1. The various methods of preserving perishable foods in the home for
winter use originated because of necessity. In localities where the
seasons for fruits and vegetables are short, the available supply in
early times was limited to its particular season. Then foods had to be
preserved in some way to provide for the season of scarcity. It was not
possible, as it is now, to obtain foods in all parts of the country from
localities that produce abundantly or have long seasons, because there
were no means of rapid transportation, no cold storage, nor no
commercial canning industries.
2. In the small towns and farming communities, the first preservation
methods for meats, as well as for fruits and vegetables, were pickling,
curing, drying, and preserving. Not until later was canning known. It
was this preserving of foodstuffs in the home that led to the
manufacture and commercial canning of many kinds of edible materials.
These industries, however, are of comparatively recent origin, the first
canning of foods commercially having been done in France about a hundred
years ago. At that time glass jars were utilized, but it was not until
tin cans came into use later in England that commercial canning met with
much favor.
3. Both canning in the home and commercial canning have had many
drawbacks, chief among which was spoiling. It was believed that the
spoiling of canned foods was due to the presence of air in the jars or
cans, and it is only within the last 50 years that the true cause of
spoiling, namely, the presence of bacteria, has been understood. Since
that time methods of canning that are much more successful have been
originated, and the present methods are the result of the study of
bacteria and their functions in nature. It is now definitely known that
on this knowledge depends the success of the various canning methods.
4. Since commercial canning provides nearly every kind of foodstuff, and
since cold storage and rapid transportation make it possible to supply
almost every locality with foods that are out of season, it has not been
deemed so necessary to preserve foods in the home. Nevertheless, the
present day brings forth a new problem and a new attitude toward the
home preservation of foods. There are three distinct reasons why foods
should be preserved in the home. The first is to bring about _economy_.
If fruits, vegetables, and other foods can be procured at a price that
will make it possible to preserve them in the home at a lower cost than
that of the same foods prepared commercially, it will pay from an
economical standpoint. The second is to promote _conservation_; that is,
to prevent the wasting of food. When fruits and vegetables are
plentiful, the supply is often greater than the demand for immediate
consumption. Then, unless the surplus food is preserved in some way for
later use, there will be a serious loss of food material. The third is
to produce _quality_. If the home-canned product can be made superior to
that commercially preserved, then, even at an equal or a slightly higher
cost, it will pay to preserve food in the home.
5. Of the methods of preserving perishable foods, only two, namely,
canning and drying, are considered in this Section. Before satisfactory
methods of canning came into use, drying was a common method of
preserving both fruits and vegetables, and while it has fallen into
disuse to a great extent in the home, much may be said for its value.
Drying consists merely in evaporating the water contained in the food,
and, with the exception of keeping it dry and protected from vermin, no
care need be given to the food in storage. In the preparation of dried
food for the table, it is transformed into its original composition by
the addition of water, in which it is usually soaked and then cooked.
The drying of food is simple, and no elaborate equipment is required for
carrying out the process. Dried food requires less space and care in
storage than food preserved in any other way, and both paper and cloth
containers may be used in storing it. When storage space is limited, or
when there is a very large quantity of some such food as apples or
string beans that cannot be used or canned at once, it is advisable to
dry at least a part of them. When used in combination with canning,
drying offers an excellent means of preserving foods and thus adding to
their variety.
6. Canning has a greater range of possibilities than drying. A larger
number of foods can be preserved in this way, and, besides, the foods
require very little preparation, in some cases none at all, when they
are removed from the cans. Practically every food that may be desired
for use at some future time may be canned and kept if the process is
carried out properly. These include the perishable vegetables and fruits
of the summer season, as well as any winter vegetables that are not
likely to keep in the usual way or that are gathered while they
are immature.
Many ready-to-serve dishes may be made up when the ingredients are the
most plentiful and canned to keep them for the time when they are
difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise. Such foods are very
convenient in any emergency. Often, too, when something is being cooked
for the table, an extra supply may be made with no greater use of fuel
and very little extra labor, and if the excess is canned it will save
labor and fuel for another day. In the same way, left-over foods from
the table may be preserved by reheating and canning them. Many foods and
combinations of foods may be made ready for pies and desserts and then
canned, it being often possible to use fruits that are inferior in
appearance for such purposes.
Soup may be canned. It may be made especially for canning, or it may be
made in larger quantity than is required for a meal and the surplus
canned. For canning, it is an excellent plan to make soup more
concentrated than that which would be served immediately, as such soup
will require fewer jars and will keep better. Water or milk or the
liquid from cooked vegetables or cereals may be added to dilute it when
it is to be served.
Meat and fish also may be canned, and many times it is advisable to do
this, especially in the case of varieties that cannot be preserved to
advantage by such methods as salting, pickling, or curing.
7. The preservation of foods by canning and drying should not be looked
at as an old-fashioned idea; rather, it is a matter in which the
housewife should be vitally interested. In fact, it is the duty of every
housewife to learn all she can about the best methods to employ. Canning
methods have been greatly improved within the last few years, and it is
a wise plan to adopt the newer methods and follow directions closely.
Especially should this be done if foods canned by the older methods have
spoiled or if mold has formed on top of the food in the jars.
In order to preserve foods successfully and with ease, the housewife
should realize the importance of carrying out details with precision and
care. The exactness with which the ingredients are measured, the choice
and care of utensils, the selection and preparation of the food to be
canned--all have a direct bearing on whether her results will be
successful or not.
By observing such points and exercising a little ingenuity, the
economical housewife may provide both a supply and a convenient variety
of practical foods for winter use. For example, one single fruit or
vegetable may be preserved in a number of ways. Thus, if there is a very
large supply of apples that will not keep, some may be canned in large
pieces, some may be put through a sieve, seasoned differently, and
canned as apple sauce, and some may be cut into small pieces and canned
for use in making pies. Apple butter and various kinds of jams and
marmalades may be made of all or part apples, or the apples may be
spiced and used as a relish. Combining fruits of different flavor in
canning also adds variety. In fact, neither quinces nor apples canned
alone are so delicious as the two properly combined and canned together.
In the same way, if the housewife will watch the markets closely and
make good use of materials at hand, she may provide canned foods at
comparatively little cost. Of course, the woman who has a garden of her
own has a decided advantage over the one who must depend on the market
for foods to can. The woman with access to a garden may can foods as
soon as they have been gathered, and for this reason she runs less risk
of losing them after they have been canned. Nevertheless, as has been
pointed out, it is really the duty of every housewife to preserve food
in the home for the use of her family.
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