MINUTES
Water bath, homemade or commercial 8
Water seal, 214 degrees 6
5 pounds steam pressure 5
10 pounds steam pressure. Do not use.

Remove the jars, tighten the covers, invert the jars to cool and test
the joints. Wrap the jars with paper to prevent bleaching.

CHAPTER III

HARD FRUITS

PINEAPPLES

The object of canning citrus fruits is, first, to save the surplus and
by-products; second, to furnish wholesome fruits at reasonable cost to
more of our people; third, to help the producer to transform
by-products into net profits.

Almost every one likes canned pineapple, but some housewives stopped
canning this fruit because they found that when cooked in sirup it
seemed to get tough and less palatable. Vegetable and fruit fibers are
toughened when cooked with sugar for any length of time, so in all
cases where you desire to keep the product as Nature grew it avoid
this form of cooking.

When the product is put into the jars with a sirup and cooked in the
jar you will have a product superior to the one that is cooked over
the direct fire in the kettle with the sirup.

But pineapple slices or pieces are so hard they cannot be put directly
into the jars as berries are. Pineapples must undergo a preliminary
process to make them palatable and soft. This preliminary process is
known in canning as "blanching."

After the pineapple has been prepared by paring and removing the eyes,
it can be left in slices or cut into cubes. In cutting hold the
pineapple at the top and use a sharp knife. It is then placed in a
wire basket or a piece of cheesecloth for the blanching. Blanching
means to immerse the product in boiling water for a certain length of
time to reduce its bulk and soften it.

Pineapples are blanched for five minutes. We scald peaches and
apricots, which are soft fruits; but we blanch pineapples, apples and
quinces, the hard fruits.

Scalding means to immerse the product in boiling water for a very
short time--just long enough to loosen the skins. Blanching is just a
longer period of scalding.

When you blanch pineapples use only enough water to cover them. This
same blanching water can be used for making the sirup. It contains
much of the pineapple flavor and there is no reason for discarding it.
But this is absolutely the only blanching water that is ever used. All
other blanching water, particularly