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New Notes on Tin Cans
Title
New Notes on Tin Cans
Excerpt
Our Department of Agriculture correspondent seems to have "been spending considerable time in the kitchens of the Bureau of Home Economics lately, finding out the latest home canning methods.
She writes: "Maybe you wouldn't "believe that there's a lot of news in a tin can. I wouldn't have guessed it, if I hadn't been finding out so much lately from the people at the Bureau of Home Economics who are studying the best ways of putting up food at home. You know, I belong to the generation of housewives who canned in glass jars as a matter of course. But I find now that I am far behind the times. Tin cans have come into their own -- or perhaps I should say, 'have come into the home.' I learn now that home canners are using both tin and glass, and that tin is the favorite for those who can in quantity. At many of the community canning centers in the different States, where farm housewives cooperate on their canning jobs, they use tin altogether for their big outputs.
"The canning people here tell me that tin has several decided advantages for large-quantity home or community canning. First, they say that with tin in place of glass you have less loss through breaking. Then, they say that the juice doesn't leak out from the tin cans because the cans are tightly sealed before processing. Also, canning in tin goes faster because you can pack cans in several tiers in your canner. The matter of freshness of flavor, color and texture is important, too. Heat penetrates tin more quickly than glass so the recessing time usually can be shorter. That helps save flavor and freshness generally. So does the quick-cooling that comes from plunging the cans right into cold water as you take them from the canner -- something else that you can't do in glass. This saves tender peas, corn and asparagus from being overcooked.
She writes: "Maybe you wouldn't "believe that there's a lot of news in a tin can. I wouldn't have guessed it, if I hadn't been finding out so much lately from the people at the Bureau of Home Economics who are studying the best ways of putting up food at home. You know, I belong to the generation of housewives who canned in glass jars as a matter of course. But I find now that I am far behind the times. Tin cans have come into their own -- or perhaps I should say, 'have come into the home.' I learn now that home canners are using both tin and glass, and that tin is the favorite for those who can in quantity. At many of the community canning centers in the different States, where farm housewives cooperate on their canning jobs, they use tin altogether for their big outputs.
"The canning people here tell me that tin has several decided advantages for large-quantity home or community canning. First, they say that with tin in place of glass you have less loss through breaking. Then, they say that the juice doesn't leak out from the tin cans because the cans are tightly sealed before processing. Also, canning in tin goes faster because you can pack cans in several tiers in your canner. The matter of freshness of flavor, color and texture is important, too. Heat penetrates tin more quickly than glass so the recessing time usually can be shorter. That helps save flavor and freshness generally. So does the quick-cooling that comes from plunging the cans right into cold water as you take them from the canner -- something else that you can't do in glass. This saves tender peas, corn and asparagus from being overcooked.
Creator
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Home Economics
Date
1936
Relation
Housekeepers' Chat
File(s)
New Notes on Tin Cans 1.jpg
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New Notes on Tin Cans 2.jpg
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