Source: Ladies Home Journal (May, 1926)
Good to know that 94 out of every 100 husbands supposedly preferred home-canned fruits and vegetables in 1926. And, guess who was going to do the canning . . .
Advertisements from a hundred years ago, such as this Ball Jar advertisement, sometimes portrayed women (and men) in roles that were stereotypical at the time.
In addition to the illustration and the caption in the ad, there was a lot of smaller text, which said in part:
Some women say, “Oh, it is too much trouble to do your own preserving and canning.” But is it? Canning not only means the best preserves at the lowest cost, but the improved methods make it a pleasure.
Millions of women – from their own experience – will tell you that modern methods eliminate drudgery. They make home canning quick and easy. . .
Home preserved fruits and vegetables have that delicious home made taste. An actual investigation showed that 94 out of 100 men preferred fruits and vegetables canned at home. Your husband, undoubtedly, will like them much better, too.
And when you put up your own fruits and vegetables – you know what you are getting. You know they are the finest and choicest. For you choose them yourself. They are pure and safe for your children. . .
Use the Right Jars
Be sure to get Ball “Perfect Mason” or “Ideal” Fruit Jars. Your grocer has them handily packed by the dozen. They are strong and the sealing shoulder is true. For they are the only jars made by the “Owens Process” – a patented process which absolutely insures an even thickness of glass – this giving strength and durability.
For your own success in canning be sure to get Ball “Perfect Seal” Rubbers and Caps. We urge this because they are especially made to fit Ball Jars. Thus they are air tight and insure a perfect seal. This is the only way you can be sure you are taking no chances.
Ladies Home Journal (May, 1926)
Oh those Ball canning jars. I still use them every day, but not for canning vegetables!
They have so many uses: storage, vases, glasses, mason jar salads – the list goes on and on.
Well, good to know that men cannot apparently be trusted to do Top Level Canning!
Things were so gendered back then.
Part of the ad almost sounds like a modern ad. “And when you put up your own fruits and vegetables – you know what you are getting. You know they are the finest and choicest. For you choose them yourself. They are pure and safe for your children.”
I laughed when they said modern canning is so easy to do.
What is the “Owens Process”, I wonder? Was there an Owens glass company that merged with Corning, and the resulting company became Owens Corning? I am feeling too lazy to look it up right now.
The ad is an intriguing mixture of ideas that sound modern and ideas that are very dated.
I took the bait–and looked at the Wikipedia entry for Owens Corning:
“Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company was formed in 1935 through a joint venture of Owens-Illinois and Corning Glass Works.”
Wow! That merger was in the Great Depression. I wonder if it was a way for both companies to survive.
Your conjecture makes a lot of sense. They may have merged to survive the depression.
My kids use those jars as water glasses and for overnight oats. I only know a few people who still can fruits and vegetables.
It seemed like more people tried canning during Covid – but didn’t do it for more than a year or two.
That makes sense.
Wow! There’s a blast from the past! I looked it up and found that the Ladies Home Journal was published from 1883-2016. My mother had hundreds of Mason jars of different sizes and did sooo much canning. It was always delicious but never “quick and easy” though! The kitchen would be geared up for canning pretty much all summer and as the various fruits and veggies came into season. Thanks for this post – very nostalgic.
It’s sad that Ladies Home Journal is no longer published. It used to be such a nice magazine, but now we get information online rather than from magazines. My mother-in-law sounds like she was similar to your mother. She also canned many of the foods that they ate during the winter. It’s nice to hear that this post brought back some good memories.
I grew up in Muncie Indiana (home of the Ball Brothers) where Ball jars were manufactured. They gave the land for Ball State Teachers College now Ball State Univ. Funded Ball Hospital too. My grandmother retired from the Ball Brothers factory where they were made and my great grandfather was a glass blower working there from 1900 to 1919 when he was in an accident and lost his legs … My sister has a paperweight he made during “down time”.
It’s so awesome that your ancestors worked at the facility where Ball jars are made. I thought about you when I was working on this post, and hoped you’d see it. I remembered from a comment you made a while back that your grandfather had been a glass blower there.
Sheryl I grew up with my mother and grandmother doing a lot of canning. I have their copy of the Ball Blue Book that has all the info on canning everything from meat to fruit to veggies and even juices! The story of my great grandmother’s canned peaches lives on – She was the star of the Methodist Ladies Club when she served a peach compote. Everyone raved that her peaches were the best they’d ever had! My grandfather agreed. Seems they had fermented… He cried when she dumped them out! Then my grandmother had made ketchup. She bottled it and all was well until all the bottles exploded in the basement. She had used old beer bottles and there was residual yeast… it was an unholy mess!!!
LOL – What fun stories! One of my “to-do’s” is to make homemade ketchup someday using a hundred-year-old recipe. I now know what kind of bottles not to use.
Ha! I heard that it was a huge mess and that the smell lingered for years!! I hope your ketchup is a success!
I remember hearing men refer to their partner/wife as ‘the little woman’. This ad exemplifies the status quo of the day – women had a place and this place was cemented into place… 🤣
Times have changed!
I have cases of canning jars I have picked up at yard and estate sales…. all I need each time is the flat. I do not can like I used to…. but still enjoy making pickles . Watermelon pickles and pickled carrots and my own 3 bean salad and zucchini relish because I can grow zuchs but not cucumbers.
Tomatoes when I have a good summer is usually made into sauce.
When my neighbor has a good apple year I make up apple sauce and apples for pie.
I still can stock when I collect chicken fat and skin and bones and right now a gallon of pork stock ready to can.
I have canned fish, chicken and beef… have the pressure canner for that.
Made my own kraut for several years and that was real popular.
The only real issue I have with canning is its all prime while its 90+ degrees and the kitchen is not air conditioned and I need to start at 5 in the morning to beat the heat.
My Mother and Grandmother used the jars that had mayo or store bought pickles… if the canning ring fit they used the jar…. can not do that now because the jars are a lot thinner /more fragile then they used to be
mmm. . . I’m getting hungry just reading your descriptions of the wonderful foods you’ve canned over the years.
I also still can several foods. Most years I can apples, pickled crabapples, pickled watermelon rind, bread and butter pickles, apple relish, and green tomato mincemeat. If I have a lot of tomatoes, I also can them. Sometimes I also try a “new” hundred-year-old recipe for some kind of pickles or other canned food.
Indeed, use the right jars! I have a small collection of Ball jars that have been in my family for years and I use them in decorating from time to time.
You’re lucky to have some old-time Ball jars that have been in your family for years.