FRIED FISH
1. Clean the fish and remove entrails. Split along the back and remove backbone.
2. Place in brine strong enough to float an Irish potato. Allow fish to remain in this brine from 10 minutes to 1 hour according to the thickness of the flesh. This draws out the blood and hardens the meat.
3. Draw, wipe dry.
4. Cut in pieces that can go through jar or can openings.
5. Roll in cornmeal or other flour, dip into beaten egg and roll in flour again.
6. Then put into frying basket and fry in deep fat until nicely browned, or it can be sautéd in bacon or other fat until well browned.
7. Drain well by placing pieces on coarse paper to absorb excessive fat.
8. Pack into hot jars or enameled tin cans.
9. Add 1 teaspoonful salt per quart. Add no liquid.
10. Partially seal glass jars. Completely seal tin cans.
11. Process 3 hours in hot water bath outfit. Process 1½ hours in steam pressure (10 to 15 lbs. pressure).
12. Remove from canner. Seal glass jars. Cool quickly as possible.
BAKED FISH
Prepare and bake fish same as for table use until half done. Pack in hot jars, add salt and sterilize three hours in hot-water-bath outfit or 1½ hours in steam pressure or pressure cooker, 10 to 15 lbs. pressure.
ANOTHER FORMULA FOR MISCELLANEOUS FISH
Rub the fish inside and out with a mixture made as follows: to 50 pounds fish, mix 2½ pounds salt, 2½ pounds brown sugar and 2½ ounces saltpeter. Let the fish stand in a cool place for 48 to 60 hours with the mixture on, then wash and drain. Fill into glass jars or enamel lined tin cans and add the following sauce until cans are nearly filled: ¼ pound whole black pepper, 1½ pounds salt, 1 pound of onions chopped fine, ½ ounce bay leaves, ¼ pound whole cloves, 2 quarts cider vinegar and 25 quarts of water. Soak the pepper, cloves and bay leaves for 48 hours in the vinegar. Put the water, salt and onions in a kettle. Bring to a boil and cook 30 minutes, then add the vinegar and spices. Let boil for one minute. Strain and it is ready for use.
Sterilize for 3 hours in hot-water-bath outfit.
Sterilize for 1½ hours in steam pressure or pressure cooker (10 to 15 lbs. pressure).
CANNED FISH IN OIL
Rub fish with salt, brown sugar and saltpeter as above directed. Wash and dry thoroughly in the sun. Spread on wire screens and dip in oil heated to a temperature of 300 degrees. Use a strap handle plunge thermometer to determine heat of oil. Cottonseed oil may be used for this purpose, although olive oil is best. As soon as the fish are cool enough to handle, pack tightly in cans, filling up with the hot oil.
Sterilize 3 hours in hot-water-bath-outfit; 1½ hours in steam pressure or pressure cooker (10 to 15 lbs.).
CANNED FISH IN TOMATO SAUCE
Handle same as specified under "Another Formula for Miscellaneous Fish," except pour in the following sauce instead of pepper, cloves, onions, etc.: Ten gallons of tomato pulp (mashed tomatoes and juice with cores, seeds and skins removed); 1 gallon cider vinegar, 1 pint Worcestershire sauce; 2½ pounds red sweet peppers; 2½ pounds sugar, 2 cups salt, 2 pounds onions (chopped fine); 1 pound West India peppers and 1 ounce Saigon cinnamon. The fish are processed same as "Fish in Oil." Enamel lined cans or glass jars must be used.
FISH CHOWDER
The cleaned heads of any fish, the backbones cut out of large fish with what meat adheres to them and all other fish scraps may be used for fish chowder. Put all these parts in cold water (to cover) and cook until all the meat can be easily removed from the bones. Pick all the meat from the bones, strain the fish liquor and return it with the picked fish meat to the kettle. Add the following ingredients: To every two pounds of fish picked from bones and the liquor in which fish was cooked add 6 onions, diced or sliced thin; 6 potatoes, diced or sliced thin; 2 tablespoonfuls fat; 1 teaspoonful paprika; 2 teaspoonfuls salt or salt to taste.
Cook vegetables, fat and seasonings until vegetables are half done. Pack hot in cans and sterilize same as all other fish. When the chowder is opened, heat and add milk according to taste.
