FROM THE MAILBAG

New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 255, 12 May 1944, Page 23

FROM THE MAILBAG

The Answer is NO ° Dear Aunt Daisy, I am about to become a "bachelor girl" one of these days very soon, and am therefore rather interested in methods of bottling and preserving vegetables and fruits, etc., with a minimum of sugar, because at present I am boarding, and of course have no chance of saving any of the precious sugar for these commodities. I have heard of some method where it is done with cold water only, and am wondering if this proves effective. So if you could possibly help me out, I would be very grateful indeed. "Janelyn" (Southland). No, Janelyn, the method whereby you simply cover the fruit or vegetables with cold water and screw them down is definitely NOT to be followed, It is true that it has worked all right with green gooseberries, but for my own part I would not use it even for those. Fruit MUST be sterilised, and it can be done quite well in plain water without sugar, although the flavour is certainly better and richer if a syrup is usedeven a very light syrup of one cup sugar to 3 cups water, boiled together for 10 minutes before pouring over the fruit. Vegetables must be sterilised for a much longer time than fruit, and done according to the methods I have lately given on this page. Remember that most vegetables need twice sterilising at boiling point, for two days in succession, that a handful of salt in the water-bath helps that water to attain # higher temperature, and that all nonacid preserved vegetables must be reboiled for at least 15 minutes before eating, as a precaution against botulinus poisoning. Actually, non-acid vegetables should only be preserved with a pressure cooker; in factories large pressure cookers are used. ee