Blanching is scalding, only for a longer time.  Scalding is never for more than two minutes.  Blanching covers from three to thirty minutes.

We blanch beans, peas, corn, cabbage, carrots, beets, turnips, and so on, for three to ten minutes.  We blanch these vegetables to eliminate any objectionable acids or bitter flavors which may be present, and thus improve the flavor; to reduce the bulk so we can pack closer; to start the flow of the coloring matter; to improve the texture of the vegetables by making them more tender, and to improve the appearance by helping to make clear the liquid in the jar.  Blanching is what makes for success in the cold-pack method of canning.  Blanching is very important and must be carefully and accurately done.

Let me repeat about blanching:  Have the kettle of blanching water boiling vigorously, completely immerse the product in the boiling water, cover the kettle immediately and begin to time the product.  Do not stand with the cover in hand and wait for the water to come back to the boil, for, of course, it stopped boiling for a second when you lowered into it the cold product.  If you cover the kettle the water will quickly reboil.  Do not keep wondering if it is boiling and take off the cover to see.  All these may seem foolish precautions, but it is necessary to follow directions accurately.

And remember, all things that are scalded or blanched must be followed immediately by a cold plunge or “cold-dip.”  The scalding or blanching is the “hot-dip,” and this must be followed by the “cold-dip.”  You may be asking, what is the point of this “cold-dip”?  It is a very logical question.

We “cold-dip” a product to harden the pulp under the skin and thus permit the removal of the skin without injury to the pulp; to coagulate the coloring matter and make it harder to dissolve during the sterilization period and to make it easier to handle the products in packing, and to subject the product to a sudden shock by quick change in temperature.

STEPS IN CANNING VEGETABLES

If you will follow these steps for all vegetable canning you cannot help but be successful: 

1.  Clean jars and test rubbers.  If rubbers do not return to normal shape after stretching, do not use.

2.  Prepare material to be canned, according to directions given on chart.

3.  Hot-dip—­blanch or scald—­the prepared food.  This process consists of immersing the prepared product in boiling water for different lengths of time, according to the material to be canned.  See chart.  Hot-dipping shrinks the product and enables one to pack more material in a jar.

4.  Cold-dip the material.  This process consists of plunging the blanched or scalded food into cold water, which makes it more easily handled.  Be sure the water is cold; the colder the better.

Take the product out immediately and let it drain. Don’t let any food soak in the cold water.