FISH ROE
For canning be sure to use roe of freshly caught fish and only such roe as is known to be good to eat. The roe of some fishes, such as the garfish, is not eaten.
Clean the roe by removing the shreds and strings adhering to it and wash well in cold water, being careful not to break the roe. Soak for 2 hours in a brine made of 6 quarts of water and 6 ounces of salt. Drain and pack in hot glass jars or enameled tin cans. Can for the same length of time as other fish.
OYSTERS
Be sure all oysters that are to be canned are absolutely fresh, have not "soured" and contain no spoiled oysters. Oysters are opened by hand. All oysters should be rejected that have partly open shells, as this is a sign that the oyster is dead and consequently not fit to eat.
Rinse the oysters to prevent any pieces of shell or grit from getting into the cans. Blanch 5 minutes. Cold-dip. If the canned oysters are to be sold it is required by law to mark on each can the net weight of solids or meat exclusive of liquids.
There have been a number of standard grades of oysters recognized on the Baltimore market. They are given as follows: "Standard Oysters" (four kinds).
No. 1 cans, containing respectively 1½, 3, 4 and 5 ounces of meat, after being processed in the cans.
No. 2 cans, containing respectively 3, 6, 8 and 10 ounces of meat.
"Select" and "Extra Select" Oysters contain respectively 6 ounces and 12 ounces for No. 1 and No. 2 cans. The above are the net weights of meats only that have been drained over a strainer with a wire bottom of ½ inch mesh. These are the only grades that have so far been recognized by the trade. An even balance scale, with one platform for graduated weights and another for articles to be weighed, is used to weigh oysters or clams. It is suggested that those who are going to can clams or oysters find out from their prospective customers just what requirements are as to weights and then make their pack meet the occasion. Under no circumstances is it advisable to make any misstatements or misbrand in any respect.
After oysters have been packed in the can, fill with boiling brine made of 5 quarts of water to ¼ lb. salt to within ½ inch from top of can. Sterilize as other fish.
CLAMS
If clams are received in a muddy condition, it is advisable, though not necessary to wash them before opening. After opening, discard broken or discolored clams. Do not can any clams unless absolutely fresh. Blanch. Cold-dip. Weigh out the amount of solid meat, after draining, that is to go into each can. Weigh and label just as oysters are weighed and labeled.
Fill can to within ½ inch from the top with boiling brine made of 5 gallons of water and 1 pound of salt. Sterilize.
CLAM BROTH AND CHOWDER
Place the clams, after being opened, in a kettle with enough cold water to cover. Add a few stalks of celery. Boil for 10 minutes. Season with salt, and pepper to taste and add 1 tablespoon butter to every 50 or 60 large clams. Can. Clam chowder can be made according to any recipe and then canned.
SHRIMPS
Shrimps when first caught are a grayish white color. They are very delicate and spoil quickly if allowed to stand for any length of time in a warm place. There are two general methods of canning shrimp—the "dry pack" and "wet pack." Nearly all the trade now calls for "wet pack" because the other always has a rather offensive odor and the meat is never so fresh and sweet of flavor as the "wet pack." Canned shrimp is very pleasing to the taste and is preferred by many to lobster for salads and stews.
Wet Pack. Medium sizes are preferable as very large shrimps are apt to be too tough and too dry. Put the shrimps into a wire scalding basket and lower into a boiling hot salt water solution made by mixing one pound of salt to each gallon of water. Allow the shrimps to remain in this bath for about five minutes, then remove and drain thoroughly.
Peel and remove viscera (entrails). The boiling and the salt will harden the meat and make the peeling comparatively easy. Pack into enameled tin cans or glass jars. Nos. 1 and 1½ cans are used almost exclusively. These sizes should contain 4½ oz and 9 ounces of meat respectively. It is unsafe to put in more meat than above directed, for it might cake and become solid when processed.
Add a very mild brine to within ½ inch from top of can. For the brine use 1 teaspoonful salt to 1 quart of boiling water. Sterilize.
Dry Pack. Handle same as above, except do not pour into the cans any brine. The fish is packed in the cans and processed as follows without the addition of any liquor.
Drying of Shrimps. After shrimps are boiled and peeled they may be dried. Spread on a drier of any kind and dry at a temperature of from 110°F. to 150°F. When thoroughly dry pack in dry clean glass jars or in parchment-paper lined boxes.
