AMERICAN OR DOMESTIC SARDINES

The fish taught and used for packing domestic sardines belong to the herring family and are said to be of the same species as the sardines of France, Portugal and Spain.  There are two methods generally used in canning sardines.  First, when the fish are put in a sauce such as mustard dressing or tomato sauce, and secondly where they are packed in oil.

CANNING SARDINES IN SAUCE

The heads are cut off, the scales taken off and the fish cleaned.  Blanch 5 minutes; cold dip; drain and pack into the cans dry.  Cover with sauce, either mustard or tomato.

SARDINES IN OIL

The fish are prepared in the same manner as above described but instead of blanching them, they are put in wire baskets and immersed in boiling peanut or cottonseed oil until tender.  Olive oil might be used, but is rather expensive.  When cooked, they are drained, packed into cans in order, and the cans filled with olive oil.  It is often advisable to salt the fish while fresh and before cooking as it improves the flavor.

CRAB MEAT

Put 5 gallons of water in a large kettle.  Add 1/4 lb. of baking soda to it.  When boiling vigorously throw the live crabs in it and boil quickly for 20 minutes.  Remove crabs and wash them in cold water.  Pick out all meat.  Wash the meat in a brine made of 1 ounce of salt dissolved in three quarts of water.  Drain and pack in enameled No. 1 flat cans.  Sterilize.  As soon as the time of sterilizing is up, plunge the cans immediately into cold water, otherwise crab meat discolors.  For this reason, glass jars are not so well adapted to crab meat canning as tin cans.

FLAKED CODFISH

The fish are first cleaned and the entrails removed, then the fins are cut off.  The fish are then soaked for about two hours in a salt brine to remove the blood.  This brine is made with about 10 lbs. of salt to 8 gallons of water.  The brine is then rinsed off and the fish are cooked, either boiled or cooked by steam.  When codfish are thoroughly cooked, the meat will drop off of the bone in pieces, and it is very white in color and crisp in texture.  These pieces are then broken in suitable sizes and are ready to place in the cans.  The cans are filled as full as possible, because after processing the fish will shrink some.

CRAWFISH

The best way to can crawfish is to put it up in a bouillon as follows:  Water, 2 gallons; vinegar, 1 quart; cloves, 10; carrots in slices, 6; onions in slices, 6; cloves of garlic, 3.

To the above should be added a good quantity of pepper to suit the taste, a little salt and bunch of parsley and a little thyme.  Boil slowly for about an hour.  Throw in the crawfish after the intestines have been extracted; to do this take the live crawfish in your hand and tear off the wing which is in the middle of the tail; it will pull out at the same time a little black intestine which is very bitter.  Boil one or two minutes, never longer, put in cans and process.