay should be removed ; if not, the trouble will spread quickly and may spoil the whole lot. CHAPTER VIII EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSOKIES An elaborate equipment for the home can- ning and drying of fruits is not essential. If one has suitable containers, it may be done with the simplest of utensils — the things or- dinarily found in any kitchen outfit. While this is true, if one is going to take up food saving as a serious part of house- keeping — which it should be, for it means not only better winter diet, but a very con- siderable saving in the year's expenses for the table — then, it is important to have some equipment especially designed for this work — just as important as it is to have a wheel hoe in the garden, a gas range, a carpet sweeper, an electric iron, or any of the other modern contrivances which make for more efficiency and less labor. Modern equipment especially designed for 167 168 Save It for Winter doing the different kinds of work which have to be done in connection with food saving is important, however, not merely to lessen the work of the woman in the kitchen. It helps to make results more certain, and makes pos- sible the putting up of better products — that Don't begin your season's work of canning, pickling and preserving, without suitable tools. None of the things shown here is expensive, and with care they will last for years. In addition to the utensils shown above, a sugar tester v/ill be found of very great use. is one reason why it pays, as an investment, as well as in the saving of labor, if the latter is considered a luxury. Another reason is that special equipment makes it possible to do more work in the same amount of time, and frequently the rapidity with which this work can be done will determine how much Equipment and Accessories 169 of what there is available can be saved. Often it is a case of putting things np on a certain day or of losing them altogether. An argument which comes to mind against getting special equipment for this work is, of course, that it will be used for only a short time in the year, and, therefore, is expensive. If, however, the cost of such special equip- ment as will be required is figured out on a business basis, as it should be, it will be found to be very reasonable, considering the ad- vantages gained. If well cared for, a drying or canning equipment will last for a great many years— ten at least. Twenty per cent, of the cost price, therefore, is a very gener- ous allowance to make for depreciation and interest on the original cost. Even on this basis, the yearly charge for a twenty-five dol- lar outfit would be only five dollars a year. The saving in work and in materials, and in the additional amount of products which it is possible to put up with a suitable equip- ment, even for a small family, will very quickly equal this sum of money. 170 Save It for Winter GENEKAL EQUIPMENT First of all, of course, comes the question of a stove. Any ordinary cooking stove will answer all purposes; but if this is supplemented by a gas range, it will add greatly to the convenience. There should be a generous supply of water. A modem enameled sink will also aid very much, as this can be kept so clean that much of the work which would otherwise be done in pans or kettles may be done in it. A special dish-pan, kept for peeling; knives and spoons ; a measuring cup; pots of different sizes, including one large one (five gallons or so), for syrup; a wire basket for strain- ing; a colander; scales, and cloths for hand- ling hot bottles and so forth, are among the essentials. To these, there may well be added, if more Lifter which can be made from a cake turner to lift jars and cans from sterilizer. Equipment and Accessories 171 than a few cans are to be put up, most of the following: a saccharometer or sngar tester, which can be bought for about a dollar; a good cooking thermometer, suitable for use in hot liquids —(both of these can be ob- tained at most drugstores and the latter, especially, is quite essential) ; a jar-filling funnel; and a jar lifter. Where much food is to be put up, a slicing machine will be found one of the most use- ful things that can be had. Of Another type of ^OUrSC, thlS wlll oftCU bC of jar lifter, (i^or il- ^ 7 KnnV'seet Hsc for Ordinary