SALMON
Scale fish, clean and wipe dry. Do not wash. If the fish are large cut in lengths to fill the cans and in sizes to pass through can openings easily. Salmon is usually packed in No. 1 cans or in flat cans. Fill cans with fish after it has been blanched 5 minutes and cold dipped. Sterilize as other fish.
Many salmon packers lacquer the outside of their cans to prevent rusting. This is a very advisable point. The test for unsound salmon is the nose. If the contents issue an offensive odor, it is unsound. Freezing does not hurt canned salmon.
AMERICAN OR DOMESTIC SARDINES
The fish taught and used for packing domestic sardines belong to the herring family and are said to be of the same species as the sardines of France, Portugal and Spain. There are two methods generally used in canning sardines. First, when the fish are put in a sauce such as mustard dressing or tomato sauce, and secondly where they are packed in oil.
CANNING SARDINES IN SAUCE
The heads are cut off, the scales taken off and the fish cleaned. Blanch 5 minutes; cold dip; drain and pack into the cans dry. Cover with sauce, either mustard or tomato.
SARDINES IN OIL
The fish are prepared in the same manner as above described but instead of blanching them, they are put in wire baskets and immersed in boiling peanut or cottonseed oil until tender. Olive oil might be used, but is rather expensive. When cooked, they are drained, packed into cans in order, and the cans filled with olive oil. It is often advisable to salt the fish while fresh and before cooking as it improves the flavor.
CRAB MEAT
Put 5 gallons of water in a large kettle. Add ¼ lb. of baking soda to it. When boiling vigorously throw the live crabs in it and boil quickly for 20 minutes. Remove crabs and wash them in cold water. Pick out all meat. Wash the meat in a brine made of 1 ounce of salt dissolved in three quarts of water. Drain and pack in enameled No. 1 flat cans. Sterilize. As soon as the time of sterilizing is up, plunge the cans immediately into cold water, otherwise crab meat discolors. For this reason, glass jars are not so well adapted to crab meat canning as tin cans.
FLAKED CODFISH
The fish are first cleaned and the entrails removed, then the fins are cut off. The fish are then soaked for about two hours in a salt brine to remove the blood. This brine is made with about 10 lbs. of salt to 8 gallons of water. The brine is then rinsed off and the fish are cooked, either boiled or cooked by steam. When codfish are thoroughly cooked, the meat will drop off of the bone in pieces, and it is very white in color and crisp in texture. These pieces are then broken in suitable sizes and are ready to place in the cans. The cans are filled as full as possible, because after processing the fish will shrink some.
CRAWFISH
The best way to can crawfish is to put it up in a bouillon as follows: Water, 2 gallons; vinegar, 1 quart; cloves, 10; carrots in slices, 6; onions in slices, 6; cloves of garlic, 3.
To the above should be added a good quantity of pepper to suit the taste, a little salt and bunch of parsley and a little thyme. Boil slowly for about an hour. Throw in the crawfish after the intestines have been extracted; to do this take the live crawfish in your hand and tear off the wing which is in the middle of the tail; it will pull out at the same time a little black intestine which is very bitter. Boil one or two minutes, never longer, put in cans and process.
TIME-TABLE FOR BLANCHING AND STERILIZING FISH
| PRODUCT | NUMBER OF MINUTES TO STERILIZE SCALD OR BLANCH | HOT WATER BATH OUTFIT 212°F | CONDENSED STEAM OUTFIT 212°F | WATER-SEAL OUTFIT 214°F | STEAM PRESSURE 5 TO 10 POUNDS | PRESSURE COOKER 10 POUNDS |
| Fish of all kinds | 3 to 5 min. | 3 hrs. | 3 hrs. | 2½ hrs. | 2 hrs. | 1½ hrs. |
| Shell fish of all kinds | 3 min. | 3 hrs. | 3 hrs. | 2½ hrs. | 2 hrs. | 1½ hrs. |
CHAPTER IX
EASY METHODS OF CANNING IN TIN
If the proper sanitary requirements are provided and instructions of the cold-pack method of canning are followed, it is entirely safe and practical to use tin cans for all kinds of fruits, vegetables and other food products. Food poisoning—commonly called ptomaine poisoning—and the effects ascribed to "salts of tin" result from improper handling and improper preparation of the product before packing, or from allowing the product to stand in the tin after it has been opened. The raw food products used for canning in tin must be in sound condition, just as they must be if put into glass containers.
