Browse Exhibits : 5

Canning Techniques

Success in home canning depends a good deal on how well the canner understands the ‘why’ of each step in the method.

 

-- United States Department of Agriculture. (1921). Home canning of fruits and vegetables. Farmers' Bulletin, 1211. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/CAT87202920

Before jars and cans can be processed they have to be filled through either the raw (cold) pack or hot pack method.

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Canning Through the World Wars

American housewives canned more than 4 billion cans and jars of food in 1943, and nearly 3 ½ billion quarts of food in 1944. The latter represents nearly one-half of the canned vegetables and two-thirds of the canned fruits that were available for civilian consumption that year.



--Toepfer, E. W. & Reynolds, H. (1947). Advances in home canning. United States Department of Agriculture: The Yearbook of Agriculture 1943-1947. Retrieved from http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/naldc/catalog.xhtml?id=IND43894002&start=0&searchText=&searchField=&sortField=&yearFacet=1943&authorFacet=Reynolds%2C+Howard

Canning as a method of food preservation greatly increased with the advent of both World War I and World War II, spurred on by rationing and advanced techniques, along with an increased awareness of the importance of following good food safety practices.

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Consequences of Improper Canning

All food should be inspected before being prepared for the table. Canned food is no exception to this rule. If there is any evidence of spoilage, the food should be discarded and nonacid vegetables and meats should be burned.



--Stanley, L. & Stienbarger, M. C. (1936). Home canning of fruits, vegetables, and meats. United States Department of Agriculture: Farmers' Bulletin, 1762. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/CAT87205286

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Evolution of Canning Equipment

Whether a homemade or commercial canner is used it is necessary to assemble certain utensils which are found ordinarily in every home.



--Creswell, M. E. & Powell, O. (1917). Home canning of fruits and vegetables: as taught to canning club members in the southern states. United States Department of Agriculture: Farmers' Bulletin, 853. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/CAT87202342

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Home Canning: Post World War II to Present

Do-it-yourself is in. Nowhere is the trend more apparent than in the area of home production and preservation of the family food supply.



--United States Department of Agriculture. (1977). Canning, freezing, storing garden produce. Agriculture Information Bulletin, 410. Retrieved from http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/catalog/CAT87209982

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