purposes, lustration facing page 44.) ^j^^^ ^f q^qq tricd, Will DC cou- sidered more of a necessity than a luxury. While an ordinary adjustable knife or sauer- kraut slicer can be used, a rotary slicer will be found very much more effective. Where a large quantity of potatoes are to be put ^p_and where they can be bought cheap in the fall— it will pay to dry them if there is 172 Save It for Winter not any method of storing them otherwise; and for this a potato-peeler may be used to great advantage. This, like the slic- er, will be of nse Funnel for filling jars or cans. (For illustration of funnel in use, see illustration facing page 60.) Handy pail colander for dipping and blanching products before can- ning, also for removing glass jars from sterilizer. not only during the drying and canning sea- son but throughout the year. CONTAINEKS Of course, the question of containers in which to keep fruits and vegetables, either canned, dried or in storage, is one of the most important phases of the whole matter of sav- ing food. While there is something of an infinite variety of containers, they may be Equipment and Accessories 173 classified into jars, cans, crocks, cartons, bags, barrels and crates. For home nse, probably glass jars are em- ployed more than anything else. They are adapted to the keeping of both canned goods and dried products. For general purposes they are, perhaps, better than anything else. The objections to them are : the expense, the inconvenience in storing them and in moving, and the admission of light to the products put up, which is objectionable in some cases. Where green glass is used, however, in their manufacturing, the latter difficulty is largely overcome. Each jar, of course, may be wrapped in paper to keep out the light. Crocks and cartons are suitable for keep- ing pickles, jellies, preserves, jams and dried products, all of which, of course, are less liquid than the ordinary canned fruits or vegetables and are naturally more resistant to the attacks of bacteria. Bags, especially if they have been waxed, are suitable for keeping dried products. The most conveni- ent way of using them usually, however, is to 174 Save It for Winter keep a number of them in air-tight cans or in covered crocks, thus protecting them from moisture and from attacks by mice. Barrels and crates of various types are suitable for the storing of vegetables in the cellar or storeroom, or for convenience, even where they are kept in pits or outdoor frames. Some of the different types will be found il- lustrated on pages 147 and 151. The different types of jars, cans and paper cartons are described more fully under the equipment for canning and for drying. FOR CANNING AND FOR PICKLES AND PRESERVES For keeping vegetables or fruits by any of the above methods, of course, the two im- portant things are the preparation or steril- ization, and a container which will keep the food sterile after it is prepared. In modern methods, however, the container, in which the product is packed cold, is used before the sterilizing apparatus and, therefore, de- scribed first. Equipment and Accessories 175 There are several distinct types of both glass jars and tin cans. For most of the home uses, jars are to be preferred to cans. "While the original cost is more, they can be used repeatedly, the appearance is more at- There are several good types of jars and cans on the market. The shape and size should be chosen to accommodate the product which is to be put up. Wide-mouth jars and "sanitary top" cans are the most satisfactory for most purposes. tractive and the flavor is likely to be better. Jars differ in shape and in the method by which the cover or cap is held in place, after the contents has been processed. Wide- mouthed jars are of advantage for most 176 Save It for Winter things, but particularly so for putting up whole fruits or vegetables, such as tomatoes or whole corn on the cob and so forth; they are easier to fill, easier to remove the con- tents from in good condition, and easier to wash. The majority of jars on the market are sealed by means of a rubber ring between the glass and the cap, which may be of glass, porcelain, or enameled metal. Both the qual- ity of the rubber ring used and the evenness and surface finish of the glass and of the cover will affect the efficiency of the ''seaP' obtained. A leaky jar, no matter how small the leak may be, will eventually spoil. In one of the most modern types of jars, the rub- ber ring is dispensed with entirely, the seal being obtained by the use of a composition sealing material, which comes already applied to an enameled lid, and is automatically melted and set in the processing and cooling of the jars. The cooling of the product inside of the jars creates a vacuum which holds the lid in place. The old-fashioned screw-top Mason jar has very largely been replaced by ;,— Cast iron steam pressure cooker, lor use witli pressure up to 30 pounds. 