It is true that canned foods may be rendered unfit for use by improper handling of the product before packing and that decomposition may occur after canning, owing to insufficient processing, improper sealing or the use of leaky containers. This condition, however, is no more likely to be encountered in foods put up in tin than in products canned in other types of containers. You run no more danger of poison from your own tin-canned products than from tin-canned food bought at the store. Most canned foods if in a spoiled condition readily show this condition by the swelling of the can or by odor or taste. Canned foods showing such evidences of decomposition should not be used.
Certain foods which are high in protein, such as meats, peas, beans and fish products, may undergo decomposition without making this condition obvious to the senses. It is essential, therefore, that the greatest care be taken to subject such products to proper preparation and ample processing. It should be remembered that canned foods, after opening the containers, should be treated as perishable products and should be handled with the same precautions that are applied when fresh products are being used.
ADVANTAGES OF CANS
Many housewives ask, "Why can in tin when we have always used glass jars?" There are many advantages in canning in tin which we can well consider. There is no breakage as in glass; you can handle the tin cans as carelessly as you choose and you will not hear a snap or crack indicating a lost jar. Furthermore, tin cans are easier to handle not only in canning but in storing.
The expense each year of new tin covers or new tin cans is no more than the purchase of new rubbers and the replacement of broken glass jars. Furthermore, one big advantage of tin over glass is that tin cans can be cooled quickly by plunging them into cold water immediately upon removal from the canner, and thus the cooking is stopped at the proper moment. The product is consequently better in form and flavor than when the cooking is prolonged, as it must be in glass jars. Many women like the large openings of cans because they can make better packs than when using narrow-necked jars.
If you do not care to bother with the soldering you can purchase a safe and simple device that will do the work for you. This device is called a tin-can sealer. With a sealer no soldering is necessary. Even an inexperienced person, by following directions carefully, can seal a can as well as an experienced one. The sealed cans look exactly like those purchased at the store. Two or three cans a minute can be sealed with this device.
This is the way to operate a can sealer: Prepare the fruits and vegetables as for any canning, following directions formerly given for cold-pack canning.
After the fruits or vegetables have been properly prepared, blanched and cold-dipped if necessary, place them in sanitary, solderless cans. Put water or sirup on, according to directions. Put the top on the can and place the can in the sealer.
Raise the can into the chunk by swinging the raising lever at the bottom of the machine against the frame. Turn the crank, rapidly at first, with the right hand, and at the same time push the seaming-roll lever very slowly with the left hand until it will go no farther. This is one of the most important steps in the use of the machine. Continue to give the crank several turns after the seaming-roll lever has gone as far as it will go. This completes the first operation or seam.
Continue turning the crank with the right hand, and with the left hand pull the seaming-roll lever until it will go no farther in this direction. After this has been done give the crank several more turns, and the second and final operation is complete. Bring the seaming-roll lever back to the middle position and remove the can. The can is then ready for sterilization.
Before sealing a new lot of cans or after changing for a different size of can, one or two of the cans about to be used should be tested for leaks. If this is done and the cans stand the test it will be unnecessary to test the remaining cans of that same lot. The following is a simple and safe test:
Put one tablespoon of water into an empty can and seal. Have on hand a vessel containing enough boiling water to cover the can. Set aside and, as soon as bubbles disappear from the surface, immerse the can in the hot water. This heats the water in the can and creates a pressure within the can. Keep the can under the surface for two minutes, and if by that time no bubbles rise from the can the can has been sealed air-tight.
ADJUSTING THE SEAMING ROLLS
If bubbles rise from the can the seam is not sufficiently tight. If this seam is not sufficiently tight the second seaming roll needs adjusting, provided the directions regarding seaming rolls given below have been observed. To set the rolls proceed as follows: Loosen the nut on the bottom of the seaming-roll pin. With a screw driver turn the seaming-roll pin counter clockwise—that is, from right to left. Turn very slightly and, while holding the seaming-roll pin with the screw driver in the left hand, tighten nut with the right hand, and test as before.
