The Science of the Double Shock
Kennewick housewives master a high-stakes food preservation method to support the wartime conservation effort.
The housewives of Kennewick and surrounding country have been showing keen interest in the canning school conducted this week in the Commercial club rooms by Miss Walker of the State College. The school here is a part of the food conservation program which has been undertaken by the extension department of the State College. In a new bulletin, Mrs. Jones explains that one of the essential features of the 'one period cold pack' method is the 'double shock.' Peas, for example, are thrown fresh from the garden into boiling water for five minutes, then instantly plunged into cold water at 50 degrees. This 162-degree temperature shift is the hardest blow science can deliver to the molds and bacteria responsible for spoilage. After this, they are packed into hot, sterile jars, and boiling water is poured over them, providing a second, identical shock. This process is being used by thousands of club canners across the state with near-perfect efficiency.
“This gives an almost instant change in temperature of 162 degrees, which is the hardest blow the science of canning, in its present development can give to the molds, bacteria, or spores present in the fruit or vegetables.”
During World War I, food preservation was a civic duty tied to the national war effort. Today, the resurgence of 'homesteading' and food self-sufficiency reflects a similar push toward independence, though driven more by concerns over supply chains and inflation than the immediate demands of a wartime rationing program.
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