1)— Alu- niinuni pressure cooker, much lifrhter and more convenient to handle. \ "water seal" canner, which will give a higher and steadier temperature than open kettle, a— container, with outer and inner wall; b— cover, with thermometer; f — rack for hfting jars or cans in and out. Equipment and Accessories 177 this type and by jars with the lid held in place by a clamp instead of a metal screw-band. Whatever type of jar is used, it is false economy to buy a cheap jar which is not made A hand machine for putting on cork-Uned metal-sealed caps. With one of these machines, bottles of all kinds can be utilized for pickles and pre- serves. The caps can be bought in assorted sizes, and a neat, tight, easy job is made ot seahng. of the best materials or is not accurately made. Of tin cans there are three main types: those sealed with solder, and known as 178 Save It for Winter '^solder top" cans; those on which the covers are sealed mechanically, known as ** sani- tary'' cans; and those with covers sealed on by means of hot sealing-wax, known as **wax" tops. The latter have not been as satisfactory for general purposes, although suitable for acid vegetables and fruits. Some fruits and vegetables which are par- ticularly acid should be put in cans known as ^^ enameled''; these have a coating on the inside which prevents, to some extent, the action of the acid of the product on the tin. Cans are sold under standard sizes, as num- bers 1, 2, 21/^, and so forth; the size and ca- pacity corresponding to these numbers are as follows : THE CAPACITY AND DIMENSIONS OF STANDARD- SIZED CANS Sanitary Solder-Top Number Height Diameter Capacity Height Diameter 1 2 3 10 4 411/16 5 6 15/16 2 3/8 3 3/8 4 4 1/4 6 1/8 11.6 21.3 31.2 35.0 107.0 4 4 9/16 4 3/4 4 7/8 6 7/8 2 11/16 3 3/8 4 4 3/16 6 1/4 Equipment and Accessories 179 SEALING TIN CANS While the work of sealing a tin can, or even a good-sized batch of them, is done very quickly, once one gets the knack of it, it is quite an elaborate process to describe in A small hand sealing-machine for medium size (No. 2) sanitary top tin cans. print. The following directions are taken from Circular No. 158 of the University of California Agriculture Experiment Station: Soldering Material: To fasten the caps on the cans, a ''capping steeV is needed. This is a cylindrical soldering iron with a con- 180 Save It for Winter cave end to fit over the cap, with which it must correspond in size. Solder-hemmed caps are furnished with a ring of solder. Their use saves much time, labor and solder. The small vent hole is sealed with a 'Hipping steel/ ^ which is a small, pointed soldering iron. In order to make a good union between the solder and the tin, the surfaces must be cleaned with a '^ soldering flux.'' This can be bought ready for use or can be prepared as follows: Place about one ounce of zinc in half a tumbler of strong muriatic (hydro- chloric) acid and leave until bubbles cease to come off. If all the zinc dissolves add more until a little remains after all bubbling ceases. The solution is then strained through a cloth. It will keep indefinitely and must be diluted with an equal volume of water before using. A gasoline fire pot or torch of the type used by plumbers is needed to heat the solder- ing irons. Starting the Torch: The reservoir is filled about three-quarters full of good gasoline. I I Soldering iron with self-heating attachment; a liitle more expensive than the ordi- nary sort, but always ready for use, and a great time saver. Equipment and Accessories 181 The air pump is screwed into place and air pumped in to give as much pressure as pos- sible. The cocks of the two burners are then