Occasionally it is well to compare the seam after the first operation with the sample can which is sent with the machine.
If seaming rolls cut into the can they are set too close, and the seaming-roll pin should be adjusted in the opposite direction from above.
After adjusting, always test cans as suggested above before canning. The seaming rolls are set before the machine leaves the factory and should not require adjusting for some time, but I have found that slight variations in cans may make adjusting necessary.
If for any reason the second seaming roll is brought into contact with the can before the first operation is complete it may injure the can seriously, thus preventing an air-tight seam.
If the first seaming roll is forced in too rapidly it may ruin the seam. Push the seaming-roll lever gently and steadily, while turning the crank with the right hand. This rolls the seam gradually. There is no danger from bringing in the second seaming roll too quickly if the first seaming roll has completed its work.
There are thus, as you see, two kinds of tin cans used in home canning: The sanitary or rim-seal can, which is used with a sealer, and the cap-and-hole can. The latter consists of a can, and a cover which carries a rim of solder and is fastened on the can by the application of heat.
The sanitary can has a cover a trifle larger than the diameter of the can, thus leaving the full diameter of the can open for filling. That part of the cover that comes into contact with the can is coated with a compound or fitted with a paper gasket or ring which makes a perfect seal when the cover is crimped on the can. Some mechanical device is necessary for sealing this can, and this is the sealer.
Cans may be had with inside enamel or plain without any enamel. The following fruits and vegetables should be canned in enamel-lined cans: All berry fruits, cherries, plums, rhubarb, pumpkin, beets and squash. All highly colored products should be canned in enamel-lined cans to prevent the bleaching effect induced by their action upon the plain tin. Some prefer to can fish and meat in the enamel-lined cans. Other products not mentioned here may be canned in plain cans, since they are less expensive than the enamel-lined cans.
Covers are lined in two ways, with the paper gasket and the compound gasket. The compound gasket is merely a preparation, scarcely visible, applied to the under side of the cover and is not easily damaged by handling. The paper gasket is a ring placed on the under side of the cover and must be handled carefully. If the paper gasket becomes broken the cover must be discarded. To sterilize covers having the paper gasket, place them in the oven for a few minutes, but do not wet them, before sealing cans. Do not remove or handle paper gaskets.
When the cans are removed from the cooker the ends should be raised; this is caused by the pressure within. If they are not raised at the ends the cans should be carefully examined for defects. After the cans are sterilized they should be cooled off in water. This will cause the ends to collapse. If they do not collapse the reason is probably due to overfilling. It must be remembered that peas, beans and corn swell a certain amount after water is placed in the cans; therefore, in canning these vegetables the cans should be filled only to within a quarter of an inch of the top. If the pressure of the air from without will not cause the end to collapse, it should be forced in by hand.
THE TINNING OUTFIT
Tin-can sealers are made to handle the regular Number 2, or pint cans, and the Number 3, or quart cans. The sizes are interchangeable, so that in a few minutes' time a Number 2 machine may be changed into a Number 3 machine with the necessary attachments. So it is economy to buy a machine with these attachments, as you can then use either pints or quarts as you desire.
If you are selling to boarding houses and hotels you also will want half-gallon and gallon cans. If you use these larger-size cans and want the sealer you can get it for these sizes, but you must tell exactly what you want when ordering.
The prices which I give are 1919 prices and are of course not stationary. A sealer that will seal the Number 2 sanitary tin cans costs $14. A sealer for Number 3 cans will cost the same amount. But the ideal arrangement is the combination machine which can be used for both the pints, Number 2, and the quarts, Number 3. This type of sealer costs $16.50. A special machine is used for sealing the Number 10 or gallon cans, and its price is $35.
The price of the "winter can opener" is $17.00 for smaller size and $19.50 for the larger one.
Several standard sizes of tin cans are in common use for canning purposes, as follows:
| NUMBER | SIZE INCHES |
DIAMETER OF OPENING INCHES |
| 1 | 2⅝ by 4 | 2-1/16 |
| 2 | 3-5/16 by 4-9/16 | 2-1/16 or 2-7/16 |
| 3 | 4⅛ by 4⅞ | 2-1/16 or 2-7/16 |
| 10 | 6-3/16 by 6⅞ | 2-1/16 or 2-7/16 |
The cans are put up in crates holding 100 or 500 cans. If you are canning for the ordinary market use Number 2 cans for berries, corn, peas and cherries; Number 3 cans for tomatoes, peaches, apples, pears and sweet potatoes.
