Ruth Kerr (1)

I logged back on Facebook after a 2 year hiatus and saw someone posting a picture and using a canning recipe from this book in one of the canning groups. Of course I gotta have one…I said to my self.

I found a 1st edition, dated 1941, on Biblio.com for just $15.00, and seen others as high as $30.00. So, hey, I grabbed mine for $15.00. Good deal, right? Little did I know it was basically just a teeny-tiny stapled pamphlet, and not a “book” at all. It’s no bigger than my hand. LOL!

It show more seems Kerr Canning was the first company to move away from rubber rings, which were porous and allowed mold to grow, and away from the poisonous zinc caps, which, when corroded, caused ptomaine poisoning and sometimes death.

Kerr caps used to be covered in gold enamel that was baked for 36 hours and not affected by fruit acids at all. Not today! Now they are practically destroyed and begin rusting sometimes right after the very first use.

This book gives instructions on how to remove a lid on the jar. They were told to first puncture a hole in the lid to release the pressure, then remove the lid. The next sentence says, “You buy new lids for the Kerr Jars each year…”. LOL! Classic marketing!

Kerr lids, with their rubber gaskets, were once so well constructed, you could actually use them over and over again. But, I guess when the canners figured out they didn’t actually need to punch a hole in the lid to get it off, then the company had to think of other ways to get their customers back on the hook. That’s probably when they started cheating us on the lids. They are so thin today, more and more people are complaining of some of their jars not sealing and even buckling when canned. Actually, more problems with Ball lids than anything. I haven’t experienced this yet with either lids.

In the canning instructions, this book specifically states NOT TO TURN YOUR JARS UPSIDE DOWN TO COOL! It doesn’t state why, which would be good to know, because I’m starting to see more and more canners turning their jars upside down to cool. Some say it helps the lid to seal better, but I’m not sure I buy that!

It also says to remove the rings from the jar after it has cooled. I do buy this idea. The reason some experienced canners give online is that the seal could come undone, and if the rings are on there, you would never know, especially if it resealed itself, which it will do if left in warmer spaces. Plus, it could rust and bacteria could be caught and multiply underneath the ring. Not good!

I’m not too sure I would use this old, old pamphlet for instructions to canning things because over the years, as more is learned about canning foods and safety, new procedures are given and updated books are printed. But, this little book is an awesome part of history and provides a great segue to the modern ways of canning that we are still using today, 81 years later, but now with cheaper and inferior products. But, hey, they still work, right?

This sure is a cute little pamphlet! Too bad you can’t see it. Unfortunately, Goodreads has changed their guidelines for adding new editions. Evidently, you have to go through a volunteer Goodreads Librarian now. That’s way too much trouble. It sucks, and I don’t like it! show less

This wonderful edition was published during the height of WWII. It is subtitled "National Nutrition Edition" and many of the pages refer to the war effort. I've scanned a few of them, and they're over on my account profile.

http://www.librarything.com/gallery/member//tag/Kerr+Wartime

It's a remarkable book, filled with reminders of how important it is to preserve food as part of the war effort. It has extra comments meant to be helpful for those new to the canning and preserving efforts.

I wept when Kerr was sold to Ball glass company. Even though they said they'd continue these canning books, there were no new issues after the eighties. Now that Jarden owns them both, only the Ball Blue canning book is published. Too bad.

I have four, published in 1955, 1969, 1972, and 1982. They're mostly the same, although the earliest one explains how many quarts of fruit you can make from a bushel of peaches (for example). I need to get busy with uploading the covers.