How Did We Can?
In contrast to drying, curing, pickling, salting, cold storage, and freezing, canning is a relatively new approach of food conservation. During canning, food is preserved through heat processing and storage in sealed airtight containers. This procedure was established by Nicolas Appert of France during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1795, Napoleon's government used an award of 12,000 francs for the invention of a food conservation technique suitable for sustaining large quantities of French troops both on land and at sea. Appert won the award in 1809 (VanGarde & Margy Woodburn, 1994). Read more ...
Glass jars can be reused through multiple canning seasons. It is important, nevertheless to check jars and lids for chips, cracks, and dents prior to use. Rubber gaskets, on the other hand, need to not be reused.
Many styles of jars existed, but the 3 main designs were the threaded glass jar with a 1-piece porcelain-lined zinc cap, wire-bail, and threaded glass jars with 2-piece flat metal lids and attached rubber gaskets.
The screw bands of 2-piece lids are gotten rid of after processing and cooling.
Unlike glass jars, tin cans are utilized just one-time. Canning in tin was favored primarily by those operating in bulk due to cost-efficiency. In addition, cans could be stacked when processing, if area allowed, were less prone to damage if transferred, and could be quickly cooled by placing in cold water straight after processing.
Home canning tins could be purchased lined or unlined.
'Sanitary enamel', or 'R enamel' or 'fruit enamel', cans are of deep gold color with bright surface. They are utilized to prevent fading of color in red fruits and specific red vegetables, and to prevent corrosion with pumpkin and squash.
'C enamel' cans need to not be utilized with acid foods like fruits, tomatoes, or sauerkraut, nor with meats or other products when these include much fat. Acid or fat may trigger 'C enamel' to feel off and make the item unsightly.
Early can were sealed through the cap-and-hole process.
When the can has been filled ... tidy and clean the groove around the opening, put the can into place, and solder ...
Apply the topping steel, holding the cap in place with the center rod while reducing the steel, and turn it progressively backward and forward until the solder streams. Do not bear down on the capping steel.
Instantly after exhausting, close the small hole in the top of the can.
While there was overlap in their use, mechanized tin can sealants came to replace the cap-and-hole procedure. Sealing peace of mind or rim-seal cans required a hand ran canning machine that locked the cap in place and created a hermetic seal through a tight double seam.
Two unique operations are needed to seal the hygienic or rim-seal cans. Put the lid on the can and clamp it in the device (fig. 12). Apply the very first roll slowly while the can is revolved. This operation ought to be continued until the cover is locked into position all the way around and the lap joint is made. The second roll is then applied and the can fixed to close the joint and thus hermetically seal the can.
The easiest hot-water attire is one to be put on the kitchen stove. It includes any vessel large enough to hold a convenient number of jars, fitted with a false bottom which holds the jars away from the bottom of the utensil, thus protecting the jars from bumping and overheating, and enabling complete blood circulation of water under them. Several convenient canners of this type are on the market. A big bucket, a wash boiler, or a small metal washtub which can be covered firmly will serve this purpose. The false bottom may be made of wood strips or of strong wire netting, which is raised an inch approximately above the bottom of the vessel.
Boiling water canners could likewise be constructed for outside use.
Canning is more likely to prove appealing work when it is performed in a cool, dubious, outside location.
Another and more complete canner is one constructed especially for outdoor work ... It has a fire box, smoke pipe, and barrel for processing, which are combined in one piece; and with it are provided lifting and blanching trays, tongs for handling hot jars or cans, and tools needed for sealing can. Canners of this type are light and convenient and are planned as portable clothing.
Pressure Canners
Many early pressure canners for home canning were constructed of aluminum and were designed for stovetop use.
The steam-pressure canner ... is built of strong product and offered with a firmly fitting lid, which secured in place makes it possible to hold steam under pressure and obtain a similarly heat ... Most steam-pressure attires will carry approximately 30 pounds pressure with a corresponding range in temperature level from 212° to 274°. Each steam-pressure attire is geared up with a pressure gauge, which signs up the pressure in pounds and the matching temperature level: with a safety valve, steam petcock, and lifting cage.
Pressure canners and cookers are made of materials strong enough to stand up to pressure. Aluminum, either cast or heavy-gauge sheet, is most typical. In hard-water locations the within an aluminum canner will darken but this does not impair its effectiveness. Stainless steel is sometimes utilized for cookers and for canner lids, a special kind of enameled steel for canner kettles. In the past, specifically in times of metal shortage, some canner kettles were made of enameledware or tinned steel, both of which should be handled with care to avoid damage; excessive heat above the water line of such kettles might cause tin to melt, enamel to crack.