opened very slightly to allow a very little gasoline to flow out and wet the burners. They are then closed and the burners heated by burning off the gasoline. This process is repeated once or twice until the burners are hot enough to vaporize the gasoline rap- idly. When the burners are sufficiently hot, the cocks are opened a little and the gasoline lighted. The flame should burn with a blue color and a roaring sound. The torch is then ready to heat the steels. Tinning the Capping Steel: The steel is heated sufficiently to melt a piece of solder instantly but not to burn it. The bottom of the steel, both inside and out, should then be cleaned by filing off the scale. It is then dipped quickly into a little of the soldering flux and 'Hinned'' by applying wire solder which should melt rapidly and cover the bot- 182 Save It for Winter torn of the steel with a bright metallic layer. This layer should extend to about one-half an inch from the bottom. The steel may also be tinned by filing it clean while hot and dipping into a mixture of sal ammoniac and small pieces of solder. This process need not be repeated unless the steel becomes accidentally too hot and bums oif the tinning. If the steel is wiped occasionally while hot with a coarse cloth and dipped regularly into the soldering flux when used the coating should last indefinitely. Soldering the Cap: The grooves around the tops of the filled cans are wiped to clean them from juice and pieces of fruit, and the caps applied. A brush dipped in solder flux is then passed around the groove. The cap- ping steel, heated until it will melt solder in- stantly, is cleaned by dipping in solder flux and applied immediately to the groove of the can. If plain caps are used, a little solder is melted around the bottom of the steel and allowed to run into the groove. Only a little is necessary. If solder-hemmed caps are OettinK reatly to .seal tin <-an.«. The solderiiit: 'won must 1k' coated with tin. a — flux jar and brush for applying same; b — solder-hemmed cap or top for can; ( — bar sal ammoniae; d — ^soldering iron (for tipping copper) ; e — roll of wire solder. » First step iu seahiig can; applying the liquid llux to rim i>r (;an. a — capping iron; b — head of inner steel, working in handle; c — applying flux to rim of cap; d — solder- ing iron. Sealing a solder top can. 1. Wipe the juice and syrup from the groove. 2. Apply cap and wipe the groove with a brush dipped in soldering fluid. 3. Place clean hot capping steel on can and melt a little solder into groove. 4. Turn the top steel to distribute the solder. 5. Press down on center rod, and raise steel a few seconds to allow solder to harden. 6. After exhausting can wipe vent hole and seal with a drop of solder. 183 184 Save It for Winter used, no other solder is needed. The steel is turned a few times to distribute the melted solder evenly in the groove and then slightly raised while pressing down on the center rod for an instant until the solder hardens. Tipping: This term means the closing of the small vent hole in the top of the can with a drop of solder. It is done while the con- tents are hot and before sterilizing. The edges of the holes are cleaned with a brush dipped in solder flux. Very little must be used or it will run onto the can and injure the contents. After applying the flux, the prop- erly tinned and heated tipping steel is ap- plied to the hole and touched with a piece of wire solder. This causes a small piece of melted solder to run to the point where it closes the hole and is smoothed with a quick twist of the steel. Exhausting: This process is necessary with nearly all air-tight containers which are to be sterilized by heat. It consists of a preliminary heating before sealing and be- Equipment and Accessories 185 fore the final sterilization. It results in ex- panding the air inside the container and thus driving out most of it. When the sealed con- tainer and its contents cool, the small amount of air still enclosed contracts and produces a partial vacuum. If cans are sealed while the contents are cool they will swell on heating, owing to the expansion of the heated air. Ex- haustion is also necessary with jars. If the covers are screwed or clamped on, the expand- ing air may break the glass. If they simply rest on the rubber or other sealing ring, the vacuum is necessary to keep them in place. If the fruit is hot when placed in the cans or jars they may be sealed and sterilized immediately as the heat will exhaust the air sufiiciently. For the sanitary cans, full instructions are sent with the different machines made for the sealing or clamping on of the covers. One of these machines is shown in the illustration on page 186. Sealing-machine for mechanically sealed or "sanitary" tin cans; especially good for Canning Clubs, Granges, and so forth. 