The loss of color in canned beets is due to faulty methods of preparation before packing them into the jars.  To secure good results 3 or 4 inches of the top and all of the tail should be left on while blanching.  Beets should be blanched for five minutes and the skin should be scraped but not peeled.  Beets should be packed whole if possible.

Small beets that run forty to a quart are less likely to fade and are the most suitable size for first-class packs.  The older the beets the more chance there is for loss of color.  Well-canned beets will show a slight loss of color when removed from the canner, but will brighten up in a few days.

CLOUDY PEAS

The condition of peas known as “cloudy” is due to such causes as the following: 

1.  Cracking the skin of the pea.

2.  Blanching for too long a period.

3.  Use of water which is too hard or has too much mineral content.

SHRINKAGE OF PRODUCT DURING CANNING

Shrinkage may be due to one or more of the following: 

1.  Improper blanching and cold-dipping.

2.  Careless packing and using variety of sizes.

3.  Sterilizing for too long a period.

4.  Lack of sizing whole products for the container.

Sometimes there is a natural shrinkage that cannot be prevented.  This is due to the fact that vegetables contain air in their tissues and when this air is driven off by the heat, the boiling water in the jar rushes in to fill its place.  In consequence we have an apparent shrinkage in the amount of water.  So be careful to do the blanching as correctly as possible to drive out the air; however, the product will keep just as well in a jar half full of water as if entirely covered with liquid.  The contents of the jar whether food or air are sterile.

SHRINKAGE OF GREENS

Shrinkage of greens or pot herbs during the canning process is usually due to insufficient blanching.  The proper way to blanch all greens or pot herbs is in a steamer or in a vessel improvised to do the blanching in live steam above the water line.  If this is not done much of the mineral salts and volatile oil contents will be extracted by the water and lost.

LOSS OF LIQUID DURING CANNING

A loss of liquid in canning with a hot-water-bath outfit may be caused by one or more of the following: 

1.  Not having the water in the sterilizing vat cover the tops of the jars by at least one inch.

2.  Not providing a suitable platform to hold the jars off the bottom of the sterilizing vat, permitting circulation of water under as well as around the jars.

3.  Not having the wire bail that goes over the glass tops of jars sufficiently tight.