In buying cans it is always necessary to state whether you desire plain tin or lacquered—enameled—cans. In buying caps always ask for the solder-hemmed caps and give the diameter of the can opening. For whole fruits and vegetables, cans with two-and-seven-sixteenth-inch or even larger openings are preferable. Since the size of the can opening varies and it ordinarily will not be advisable to have more than one capping iron, it is recommended that the larger size—two-and-seven-sixteenth-inch—capping iron be purchased.
The tin cans come in lots of 100 or 500 cans. It is possible to buy as few as two dozen cans, but that never pays. It is cheaper to buy a larger quantity. Number 2 plain sanitary cans in 500 lots cost $3.45 a hundred; in 100 lots, $3.65 a hundred. Number 2 sanitary cans—enameled—in 500 lots cost $3.80 a hundred; in 100 lots, $3.95 a hundred. Number 3, plain, in 500 lots are $4.50 a hundred; Number 3, plain, in 100 lots are $4.70 a hundred. Number 3, enameled cans, in 500 lots, are $4.95 a hundred; Number 3, enameled cans, in 100 lots, are $5.10 a hundred.
The gallons come twelve cans to a case. They are $1.40 a dozen if 100 cases are bought. If less than 100 cases are ordered they are $1.50 a dozen.
The cans that you have to solder yourself run just about the same price, Number 2 being $3.60 in 500 lots and $3.80 in 100 lots. Number 3 are $4.70 in 500 lots and $4.90 in 100 lots. The buyer must pay express or freight charges on both sealers and tin cans.
PREPARING OLD CANS FOR REFILLING
Formerly, after using a tin can once we threw it away; but men with brains, realizing this waste, have come to our rescue, and as a consequence we can now use a can three times—that is, if we have a sealer. The sealer that seals our cans will also open them for us, so it becomes our winter can opener. With this can opener we can use our tin cans three times, buying each year only new tops, which cost less than good rubbers.
Cutting and Reflanging Tin Cans. Cutting off the can the first time. First lift the spring pin in the top piece, push the lever from you, drop the spring pin between the stop of the first operation roll and the cutting-roll stop. Place the can in the sealer, push the can-raising lever against opposite side of frame. Turn the crank and gently push seaming-roll handle from you until you come against cutting-roll stop, and the top of your can is cut off.
Reflanging. Remove standard can base and in its place put in the reflanging base, lift the spring-pin and bring seaming-roll lever to the original position. Drop the spring pin between the stops of the first and second operation rollers, place the can in the sealer, open end down, push raising lever round until the can engages with the chuck, turn the crank and at the same time gradually push raising lever round against the frame. The can is now ready for use again.
Resealing. The can is now three-sixteenths of an inch shorter than originally. Remove the reflanging base, put one of the narrow washers on the top of the can-raising lever, then the standard can base, and the sealer is now ready. Proceed as with the original can.
Cutting the Can the Second Time. Proceed as at the first time, only be sure to cut off the opposite end. The can may be cut open and reflanged only twice, once on each end of the can body. In cutting and reflanging the second time, leave the three-sixteenth-inch washer under the can base and reflanging base.
Resealing the Second Time. Remove reflanging base and put the second three-sixteenth-inch washer under the standard can base and proceed as directed under resealing.
The soldering equipment required includes a capping iron, a tipping copper, soldering flux, a small brush, a porcelain, glass or stoneware cup in which to keep the soldering flux: sal ammoniac, a few scraps of zinc, solder, a soft brick and a file.
Soldering Flux. Soldering flux is a solution of zinc in crude muriatic acid. It is used for cleaning the irons and for brushing the tins and lead surfaces so as to make it possible for the melted lead to adhere to the tin.
To Make the Flux. Purchase at the drug store ten cents' worth of crude muriatic acid. Place this in a porcelain, stone or glass jar. Add as much zinc in small pieces as the acid will thoroughly dissolve. The flux is always best when it has stood from twelve to sixteen hours before using. Strain through a piece of cloth or muslin. Dilute with a little water, about half and half. This will make the soldering flux. When using keep the flux well mixed and free from dust and dirt.
