Remember that the higher the altitude the lower the degree of heat required to boil water.  Time-tables given in instructions for canning are usually based upon the requirements of an altitude of 500 feet above sea level.  Generally speaking, for every 4000-foot increase in altitude it will be well to add twenty per cent to the time required as given in recipes or time schedules for the canning of all kinds of fruits, vegetables, greens and meats.

CHAPTER II

SOFT FRUITS AND BERRIES

Having decided on your canning outfit, whether you are going to can in boiling water, in a condensed steam cooker, or in steam under pressure; having gathered together the necessary tools, such as spoons, knives and a funnel; having raided the storeroom and collected some jars, you are now ready for the actual work of canning.

It is rather unfortunate that strawberries should be one of the very hardest products to can with good results.  The canning itself is simple—­all berries are quickly and easily canned—­but strawberries always shrink, are apt to turn a little brown, and, what distresses us most of all, they float to the top of the jar.

The berry’s tendency to shrink is responsible for loss of color as well as its floating qualities.  However, if you will be exceedingly careful to remove the berries from the canner the minute the clock says the sterilizing period is over, you will have a fairly good product.  Two minutes too long will produce a very dark, shrunken berry.  So be careful of the cooking time.  Another thing that makes a good-looking jar is to pack a quart of berries—­all kinds of berries, not merely strawberries—­into a pint jar.  If you will get that many in you will have a much better-looking jar, with very little liquid at the bottom.  It does not hurt the berries at all to gently press down on them with a silver spoon while you are packing them into the jar.

We know we are going to get a quart of berries into every pint jar, so we know just how many quarts of berries we will need to fill the necessary jars for the next winter’s use.

The first thing to do is to test each jar to see that there are no cracks, no rough edges to cut the rubber, and to see whether the cover and clamp fit tightly, if a clamp type of jar is used.  The bail that clamps down the glass tops should go down with a good spring.  If it does not, remove the bail and bend it into shape by taking it in both hands and pressing down in the middle with both thumbs.  Do not bend it too hard, for if it goes down with too much of a snap it will break the jar.  This testing of the bails should be done every year.  The bails on new jars are sometimes too tight, in which case remove the bail and spread it out.  After the bail has been readjusted, test it again.  The chances are it will be just right.  Of course all this testing takes time, but it pays.