If you have trouble sealing tin cans the chances are that the can is too full.  See that no particle of food touches the top or when soldering, if you employ that method of sealing, small pin holes will be blown in the seal by escaping steam which is generated by the hot sealer coming in contact with the cold food.  Another cause of sealing trouble lies sometimes in a poorly heated capping steel or because it is not kept brightly tinned.  To make a proper seal the steel must be kept bright, hot and clean.

Also, be sure you buy good solder as there are inferior grades that are too poor to flow when properly heated.

FROZEN PRODUCTS

Watch all jars and cans that have been subjected to a freeze.  If the cans or jars do not burst the only harm done is a slight softening of the food tissues.  In glass jars after freezing there is sometimes a small crack left which will admit air and consequently bacteria.

Sometimes cans and jars tip over in the wash boiler during sterilizing.  This is caused by using a false-bottom which is too low or because it is not well perforated.  Or it may be due to the fact that the jar was not well packed and so may be too light in weight.

CHAPTER XII

GETTING READY TO DRY

For various reasons women have not taken so kindly to drying fruits and vegetables as they have to canning these foods.

One woman said to me:  “I like the canning because I can come to a demonstration and see the whole process carried through from start to finish.  The drying of strawberries cannot be completed in sixteen minutes as the canning is.”  And another woman said:  “What I do not like about drying is having the stuff standing round the house somewhere for so many hours.  I like to get things in the jars and out of sight.”

These two objections seem to be expressed more than any other.  And in addition there is a third objection to drying:  “I want my prepared food ready to use on a minute’s notice.  I can quickly open a can of my fruit and vegetables and there it is ready.  With my dried things I have to allow time for soaking and cooking.”  This we will have to admit is true.  But what weight have these three arguments against the many advantages of drying?

When we study the history of food preservation we find that drying was practiced before canning, pickling or preserving.  I know my grandmother successfully dried quantities of things.

Vegetable and fruit drying have been little practiced for a generation or more, though there have been some thrifty housekeepers who have clung to their dried corn, peas, beans and apples.  A friend of mine says:  “Why, dried corn has a much better, sweeter taste than your canned stuff.  I would rather have one little dish of my delicious dried corn than two big dishes of your canned corn.”