On 08/09/13 12:50, Nick Maclaren wrote:

Somewhere in this house, I have a Ministry of Food booklet from the
1940s which describes the preservation of garden produce ("Dig For
Victory" and all that). It describes the bottling of fruit, and
says that bottling vegetables at home should not be attempted, as
it needs to be done under pressure.

As supporting evidence for that...

"Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables" by Fish.& Food,Min.of
Agriculture (Jul 1989) isbn 0112428649, first published in 1929

That's an intensely practical book, also giving enough
theory to enable the reader to understand why the practice
has evolved.

It has chapters on jams, jellies, marmalade, fruit cheeses &
butters, mincemeat & other fruit preserves, bottled fruit,
fruit syrups and squashes, vinegars, pickles, chutneys,
ketchup, drying & salting, freezing, storing fruit & vegetables.

(1) botulism is mentioned prominently, with appropriate warnings
(2) some jams, e.g. cherry have added citric/tartaric acid
(3) all the methods for vegetables are freezing or drying or
adding to chutney and marrow jam requires extra acid
(4) THERE ARE NO RECIPES FOR CANNING/BOTTLING VEGETABLES unless
acid or salt are present
(5) pressure cooking: 5lb for bottled fruit, 10lb for jam,
15lb for nothing
(6) despite the book's title, there is relatively little
vegetables - just freeze them or dry them

In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

Somewhere in this house, I have a Ministry of Food booklet from the
1940s which describes the preservation of garden produce ("Dig For
Victory" and all that). It describes the bottling of fruit, and
says that bottling vegetables at home should not be attempted, as
it needs to be done under pressure.

As supporting evidence for that...

"Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables" by Fish.& Food,Min.of
Agriculture (Jul 1989) isbn 0112428649, first published in 1929

That's almost certainly an updated version of the same booklet.
Perhaps not even updated very much :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 08/09/13 15:27, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

Somewhere in this house, I have a Ministry of Food booklet from the
1940s which describes the preservation of garden produce ("Dig For
Victory" and all that). It describes the bottling of fruit, and
says that bottling vegetables at home should not be attempted, as
it needs to be done under pressure.

As supporting evidence for that...

"Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables" by Fish.& Food,Min.of
Agriculture (Jul 1989) isbn 0112428649, first published in 1929

That's almost certainly an updated version of the same booklet.

From the forward... "In the sixty years since it was first
published by the Long Ashton Research Station[RIP] and MAFF
[it] has been revised and updated on many occasions. Encouraged
and supported by the National Federation of Women's Institutes..."

Perhaps not even updated very much :-)

Freezing is a "modern method" of preservation, and microwave
cookers shouldn't be used for jam, except for softening fruit.

But then how much of this has changed since 1929? The basics
were well understood by then.

In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

I forgot to say "Thank you" for posting that data.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 08/09/13 15:44, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

I forgot to say "Thank you" for posting that data.

You're welcome - it was my pleasure to re-acquaint
myself with the book. Things like using a trivet (in a
saucepan of hot water) to keep the glass off the
bottom, but if you don't have a trivet then you can
use rolled up newspaper. Really appeals to the "this
is what you are trying to achieve; you can do it via
conventional and unconventional mechanisms" that I
see in the best engineering.

Must try and make some sauerkraut...
(Keep the cabbage at 21C-27C for 2-3 weeks; rats - should
have done it last month!)