186 Drying and Dehydrating 187 SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR DRYING The three methods for drying, as already described, are sun drying, evaporating by artificial heat, and dehydrating — drying by the use of an air-blast — the latter, for home use, usually being produced by an electric fan. Light frames of wood, with bottoms of mus- Small metal drier with removable trays for using over the stove. lin or fine mesh wire, and made of any size which will be convenient for the amount of product to be handled, may be used for sun drying, but it will be much better to take the pains to construct a frame with a glass cover, such as shown in the illustration on page 96, which will protect the product from dust, dew and showers. 188 Save It for Winter For drying in artificial heat, a plain, open nest of trays, such as that shown in the il- lustration on page 99, which can be either Arrangement for suspending trays over kerosene stove for drying. set on the stove or hung above it, can easily be made at home. A regular drier, which consists of a set of trays enclosed in a metal case surmounted by a chimney, makes much Equipment and Accessories 189 more efficient use of the heat available. For drying small quantities of food of this kind, a drier like that shown on page 103, which Two small driers for use on top of stove; the type with the chimney, and a door to protect contents of trays from dust and ashes is the better. is made on the principle of a double-boiler, with water between the stove and the drying surface, is very convenient, as there is no danger of burning or scorching the product 190 Save It for Winter being dried so long as this water pan is kept full. A drier of this kind can be kept in use for a large part of the time for saving small surpluses of the various garden vege- tables, which may be prepared for the drier at the same time that the remainder is pre- pared for the table. These little savings may Paper containers of various sizes and shapes are available for dehy- drated products, and for jellies, pickles and preserves. They are sanitary, neat and cheap. seem small at the time, but in the aggregate will amount to a great deal. Trays for use with a small electric fan such as is commonly employed in the house can be made about three feet long and a foot to eighteen inches wide. They may be made from any light material with a lath or wire bottom. If all these are needed at one time, place them end to end as shown in the illus- tration facing page 100. Equipment and Accessories 191 While bags, tin pails, or other containers of this kind may be used for the dried vege- tables or fruits, after they are conditioned and ready to store, by far the most satisfac- tory containers (unless one has a surplus of glass jars available for use, which is not B A simple tool for crimping in the caps on paper containers, so that a tight permanent job is secured. A shows the cap put in place by the fingers. B, the same after the bottom has been extended. C, the simple tool for doing the work. likely to be the case) are the prepared card- board or fiber containers of various sizes and shapes which may now be bought at very reasonable prices. They are moisture- and light-proof, easy to handle, easy to keep, and cheap enough so that the products may be put up in small quantities, the advantages 192 Save It for Winter of doing which have already been explained. The method of air-drying is comparatively new; and, in all probability, there will be small outfits for home use of this kind put on the market in the near future. Another tool for putting caps on paper or fiber containers. EQUIPMENT FOR STORING From what has already been said and il- lustrated in the chapter on storing, a pretty good idea has been given of the kinds