THE MANUFACTURE OF TOMATO PRODUCTS TEXT

vinegar required to insure the keeping quality of non-preservative catsup, as compared with the amounts usually used in benzoate goods. This packer made non-preservative goods altogether, and he surprised me by remarking: “What if we do have to use a hundred pounds or so more sugar to the batch; we buy the sugar at 8c a pound, and sell it for about 11c a pound in catsup. Where do we lose anything?” I was surprised at the remark because I thought he should know better than that. If catsup was bought and sold by weight that argument might hold good. However, regardless of the fact that the net weight in pounds and ounces avoirdupois is always stated on the label, the public buys catsup by volume. Your pint bottle may hold 17 oz. avoirdupois, or it may hold 18 oz; however, in the eyes of the consumer it is a pint, and it will not bring more money because its net weight is slightly greater than that in the pint size of some other brand. It is the same way with the 10 oz. and 11 oz. sizes. The public buys by volume. When we quote prices on the larger sizes, it is so many dozen No. 10 at so much per dozen, or so many dozen gallon jars at so much per gallon. Who cares what the net weight is in the No. 10 can, or the gallon jar, as long as the container is full—or as full as it should be? Therefore, the subject of gain or loss caused by the addition of extra sugar resolves itself into the question of the additional volume produced. If I add a hundred pounds more of sugar per batch, how much will my volume be increased? That is the question. It is one which I cannot answer definitely, and I have never seen any figures on it, but I can say this much—that every pound of sugar added to catsup in excess of the minimum amount required is a very great loss to the packer. A 5–gal. pail of granulated sugar will not add anywhere near five gallons to the catsup. One gallon will come nearer to it. The reason for this is that the sugar dissolves in the tomato juice, and although it increases the specific gravity of that juice, it adds very little to its volume. As to the extra vinegar which must be added to counteract the sweetness of this extra sugar, this is an absolute loss as far as volume is concerned. The catsup must be reduced to a definite thickness, no matter how much vinegar is used, and if more vinegar is used, more water must be boiled out to allow for the thinning down caused by this additional vinegar. Salt An air dried salt of a fair degree of purity (about 98 per cent on a moisture-free basis) is perfectly satisfactory for catsup. The purer salts are often desirable in the canning of vegetables where lime and magnesia are apt to have a toughening or hardening effect, but in catsup a very small quantity of lime and magnesia salts have no ill effect. Salt should be added a few minutes before the vinegar is put in. It is desirable to add the salt toward the end of the cooking, as it acts to some extent on the copper of the coil or kettle. Great care should be used in so adding the salt that it will all dissolve. I have often seen a large mass of undissolved salt in the bottom of a cooking tank after a batch of catsup was let down, even when the salt had been thrown in a half hour before the cooking was completed. The reason for this was that the salt was thrown in without scattering it, and it fell quickly to the bottom of the tank in one mass. Owing to the fact that the circulation below the coil was poor, and that salt does not dissolve readily in boiling water or boiling tomato juice, a large proportion of it remained undissolved. Salt is less soluble in hot water than in cold water. It should be placed in small containers, such as small pails or boxes, so that it will be light in weight and can easily be scattered over the surface of the boiling pulp. If this is done, and done slowly, there is no need of agitating devices to dissolve the salt. Agitators are also unnecessary to dissolve the sugar if it is added in this way, although sugar dissolves more readily than salt. Thirty pounds of salt is about the right amount for a 100–gallon batch. Vinegar The kind of vinegar usually used in catsup is the strong distilled vinegar—about 100 grain, which contains 10 per cent of acetic acid. The stronger the vinegar, the better, as the weaker vinegars require too much volume to be handled, and dilute the catsup too much when they are added. Most manufacturers buy their vinegar in barrels. However, some of the larger ones have it shipped in tank cars from which it is pumped at the factory into a large storage tank, and siphoned off as needed. This is the better way when it is used in large enough quantities to warrant buying it in this manner. Barreled vinegar often contains very finely divided charcoal, which is sometimes hard to strain out; the barrels are often full of nails from which the vinegar dissolves iron, and this iron, in combination with the tannic acid of spices, produces a chemical compound (iron tannate) which is as black as ink; and sometimes the barrels contain some foreign liquid, which was left in them when they were filled with vinegar. The use of barrels also requires a lot of handling, and the waste by evaporation through the wood is considerable when the vinegar is held over a long time. One might imagine that the evaporation from a large storage tank would be greater than from barrels. However, such is not the case, as there is much more surface per gallon for evaporation in the barrel than in the large tank. Vinegar shipped in tank cars is free from contamination and is easily and economically handled. Barreled vinegar should always