Tinning Capping Iron. Purchase five or ten cents worth of sal ammoniac at the drug store; clean iron with file or knife. Mix a little solder with the sal ammoniac. Heat the capping iron hot enough so that it will melt the solder and convert it into a liquid. Place the iron in the vessel containing the mixture of sal ammoniac and solder. Rotate iron in the mixture until the soldering edge of the iron has become bright or thoroughly covered with the solder. All particles of smudge, burned material, and so forth, should be removed from the iron before tinning.
Tinning the Tipping Copper. The tipping copper is tinned in very much the same way as the iron. Sometimes it is desirable to file the tipping copper a bit so as to make it smooth and to correct the point. Heat the copper and rotate the tip of it in the mixture of sal ammoniac and lead until it has been covered with the melted lead and is bright as silver. The copper should be filed nearly to a sharp point.
Capping a Tin Can. Use one tin can for experimenting. By capping and tipping, heating the cap, and throwing it off and simply putting another cap on the same can, you can use this one can until you become proficient in capping.
When capping the full packs arrange the cans in rows upon the table while the capping and tipping irons are heating in the fire. Take a handful of solder-hemmed caps and place them on all cans ready to be capped. Place a finger on the vent hole, hold cap in place, and run the brush containing a small amount of flux evenly round the solder-hemmed cap with one stroke of the hand. Do this with all cans ready to be capped. Then take the capping iron from the fire. Insert in center the upright steel. Hold the capping iron above the cap until the center rod touches the cap and holds it in place. Then bring it down in contact with all four points of solder-hemmed cap and rotate back and forth about three strokes. Do not bear down on capping iron. A forward and back stroke of this kind, if properly applied, will perfectly solder the cap in place. Remove capping iron and inspect the joint.
If any pin-holes are found recap or repair with copper. It may be necessary to use a piece of wire lead or waste lead rim from a cap to add more lead to the broken or pinhole places of a cap.
Tipping a Tin Can. Take flux jar and brush. Dip brush lightly in flux and strike the vent hole a side stroke, lightly, with brush saturated with flux.
Use the waste solder-hemmed cap rim or wire solder. Place point of wire solder over vent hole. Place upon this the point of the hot, bright, tipping copper. Press down with a rotary motion. Remove quickly. A little practice will not only make this easy, but a smooth, perfect joint and filling will be the result. The cans are now ready for the canner. The handwork is all over, for the canner will do the rest.
Precautions. Do not fill tin cans too full. Leave a one-eighth to one-quarter inch space at the top of the can and see that the product does not touch the cover. If any of the product touches the cover the application of the hot iron produces steam, which may blow out the solder, making it impossible to seal the can.
RULES FOR STERILIZING
Remember all fruits and vegetables are prepared for tin cans exactly as they are for glass jars and the period of cooking or sterilizing is the same. The following rules will help to avoid difficulties in the operation of the various canning outfits:
For hot-water-bath outfits, whether homemade or commercial.
1. Support the cans off the bottom sufficiently to permit the circulation of water under and round the cans.
2. Have the water cover the tops of the cans by at least one inch. The heat and pressure must be equal on all parts of the cans.
3. Count time as soon as the water begins to jump over the entire surface. Keep it jumping.
4. On removing the cans throw them into a sink with running cold water or plunge them into a pail of cold water.
5. If the cans are laid on their sides the false bottom is not necessary.
For steam-pressure and pressure-cooker canners the following precautions should be observed:
1. Lower the inside crate until it rests on the bottom of the steam-pressure canners. In the case of the pressure cooker put the rack in the bottom of the cooker.
2. Have the water come to, but not above, the platform.
3. Tin cans can be piled one above the other.
4. When the canner has been filled fasten the opposite clamps moderately tight. When this has been done tighten each clamp fully.
5. Have the canner absolutely steam-tight.
6. Allow the pet cock to remain open until live steam blows from it.
7. Close the pet cock.
8. After the gauge registers the correct amount of pressure, begin counting the time.
9. Maintain a uniform pressure throughout the process.
10. When the process is completed allow the steam to escape gradually through the pet cock. You can lift the pet cock slowly, using a pencil or a knife. This can be done only with tin cans. If glass jars are used the canner must be cooled before opening the pet cock. Blowing the steam from the pet cock is likely to cause a loss of liquid from the partly sealed glass jars.
