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.