of con- tainers desirable for use in this connection. The mistake usually made is to make no at- tempt to secure the required supply of bar- rels, boxes, crates and so forth until they are actually needed. It is far better to begin gathering these during the summer; so that one may be sure of having plenty of them, Equipment and Accessories 193 and of being able to select those which are in perfect condition. An ordinary two-inch auger with which to bore holes in barrels and boxes which are Table Showing Sizes of the Contents and Capacity of Paper Containers Always order by Number Outside Dimensions of Container in inches Capacity in Cubic Inches Average Contents of Home Dried Vegetables (Avoirdupois Ounces) Approximate Equivalent No. Liquid Measure Size of Fresh Vegetables 8 Half Pint 21 high 2f Square 15 2 lib. 2oz. 12 12 Ounces 3 high 2f Square 22 3 1 lb. 12 oz. 16 Pint 4 high 2f Square 28 4 2 lbs. 4 oz. 30 20 Ounces 5i high 2f Square 381 5 2 lbs. 12 oz. 32 Quart 7f high 2| Square 55f 8 4 lbs. 8 oz. used for storing vegetables or fruits will usu- ally pay for itself each season it is used. The importance of ventilation around the product being stored has already been emphasized. The ordinary packing-case or box, which can be obtained from groceries or dry goods 194 Save It for Winter stores, makes a cheap container of convenient size and shape; but, for most things, they should not be used unless a generous num- ber of holes have been bored in the bottoms and sides. Special containers, such as onion crates, vegetable flats, barrels, and so forth, have already been mentioned. CHAPTER IX CONCLUSION From the foregoing chapters, it must be very evident that the matter of saving food in the home can be made a very important part of the household economy. It is worth taking seriously ; it is worth doing carefully ; it is worth systematically planning for. As yet, the matter of real system in food saving has not been very carefully worked out. Our canning and drying is done, even when it is done skillfully, on a more or less haphazard basis. It is possible with a little study, however, to plan definitely how much and what kinds of food can profitably be put up in summer and fall for winter use, and to arrange for the growing of vegetables and fruits, or the buying of them, with these defi- nite aims in view. For instance, it is not a matter of much time or thought to figure out the number of 195 196 Save It for Winter days from the end of this year's peach sea- son (say, October first) to the beginning of next year's (say, July fifteenth). That means for nine and a half months, or thirty-eight weeks, fresh peaches will be hard to get. If one wants canned peaches and dried peaches, an average of once each week for that pe- riod, it is an easy matter to calculate about how many cans of fruits or pounds of dried product should be put up. The same with beans, or corn, or spinach. Knowing these things, in advance^ the work of providing them will be much simplified. But this is not all that may be done. When one has determined what can be saved for winter with advantage, the next thing is to find a way of saving it with the least trouble and expense. While work in the home kitchen is practical and gives good results, it is not the most economical way of putting up things which are wanted in considerable quantities, such as tomatoes, corn, beans, etc. It is very little more work to put up fifty cans of product, Conclusion 197 with suitable equipment, than to put up ten with the means usually at one's disposal in the home kitchen. Cooperation in canning and drying is one of the most profitable means of saving for winter. The American housewife, generically speaking, has yet to learn the meaning of ^'cooperation/^ She has yet to realize that she and her friends, by buying together, by working together at such things as canning and dehydrating, can save a very considerable percentage on their table budgets. Merely to be called a ^^ saver'' has, until very recently, been almost a term of reproach, and con- sidered a reflection upon one's ** provider." The use of a canning or dehydrating equip- ment by several persons does not imply the necessity of providing any special organiza- tion for that purpose. The grange, the gar- den club, the ladies' aid, — any suitable