Putting Food By - Janet Greene [54]
Dewberries
Soft; in Raw pack as under General Procedure. Use jars or R-enamel or white enamel cans.
Elderberries
Best use is for jelly or wine.
If you do can them, use a Hot pack under General Procedure—and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice for each 1 quart of berries, to improve their flavor. In jars or R-enamel or white enamel cans.
Gooseberries
Another scarce fruit in many sections of the country, like the currant. They make such heavenly old-fashioned pies, tarts, and preserves!
Although they’re firm, they do well in Raw pack with very sweet syrup. Or they may be done with Hot pack (where they hold their shape less well).
Wash; pick them over, pinch off stem ends and tails. Some cooks prick each berry with a sterile needle to promote a better blending of sweetening and juice (but we can’t imagine a quicker way to drive ourselves up the wall; we’ll leave it to osmosis).
Raw pack. Heavy Syrup is recommended for these very tart berries. And they’ll probably pack better if you put ½ cup of hot syrup in the bottom of the container before you start filling. Use jars or plain cans. Process as in General Procedure above.
Hot pack. Follow the steps given earlier for a standard Hot pack—but you may want to increase the sugar to ¾ cup for each 1 quart of berries, Process.
Huckleberries
Being cousins of the blueberry, these firm berries are handled like Blueberries.
Loganberries
They’re soft, so pack Raw as under General Procedure.
Raspberries
Tenderest of the soft berries, these really do better if they’re frozen. Put by some as jam or jelly, of course; try canning some sauce or juice. And if you have them in your garden, please don’t forget to take a basket of fresh-picked raspberries to some older person who doesn’t have a way to get them anymore.
If you can them, use Raw pack and Medium Syrup. Use jars or R-enamel or white enamel cans. Follow the General Procedure above.
Youngberries
Another softie. Raw pack, as under General Procedure.
Strawberries
The most popular berry in the United States, these nevertheless are often a disappointment when canned, because they will fade and float if they are handled in the standard way recommended for most other soft berries. Here’s how to have a blue-ribbon product—and no shortcuts, please.
GENERAL HANDLING
Use a Boiling–Water Bath. Use Hot pack only (even though they’re soft). Use jars or R-enamel or white enamel cans.
Wash and hull perfect berries that are red-ripe, firm, and without white or hollow centers. Measure berries. Using ½ to 1 cup sugar for each 4 cups of berries, spread the berries and sugar in shallow pans in thin, alternating layers. Cover with waxed paper or foil if necessary as a protection against insects, and let stand at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours. Then turn into a kettle and simmer for 5 minutes in their own juice. Have some boiling Thin Syrup on hand if there’s not enough juice for packing.
HOT PACK ONLY
In jars. Fill, leaving ½ inch of headroom (adding a bit of hot syrup if needed); adjust lids. Process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C)—pints for 10 minutes, quarts for 15 minutes. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
In R-enamel or white enamel cans. Fill to the top with hot berries and juice. Exhaust to 190–200 F/88–93 C (approx. 10 minutes); seal. Process in a B–W Bath (212 F/100 C)—No. 303 cans for 15 minutes, No. 401 for 20 minutes. Remove cans; cool quickly.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
CANNING FRUIT JUICES
Beverage juices will have better flavor if they are presweetened at least partially. Use sugar, or the sweetener of your choice. (But for sugar-restricted diets, use only sucralose [Splenda] or postpone adding the sweetener until serving time—some sugar substitutes may leave an unpleasant aftertaste in cooking.)
Juices intended for jelly are not sweetened until you are making your jelly.
General Procedure for Most Juices
Because boiling temperature (212 F/100 C at sea level) can impair the fresh flavor of almost