Cookbook's Foreword

The cookbook Home Canning Ontario Fruits and Vegetables is an informative cookbook on how to can fruits and vegetables safely and efficiently. The cookbook is written by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs within the Ontario Government and was published in 1975. At the time of publication, the deputy minister was Kenneth Lantz, and the minister was Lorne C. Henderson. The cookbook was published in order to raise awareness for the safety of canning to prevent foodborne illness. The cookbook itself is 20.5cm x 14.5cm and 38 pages long, with a red cover featuring a jar with fruits and vegetables surrounding it. The cookbook features easy to follow recipes for canning fruits and vegetables, as well as a “do’s and don’ts” section, and frequently asked questions. The first section of the book is dedicated to canning fruits and tomatoes; this section covers preparation, processing and a special tomato section. The second section is dedicated to canning vegetables, consisting of preparation, processing, and safety. Both the first and the second sections contain a chart of food types and how much can be canned, preparation charts for each food type, as well as a step by step canning process. The canning process for both vegetables and fruits is similar, consisting of equipment collection, food selection, jar preparation, equipment preparation, syrup preparation, food preparation, jar filling, and jar closing. The steps are altered for vegetable pressure canning. The cookbook is very detailed, providing several drawn preparation images for the different types of jars and food, as well as black and white photographs to give a visual explanation. This cookbook was previously owned by Norene Gilletz and kept in pristine condition. However, there is a sale sticker on the cover indicating the book was sold for fifty cents at an apple farm in Milton, Ontario, called Chudleigh’s.