How Erken preserved food: jams, juices and canning

Saving the abundance of summer and autumn was the housewife's responsibility, and in her Little Cookbook (1943) Erken gives clear advice on juicing, jam-making and canning. Much is timeless craft – some is of its time.

Safety today: Some of the methods below – such as salicylic acid and sodium benzoate – are no longer considered safe, and are given here for historical interest. Follow current guidance on hygiene, sterilisation and shelf life when preserving food yourself.

Clean equipment is half the work

Bottles and jars must always be clean and dry; the juice is "filled at once into clean, dry, cold bottles." The corks "must have lain in hot water or steam" before use, so they are soft, clean and seal tightly.

Start with flawless produce

Berries should "not be picked in rain or in sunless weather" – then they easily mould, ferment or rot. Use berries "that must not have the slightest fault," ideally freshly picked and ripe. For once a berry is spoiled, "neither salicylic acid nor sodium benzoate can cure" it.

Juicing

Always stir the raw juice "the same way to avoid air bubbles in the juice" while the sugar dissolves. Clear juice can be heat-processed in clean, dry bottles in a water bath – then "it can keep for several years."

Jam-making and canning

With cold-preserving "one can manage with considerably less sugar." For canning, the jars must be "completely airtight" and properly sterilised.

Storing

Warm jam and compote is "filled into a dry, warm jar and tied over at once," while still hot. Cold-preserved berries and jam, on the other hand, should be "tied over when cold" – not before.

Save the bounty

Try Erken's own recipes: rosehip juice, fruit juice, stirred lingonberry jam, whole lingonberries and rosehip purée. Explore all of Preserving and Little Cookbook (1943).