JO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 8, 1988
For the
Farm Wife
By Mr*. Richard C. Spence, Feed Editor
Tips For Preserving Summer Foods
DRY PACK FREEZING SUITABLE
FOR FRUITS: Try freezing fruit slices,
pieces and berries on a tray so they will
pour into a storage container. Then you can.
take out a cupful without thawing an entire
carton. Most berries, cherries, rhubarb pieces,
apple and peach slices freeze well this way.
Just wash the fruit, drain it and spread out
in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Freeze
the fruit for about an hour and then pour
into freezer bags or other moisture-vapor
proof containers.
With peaches, apples and other flesh
colored fruit first treat the fruit with an
ascorbic acid to keep it-from darkening.
SPBNGB Use pineapple, lemon or IHne juice. Or buy
an ascorbic or citric acid so- shape better than using dry
lution made especially for or sugar pack. If you prefer
freezing fruits. Follow direc- this method make a syrup of
tions for using. Drain and 2 cups of sugar and 4 cups of
quick freeze. water. Any sweeter than that
Freeze any fruit as quickly and the frozen fruit will be
as possible. In a freezer the come like a preserve. Label
fast freeze shelf or compart- with the kind of syrup used
ment is well below zero. Freez- 50 that you can figure the
ing at a low temperature keeps extra sugar needed when pre
ice crystals from forming which paring a recipe.
do break down the tissue in
fruits or other foods.
Start with a quality food FOR PICKLES: If you long
for freezing so that a good f°r some special pickle or
product will go to the table, relish that you can t find at
If you prefer to have sugar the grocers you may want to
on frozen fruit, add to the try making a few special jars
fresh fruit and stir gently to Even though you want a pickle
coat each berry or slice It’s that tastes just like mother
a good idea to mark the con- used to make it’s probably
tamer with the amount of best to use an up-to-date re
sugar that goes into each pint cl P e Some of the quick
er quait Then you can figure process pickle making methods
what extra suga, is needed for S lve good results and don t
a recipe you may choose take weeks of preparation time
■For some fruits, freezing Brined pickles are still pop
with a syrup helps hold the with some families, espe-
USE UP TO DATE RE
CIPES' AND PROCESSING
dally If they want to make
large amounts. Fruit pickles
and relishes are other popular
types of accompaniments.
Any pickle or relish needs
to be processed in a boiling
water bath to destroy. organ
isms that cause spoilage. Heat
also stops the enzymes that
may affect flavor, color and
texture. The processing also
takes care of any spoilage
organisms that enter the jar
when the pickles are put in.
For brined pickles that stand
3 weeks or with the fresh
pack dills that sand only over
night the processing time starts
as soon as the jars are placed
in the boiling water canner.
For brined pickles process 15
minutes and for the fresh
pack ones process 20 minutes.
With all other pickles and
relishes don’t start counting
time until water comes back
to a full boil.
Tested pickle recipes call
for high grade white or cider
vinegar with a 4 to 6 percent
acidity. Most recipes do not
dilute the vinegar for pickle
making. If the picMe is too
sour more sugar is added.
Vinegar helps to preserve the
pickles and modifies the taste.
It’s important that pure gran
ulated salt be used in pickle
making. lodized salt darkens'
pickles.
MIX RIPE AND UNDER
RIPE FRUIT TO MAKE GOOD
JAMS AND JELLIES: Jams
and jellies will be “just right”
if you mix some underripe
fruit with fully ripe fruit That
mixture gives a good fruit
flavor and has enough pectin
to make a gel that holds.
Fruits that r-e too green have
a type of pectin that doesn’t
dissolve so it won’t thicken
juice. When fruits are over
ripe the pectin changes to an
County Form Women
Society Has Picnic
The Lancaster County So
ciety of Farm Women held its
annual picnic and board meet
ing at Long Park on Tuesday
with more than 100 members
attending.
acid that doesn't help thicken.
When the natural pectin
and acid combination in apples,
currants or grapes is at the
best stage and this is com
bined with sugar in the right
amount, making -jelly i§;.-po
problem. Sugar helps form-ihe
gel, it also helps preserve the
jelly and it adds to the flavor.
Many fruits need pectin ad
ded to make a jam or jelly.
Recipes that come with the
pectin give exact amounts and
timing for making a good pro
duct. Most fresh fruits may be
canned or frozen as fruit or
juice and then made up in
jelly later.
Certain fruits are especially
good in an uncooked jam that
is stored in the refrigerator
or freezer. It keeps in the re
frigerator for a few months
or in the freezer for a year.
Once the jam has been opened
it needs to be refrigerated and
it’s best to use it soon. Black
berries, blueberries, raspber
ries, strawberries and peaches
are the best fruits for un
cooked jam It takes about a
quart of blueberries, a quart
and a half of other berries
and Th pounds of peaches to
fill nine jelly glasses To 3
cups of the fruit add 5 cups of
sugar, mix, and let stand for
20 minutes Dissolve a package
of pectin in a cup of water
and boil for 1 minute Stir it
into the fruit mixture for a
couple of minutes and pour
into jars Freeze or refrigerate
Dear Long and Bomberger:
The trouble with that Sherwin-Williams HOME DEC-
ORATOR you sent us is that it shows rooms which are
too beautiful to be true. Can you actually help us make
our rooms look that breath-taking?
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Doubter;
Sure! Come on- in and let us show you how we help
you coordinate' colors,- -pick the right kinds of paints,'
help you find a painter or show you how to do-dt-
yourself.
LONG
BOMBERGER
HOME CENTER
45 North Brood St., Lititz
Signed:
Mr. and Mrs. Doubter
Signed:
AND
<•
Phone 626>2123
The group voted unanimous*
ly to register a formal protest
on the issue of introducing
alcoholic beverages into the
State Farm Show. The secre
tary will draft a letter to the
Pennsylvania Secretary of Ag
riculture voicing the Society’s
protest.
Following discussion on the
subject, the group voted unani
mously to continue the project
of taking snacks to the County
Home.
Guest ■ speaker for' the pro
gram was Mrs. John Marks,
purchasing-' chairman; of 'the
Needlework * Guild. She - ex
plained the purpose of this
international civic organisation.
The next regular meeting
was scheduled for October 4,
at 1:30 p. m.
FARM WOMEN
The Society of Farm Woman
1 will meet at the Ephrata
Cloisters at 6:30 p. m. o.i Sat
urday, August 6 and tour the
various buildings. They will
also attend the Vorspiel pa
geant which will begin, at 3
p. m. Tickets will be obtained
prior to the pageant perform
ance.