or- ganization may furnish the nucleus for the purchase of such an outfit. The saving made possible by buying supplies in quantity, as 198 Save It for Winter well as the saving in work, will make any time spent in working up an interest in such an undertaking a good investment even from a pecuniary standpoint. From the point of view of social service, and for food conser- A large capacity self-contained canner and evaporator combined, suit- able for community or club use. This outfit has a capacity of 600 3-lb. cans per day, and 3 to 5 bushels of evaporated fruits or vegetables per day. vation, I do not know of anything that is more important. COMMUNITY CANNEES AND DKIEKS. MUNITY GAKDENS FOE COM- More and more the vacant lot *^ movement*' is coming to be recognized as a practical, Conclusion 199 workable scheme for helping food production, and employing both idle land and idle time to advantage. But a very large proportion of the food that is thus produced is lost. In connection with the community garden A larger outfit, canner, evaporator, and sterilizer combined; with a ca- pacity of 6,000 3-lb. cana, or of drying 15 to 20 bushels of apples or other fruits per day. idea, there is a big opportunity for the com- munity use of equipment for canning and drying. Outfits of considerable capacity are not very expensive. They are simple to use and are not likely to get out of order. This makes possible their use by a number of per- sons; or by an organization paying some of 200 Save It for Winter its members to do the work. The unqualified success which the Girls' Canning Clubs have had throughout the country is sufficient proof as to what may be accomplished in this line without very much previous training in co- operation. A LOOK AHEAD I LESS FKUIT TO BE WASTED IN THE FUTUKE For generations past the world has pro- duced an abundance of fruit and vegetable food to feed all of its millions of workers. The fact that they have not all been suffi- ciently fed is due to our unscientific and inef- ficient method of distributing the food after it has been produced. It has been a common thing — so common, in fact, that it is mostly the normal condition — for food to be left by the thousands of bushels in the country, where those who had produced it could not dispose of it at a price sufficient to pay for the handling of it, while in the cities the poorer classes, for want of food, went under- nourished, if they did not actually starve. Conclusion 201 While individuals have been blamed for this condition, it has been not they, but our gen- eral system of food distribution, that has been at fault. These conditions are gradually being changed, not by the arrest and fining of profiteering individuals, but by more intelli- gent and purposeful organization on the part of both producers and consumers. The newer market methods — which keep the consuming public informed through newspaper notices and otherwise, of the products which are plentiful or in oversupply, and at what prices they ought to sell — have proved to be a tre- mendous stimulation to canning and drying. This movement has been the result of co- operation on the part of the producers. There are hopeful indications in many di- rections that the community canning and dry- ing idea^ — cooperation by the consumers — ^will spread with equal rapidity. It seems likely that the very near future will see in existence community canning and drying plants on a scale large enough to be thoroughly economi- 202 Save It for Winter cal in operation, and making possible co- operative buying on a large scale, and tbe saving of all home-grown products. This will be another tremendous step in the direction of the practical commonsense conservation of food. In the meantime, it is up to every house- holder in the country, both for her personal advantage and as a good citizen, to adopt, either in her own kitchen or as a member of some organization, the motto: ^^SAVE IT FOR WINTER!'' INDEX Air blast, 91 Apple butter, 125 jelly, 124 Apples, 75, 83, 115, 118, 165 Apricots, 83, 116, 118 Artichoke, 62 Asparagus, 21, 63, 82, 118, 154 Bacteria, 6 Beans, 22, 41, 63, 82, 109, 118, 154 Beans and corn, 64 Beans, Lima, 108, 118 Beet tops, 28, 68 Beets, 23, 41, 64, 82, 109, 118, 155 pickled, 133 Berries, 118 Blackberries, 83, 117 Blanching, 