Autumn is harvest time. The time to put up all the fresh garden produce you’ve grown this summer. In the past this would have made up most of your family’s meals during the winter months. Vintage tips for putting food by.

In canning fruits the flavor of the fruit is preserved better than in any other way, since less sugar is used in canning than in preserving. Therefore, this means o-f preservation gives us the best substitute for fresh fruit. Canning fruit is simply putting sterilized fruit into sterilized jars, and making the jars air-tight and watertight. Sugar may be used or omitted. When we use the word sterilize, we mean killing all bacterial life by means of heat. To sterilize our jars we simply boil them until all possible bacterial life has disappeared.

Buying in quantity is the cheapest way to buy fruits. Much better value can be obtained for your money by buying by the crate or the basket rather than by the pound. Do not buy from stands or from carts, as it is very necessary to have fresh fruit for all canning and preserving. Fruits for canning should be firm, fresh, and ripe, but never overripe, as overripe fruit ferments, even though it has been boiled and put up in air-tight jars.

After purchasing the fruit, the sugar, and as many one-quart jars as will hold the fruit desired, the next thing to do is to prepare the table, as we would in a cooking-lesson. Surely every girl who reads this chapter in the home making course has learned the lesson, that she must never begin to cook until everything she needs is ready on the kitchen table.

Draw the table into the middle of the kitchen, away from the wall; for the preservation of the wall and for the greater convenience of the cooks. Cover the table with a paper. Collect all materials, fruit, sugar, jars, and cooking utensils. These utensils are: pan, in which to sterilize the jars; kettle for cooking the fruit (this should be of agate or enamel, never of tin) ; wooden or silver spoon for filling the jars and for stirring the fruit; a working plate; a cloth for standing jars on and wiping them; silver knife; funnel for filling jars with small fruit (the larger fruit is dropped into the jars with the spoon); scales; measuring-cup; brush for cleaning the fruit; paring-knife; quart jars, and covers; rubber rings; colander for washing berries and draining the water from the fruit, as an excess of water will make the fruit tasteless.

Go carefully over the receipt and notice for yourself what utensils and what materials will be needed in this canning lesson. Not until these are on the kitchen table, and every girl wears a large apron and has perfectly clean hands, and the kitchen fire is at its best, is it time to begin work.

In canning we use glass jars with tight-fitting covers and rubber rings. The jars and covers may be used for years, but the rings should never be used but one year, as the rubber becomes porous, and will  let  in  the  air if used a second time.
To Test Jars.
Wash the jar, the cover, and the rubber ring in soapy water, and rinse. Fill the jar with clear water, put on cover and rubber ring, and turn it upside down, allowing it to stand in this position for some little time. If the water comes from under the cover, the jar is not water-tight, and it is useless to sterilize it, as the best sterilization will not make it fit to use for your canning. Remember it is by keep ing all air from the- fruit from the time it is canned until the time it is used, that prevents fermentation.
After testing the jar in this way and finding it is not tight, it can sometimes be made air-tight by putting on a different rubber ring or a different cover, but never use a jar until it will stand this water test. After you have proved them air-tight, sterilize your jars.
To Sterilize Jars.
Wash the jars, and fill with cold water. Set them in a pan of cold water, having the entire jar well covered. Put this pan with jars on the fire and let the water slowly come to the boiling point. Boil for at least five minutes. While the jars are being sterilized, prepare the fruit for them, for they should be filled with the fruit while still hot.
The covers should stand in the boiling water at least five minutes, but the rubber rings should be dipped in and taken out at once. Never allow the rubber to boil in the hot water, as water softens it.General Rules for Canning Fruit.
All  fruit should be washed in cold water, never in hot or warm water. If berries are being canned, hull them after washing. Cherries may or may not be stoned. Pears are cut in half, pared, and the core taken out. Peaches are pared, and the stone taken out. Apples are pared, cut in quarters, and the core taken out. Plums are skinned by scalding them in boiling water. The stone of the plum need not be taken out for canning. Grapes are skinned for jelly and marmalade, but are not skinned for canning.    Rhubarb is peeled before canning.
While thus preparing the fruit, the syrup can’ be cooking on the stove. As has been said, sugar does not necessarily need to be used, but it help-s to keep the fruit from fermenting. For all fruits, such as plums, cherries, and berries, make a syrup of one cup of sugar and three cups of water. This amount of syrup is sufficient for each jar of fruit. For sweeter fruits, such as peaches and pears, use three-fourths of a cup of sugar and three cups of water for each jar. While the syrup is boiling, put the prepared fruit into the syrup carefully, so as not to break it. Cook until the fruit is tender. To know if the fruit is tender, the pupils can try it with a fork. Be sure that the fruit is well heated through, or it will spoil after being put into the jars.
Now that the jars and fruit are sterilized by boiling, the time has come to fill the jars with the fruit.
To Fill the Jars.
Remove sterilized jars from the water and place on a plate covered with a hot, wet cloth, so as to avoid all danger of the jar breaking.
Fill the jar with the boiling fruit until it overflows.    If it is large fruit, it should be put in with the spoon; if small fruit, put it in through a funnel. Run the blade of a silver knife around the outside of the fruit after it is in the jar; dip the rubber in the boiling water for a moment, and put in place around the top of the jar; then take the cover from the boiling water and screw on tightly.

Turn the whole thing upside down and let it stand on its head to cool. When it is cool, be sure that the cover is on so tight that no juice leaks from the can. Wipe ofif your jar with a damp cloth, and put it in a cool place until you are ready to use the fruit.

~A second course in homemaking

Canning Resources