hrs.|11/2 hrs.
kinds | | | | | |

CHAPTER IX

EASY METHODS OF CANNING IN TIN

If the proper sanitary requirements are provided and instructions of
the cold-pack method of canning are followed, it is entirely safe and
practical to use tin cans for all kinds of fruits, vegetables and
other food products. Food poisoning--commonly called ptomaine
poisoning--and the effects ascribed to "salts of tin" result from
improper handling and improper preparation of the product before
packing, or from allowing the product to stand in the tin after it has
been opened. The raw food products used for canning in tin must be in
sound condition, just as they must be if put into glass containers.

It is true that canned foods may be rendered unfit for use by improper
handling of the product before packing and that decomposition may
occur after canning, owing to insufficient processing, improper
sealing or the use of leaky containers. This condition, however, is no
more likely to be encountered in foods put up in tin than in products
canned in other types of containers. You run no more danger of poison
from your own tin-canned products than from tin-canned food bought at
the store. Most canned foods if in a spoiled condition readily show
this condition by the swelling of the can or by odor or taste. Canned
foods showing such evidences of decomposition should not be used.

Certain foods which are high in protein, such as meats, peas, beans
and fish products, may undergo decomposition without making this
condition obvious to the senses. It is essential, therefore, that the
greatest care be taken to subject such products to proper preparation
and ample processing. It should be remembered that canned foods, after
opening the containers, should be treated as perishable products and
should be handled with the same precautions that are applied when
fresh products are being used.

ADVANTAGES OF CANS

Many housewives ask, "Why can in tin when we have always used glass
jars?" There are many advantages in canning in tin which we can well
consider. There is no breakage as in glass; you can handle the tin
cans as carelessly as you choose and you will not hear a snap or crack
indicating a lost jar. Furthermore, tin cans are easier to handle not
only in canning but in storing.

The expense each year of new tin covers or new tin cans is no more
than the purchase of new rubbers and the replacemen