32. UTENSILS REQUIRED.--The utensils required for canning by the
cold-pack method are shown assembled in Fig. 6. Chief among them is a
_sterilizer_, or boiler, which consists of a large fiat-bottomed vessel
fitted with a rack and a tight-fitting cover. A number of such devices
are manufactured for canning by the cold-pack method, but it is possible
to improvise one in the home. A wash boiler, a large pail, a large lard
can, or, in fact, any large vessel with a flat bottom into which is
fitted a rack of some kind to keep the jars 3/4 inch above the bottom
can be used. Several layers of wire netting cut to correct size and
fastened at each end to a 3/4-inch strip of wood will do very well for a
rack. In any event, the vessel must be deep enough to allow the water to
cover the jars completely and must have a tight-fitting cover. Besides a
sterilizer, there are needed three large vessels, one for scalding the
food that is to be canned, one for cold-dipping, and one for keeping the
jars hot. To hold the food that is to be dipped, a sieve, a wire
basket, also shown in Fig. 6, or a large square of cheesecloth must also
be provided, and for placing jars in the water bath, a can lifter, a
type of which is shown on the table in Fig. 6, may be needed. The
remainder of the equipment is practically the same as that described
under the heading General Equipment for Canning.


PROCEDURE IN THE ONE-PERIOD COLD-PACK METHOD

33. PREPARING THE CONTAINERS.--The first step in the cold-pack method
consists in preparing the containers for the food. The jars, rubbers,
and covers, however, do not have to be sterilized as in the open-kettle
method. But it is necessary first to test and cleanse the jars and then
to keep them hot, so that later, when they are filled and ready to be