92 definition of, 55 time table for, 118 Blueberries, 83 Brine, definition of, 56 making, 84 Brussels sprouts, 24, 41, 64, 82, 109, 118, 155 Cabbage, 25, 41, 64, 82, 109, 118, 156 Can rubbers, preparation of, 59 Cans, standard sizes, 178 tin, 177 Canning, cold-pack method, 52 definition of, 9 fruit, 75 new methods of, 50 operations in, 58-62 principles of, 43-47 time table for vegetables and fruits, 82, 83 Carrots, 26, 41, 64, 82, 110, 118, 156 Cauliflower, 27, 41, 64, 82, 110, 118, 158 Cauliflower mustard pickle, 134 Celeriac, 110, 118 Celery, 27, 41, 118, 158 Cellars, 144-152 Cherries, 78, 83, 116, 118 preserved, 125 Chinese cabbage, 28, 68 Chow chow, 135 203 204 Index Cold-pack method of can- ning, 52 Community canners and dry- ers, 198 Containers, 94, 172 Cooperative canning and drying, 196 Corn, 64, 66, 82, 110, 160 Cow peas, 109 Cowslips, 28, 68 Cranberries, 79 Cream of Tomato soup, 83 Currants, 83 Cutting and shredding, 92 Figs, 83 Food preservation, condition of the raw materials, 18 economics of, 1-5 methods of, 8 Fruit, canning, 75 juices, 80 Fruits, drying, 115 for preserves and jellies, 121 in storage, 165 overripe, 19 varieties for saving, 39-42 Dandelion, 82 Damson plum preserve, 125 Dehydrating, 85-100 by air current, 99 definition of, 12 Dewberries, 83, 117 Dipping, 55, 92 Discoloration, 58 Drying, 85-100 definition of, 11 frames, 187 in the sun, 95 process of, 100-107 time table for, 118 Germs destructive to fruits and vegetables, 43-45 Glass jars, 175 Gooseberries, 79, 83 Gooseberry and rhubard marmalade, 128 Gooseberry preserves, 128 Grape jelly, 130 Grapes, 83 Green beans, 63, 82, 118 Greens, 28, 68, 82, 111 Hominy, 82 Huckleberries, 83, 117 Egg plant, 82 Endive, 82 Equipment, 170 Evaporation, 90, 91, 97 Examination, 107 Jars, glass, 175 Jellies, 119 Kale, 28, 68 Kohl-rabi, 110, 118 Index 205 Labeling, 62, 106 Leeks, 28, 112, 118 Lima beans, 108, 118 Marmalades, 128-131 Methods of sterilizing, 47 Molds and yeasts, 43, 49 Moths, 101 Mushrooms, 28, 69, 82 Mustard, 82, 111 pickle, 134 Okra, 29, 41, 70, 82, 112, 118 Okra and tomatoes, 70 Onions, 29, 41, 82, 112, 118, 160 pickled, 132 Operations in canning, 58-62 Orange marmalade, 132 Outdoor cellars, lol Overripe fruits, 19 Oyster plant, 34, 73, 82, 110, 118, 164 Peppers, 31, 41, 71, 82, 112, 118 Piccalilli, 135 Pickled beets, 133 onions, 132 string beans, 132 Pickling, 13, 119 Pineapple preserves, 129 Planting table for vege- tables, 41 Plum preserves, 125 Plums, 78, 83, 116, 118 Potatoes, 32, 72, 82, 113, 161 Preparing, definition of, 54 Preserved cherries, 125 pineapple, 129 strawberries, 126 Preserves, 83, 119 Preserving, definition of, 13 Process of drying, 100-107 Processing, definition of, 57 Pumpkin, 33, 72, 82, 114, 118, 163 Packing, definition of, 56 Paper containers, 191, 193 Paper bag containers, 106 Parslev 118 Parsnips, 30, 41, 70, 82, 118, 161 Peach butter, 122 Peaches, 76, 83, 116, 118 Pear preserves, 123 Pears, 76, 83, 115, 118, 165 Peas, 30, 41, 70, 82, 109, 118 Quince jelly, 124 Quinces, 83, 115, 118 Raspberries, 83, 117 Easpberry marmalade, 129 preserves, 129 Ehubarb, 34, 73, 113, 118, 164 conserve, 131 Ehubarb marmalade, 131 206 Index Rubbers, preparation of, 59 Eutabagas, 38 Salsify, 34, 41, 73, 82, 110, 118, 164 Sauerkraut, 74, 82 Sealing, definition of, 57 Sealing tin cans, 179 Soup mixtures, drying, 114 vegetable, 83 Spinach, 35, 68, 82, 111, 118 Squash, 35, 41, 74, 82, 114, 118, 164 Storage cellars, 144-152 essentials of, 138 pits, 152 suitable quarters, 143 Storing, definition of, 14 equipment, 192 Strawberries, 79 preserved, 126 Strawberry marmalade, 128 Sterilizing, methods of, 47 String beans, pickled, 132 Succotash, 74 Sugar syrups, 81 Sun drying, 95 Sweet corn, 64, 66, 82, 110, 118 Sweet potatoes, 72, 82, 113, 163 Swiss chard, 28, 68, 111, 118 Syrup, definition of, 56 making, 81 Temperature for steriliza- tion, 49-51 Temporary storage pits, 153 Testing, 58 Time table for canning, 82, 83 for blanching and drying, 118 Tin cans, 177 sealing, 179-186 Tomato, 36, 41, 74, 82, 118, 164 Tools and equipment, 167- 178 Trays for drying, 188 Turnip, 38, 41, 75, 82, 165 Vegetable molds, 6 oyster, 34, 73, 82, 110, 118, 164 Vegetables, amount of water in, 86 planting table for, 41 quality of the raw supply, 19-21 Water, amount of in vege- tables, 86 » iilitiili^i