11. Throw the tin cans into cold water.
12. If tin cans bulge at both ends after they have been completely cooled, it indicates that they are spoiling and developing gas, due to bacteria spores or chemical action. These may be saved if opened at once and resealed or resoldered and processed again for ten minutes.
The following table will help you in estimating how many cans of fruit and vegetables you will obtain from a bushel of product:
NUMBER OF CANS A BUSHEL FILLS
| NO. 2 CANS | NO. 3 CANS | |
| Windfall apples | 30 | 20 |
| Standard peaches | 25 | 18 |
| Pears | 45 | 30 |
| Plums | 45 | 30 |
| Blackberries | 50 | 30 |
| Windfall oranges, sliced | 22 | 15 |
| Windfall oranges, whole | 35 | 22 |
| Tomatoes | 22 | 15 |
| Shelled Lima beans | 50 | 30 |
| String beans | 30 | 20 |
| Sweet corn | 45 | 25 |
| Peas, shelled | 16 | 10 |
CHAPTER X
INTERMITTENT CANNING OR FRACTIONAL STERILIZATION
In some parts of the United States, particularly in the South, such vegetables as corn, beans, peas, squash, spinach, pumpkin, etc., are canned by what is known as the fractional sterilization, or the so-called Three Days Process.
Southern canning experts have had trouble with certain vegetables, such as those named, when they canned these vegetables in the wash boiler by the cold-pack or one period method. They say that the climatic conditions are so different in the South that what is possible in the North is not possible in the South.
The vegetables are prepared, blanched, cold-dipped and packed as in the cold-pack method and the filled cans or jars are processed in the wash boiler or other homemade outfit a given length of time three successive days.
After each day's processing the cans should be cooled quickly and set aside, until the next day.
The method is as follows:
Process or sterilize glass jars for the required number of minutes on the first day, remove from canner, push springs down tightly as you remove the jar from the canner.
On the second day raise the springs, place the jar in the canner, process or boil for the same length of time as on the first day. Remove from the canner and seal tightly. Set aside until the third day, when the process should be repeated.
For this canning a good spring-top jar is good, although the Mason jar type of top will serve for one year; after one year of use it is advisable to fit old Mason jars and similar types with new tops.
If using the screw-top jars, such as the Mason, do not disturb the seal at the second and third processing unless the rubber has blown out.
This method is only necessary when depending upon boiling water or condensed steam to do the work.
A steam-pressure canner or pressure cooker is used in the South and many other places to avoid bothering with vegetables three successive days.
The steam canner or pressure cooker soon pays for itself in time, energy, and fuel saved as the vegetables may be canned at high pressure in one processing.
The following time-tables are those used in the South and will tell you exactly how long to blanch and process all products. The preparation of vegetables and fruits is the same as in the one-period method, but the time of blanching and sterilizing differs as the time-table indicates.
TIME-TABLE FOR PRODUCTS IN GLASS
(Hot-Water Canner)
| Tomatoes | BLANCH 1 min. | LIQUOR No water | SIZE JAR Quart | PROCESS OR BOIL 30 min. |
| Tomatoes | 1 min. | No water | Pint | 25 min. |
| String beans (very young and tender) | 3-5 min. | Brine[1] | Quart | 1 hr. 15 min. |
| Sweet potatoes | Cook ¾ done | 2 tablespoonfuls water | Quart | 3 hrs. |
| Sauerkraut | Brine[1] | Quart | 40 min. | |
| Baby beets | Cook ¾ done | Hot water | Quart | 1 hr. 40 min. |
| Baby beets | Cook ¾ done | Hot water | Pint | 1 hr. 20 min. |
| Soup mixture | Boil down thick | Quart | 1½ hrs. | |
| Apples | 1 min. | No. 1 sirup | Quart | 15 min. |
| Berries | 1 min. | No. 1 sirup | Quart | 13 min. |
| Figs | No. 3 sirup | Quart | 30 min. | |
| Peaches | 1-2 min. | No. 2 sirup | Quart | 25 min. |
| Pears | 1 min. | No. 3 sirup | Quart | 25-35 min. |
| Cherries | No. 3 sirup | Quart | 30 min. |