Canned Asparagus Tips

Wash tips very carefully. Put enough to fill a pint jar in a cheese-cloth square and tie loosely. Blanch the tips in steam. To do this put the asparagus tied in the cheesecloth in a colander over a large kettle of boiling water. Of course a steamer is easier to use but the colander answers the purpose.
Steam 10 minutes. The delicate flavor is retained by this method and there is less danger of crushing the tender tips. After blanching plunge into cold water. Drain. Pack in jar, and add one-half teaspoon salt and fill with boiling water to within one-quarter inch of the top. Half seal cover and boil one and one-half hours. The water must cover the jars by at least two inches. Always count the time of boiling from the time the boiling begins after the jars are put in the boiler. Remove from boiler, finish sealing and cool quickly. Remember that the speed with which you work counts for much in the keeping of vegetables or fruit.
The jars must be perfectly sterilized before being packed and a vacuum must be formed during the canning. These two conditions insure “keeping.”