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Aids in Buying Canned Goods

If the average household is to be supplied with the vegetables and fruits needed in the abundance recommended in this book, some provision must be made to have a supply on hand during the months when fresh products are not available. In some households, these will be stored, canned, dried or preserved at home. In others, they must be purchased fresh from the market or bought in preserved form from the dealer.

It would be a profitable thing for every housewife to learn sizes in canned goods and demand certain standards. She should keep a record of good and poor grades so that she may ask for the quality she prefers. Canned goods that are used frequently should be purchased in case lots, as a wholesale or reduced price can be obtained in that way.

The canneries have the size of can well standardized. The following list gives the size of the can by number together with an approximate estimate of its contents:

No. ¼ cans sardines, potted meats such as deviled ham, condensed milk, contain 4 to 42 oz.; approximately ½ cup. No. 1½ cans shrimp, lobster, salmon, pimiento, condensed milk, contain 7½ to 8 oz.; approximately I cup.

No. 1 cans (short or small) tunafish, canned soup, milk, boned meats such as chicken, contain 10 to 13 oz.; approximately 13/4 cups.

No. 1 cans (tall or square) salmon, asparagus tips, contain I lb.; approximately 2 cups.

No. 2 cans vegetables such as peas, corn, beans and some fruits, such as pineapple and berries, contain 1 lb. 4 oz.; approximately 21/2 to 3 cups.

No. 2½ cans fruits such as pineapples, peaches, pears, plums, berries; also many vegetables, such as beets, asparagus stalks in square tins, spinach, contain 1 lb. 14 oz. to 1 lb. 15 oz.; approximately 3½ cups.

No. 3 cans tomatoes, beets, sauerkraut, pumpkin and fruits, contain 2 lb. to 2 lb. I oz.; approximately 4 cups.

No. 10 cans mince-meat, apple sauce, marmalades, jams, pickles, sauerkraut, baked beans, corn on cob, in fact, nearly all canned goods for large quantity use, contain 6 lb. 8 oz. to 7 lb. and over for fruits and vegetables and 7 lb. 8 oz. to 8 lb. 12 oz. for marmalades and jams. Approximately ¾ quarts. While the size of can is standardized, there is a variation in weights of cans put up by different canneries. This difference in weight is probably due to a more solid pack or a great density in sirup content in the heavier cans and, this being the case, should the housewife should not know the number alone but acquaint herself also with the weight she can expect in any given size can.