CANNING FRUIT IN A WATER BATH

CANNING FRUIT IN A WATER BATH

Canned fruits may be cooked over the fire, but they are, on the whole,
very much better if cooked in a water bath. Prepare fruit and syrup as
for cooking in a preserving kettle and cook the syrup ten minutes.
Sterilize the jars and utensils; fill the jars with fruit; then pour in
enough syrup to fill the jars completely. Run the blade of a
silver-plated knife around the inside of the jar and put the covers on
loosely.

Have a wooden rack, slats, or straw in the bottom of a wash boiler; put
in enough warm water to come to about four inches above the rack; place
the filled jars in the boiler, being careful not to let them touch. Pack
clean white rags or cotton rope between and around the jars to prevent
their striking one another when the water begins to boil. Cover the
boiler and let the fruit cook as directed, counting from the time the
surrounding water begins to boil. (This cooking is called sterilizing.)

Draw the boiler aside and remove the cover. When the steam passes off,
lift out one jar at a time and place it in a pan of boiling water beside
the boiler; fill to overflowing with boiling syrup; wipe the rim of the
jar with a cloth wrung from boiling water; put on rubbers and cover
quickly; stand the jar upside down and protected from drafts, until
cool; then tighten the covers if screw covers are used, and wipe off the
jars with a wet cloth. Paste on labels and put the jars on shelves in a
cool, dark closet.

The time given for sterilizing is for quart jars; pint jars require
three minutes less.