be strained through fine cheesecloth. Transference of Vinegar The use of steam pumps and ejectors, in fact any kind of steam appliance for hoisting vinegar, should not be used, as the steam passes into the vinegar, dissolves in it, and dilutes it. If you pump 100–grain vinegar into a storage tank with a steam pump you may find that you have 90–grain when you get it up there. If it is necessary to pump the vinegar, and it usually is, a small electric pump should be used. Either enamel lined or wooden pipe should be used for vinegar. All iron pipe and fittings should be eliminated. Adding the Vinegar Vinegar should be added about three minutes before the batch is done. To do this it is usually necessary to cook the catsup just a shade heavier before the vinegar is added than it will be when it is done. If a hydrometer is used, about two degrees is enough. Five minutes should be the outside limit for cooking the vinegar. Vinegar is a volatile liquid and vaporizes rapidly. It should therefore only be cooked long enough to insure its being thoroughly incorporated in the catsup, and three minutes boiling is ample for this purpose. For a 100–gallon batch, 10½ gallons of 100 grain vinegar is about the right amount, and when properly added will give an average total acidity of about 1.25 per cent calculated as acetic acid. Acidity It should be understood that this total acidity will by no means be constant, as there is such a great variation in the natural acidity of tomatoes. Tomato pulp made from tomatoes all grown in the same locality, and condensed to a specific gravity of 1.035, will run as low as 0.40 per cent in natural acidity, and as high as 0.70 per cent. This will cause the total acidity of the catsup to vary accordingly. When in doubt as to whether you are getting the proper acidity, send samples to a chemist and have the acetic acidity determined. This is the acidity of the vinegar alone. It should not run below 0.60 per cent. This figure should be taken as the absolute minimum for acetic acidity. Testing the Finishing Point For testing the finishing point of catsup I recommend either testing by the eye or the hydrometer method as described under the testing of pulp. The eye cannot often be relied upon, although some experienced cooks are very good at judging by the eye, and they do not need a mechanical device of any kind. The specific gravity determination by weight, and cooking to a certain gauge, or for a certain length of time, will not do at all for catsup. I have used the hydrometer method on catsup for a number of years, and it is entirely satisfactory. A little experimenting will indicate the number of degrees on the hydrometer, when immersed in the hot catsup, at which the catsup is heavy enough so that it will be of the right thickness when cold. After this point has been determined every batch should be almost exactly alike if it is cooked to this point. Holding Batches Catsup should not be held in the cooking kettle very long, as the sugar is apt to caramelize where the catsup is in contact with the hot surface of the kettle or coil. Also, the air darkens it somewhat. Of course, if the jacket or coil is completely exhausted, and the valves are absolutely tight, there should not be this burning or caramelization while holding a batch. However, there is often a very slight leak in the valve, and the coil or jacket is thus kept hot constantly. The quicker the cooked batch is let out of the kettle, the better. Making Catsup From Pulp Many catsup makers make their catsup from pulp altogether. They feel that during the season they have their hands full packing pulp, and they can work this pulp up into catsup during the winter months when there would otherwise be little or nothing to do. When pulp is used, about 29 5–gal. cans of specific gravity 1.035 is sufficient for a batch of catsup of 100 gallons. Do not add water to the pulp, even if it is a little heavy. The only danger from not getting a very long cook is that there will not be a very complete extraction of the spices, when whole spices are used in a sack. If, however, each spice bag is cooked in two batches, this danger is greatly minimized. The question now arises—if I am making catsup from pulp which has been put through a catsup finisher I am working with material which is screened fine, whereas my hydrometer test is based on tomato juice from my cyclone, which is coarser than this, and this finely screened stuff will give me a different hydrometer reading. If you cook your catsup to, say, 32 degrees, when making it direct from cycloned tomato juice, you will probably find that 28 degrees is enough when making it from pulp which has been put through a catsup finisher. The finisher makes this much difference. Use of Benzoate of Soda The use of benzoate of soda in catsup permits of the use of a much smaller quantity of vinegar and sugar than is used in non-preservative goods. About 3 gallons of 100 grain vinegar to a 100–gallon batch is all that is usually used, and this only makes it necessary to use about 50 lbs. of sugar. The benzoate of soda is added just about a minute before the batch is done. It should be remembered that if ⅒th of 1% of benzoate of soda is being used, this percentage is by weight, and that a gallon of cold catsup weighs 9 or 9½ lbs., depending upon the amount of sugar that is used. CHAPTER X FINISHING, BOTTLING, STERILIZING, AND STORING THE CATSUP The Receiving Tank and Finisher From the cooking kettles the catsup is usually run through the finisher, and then conducted to a receiving tank, either by gravity or by pumping. If a pump is used, care should be taken that the pump parts which come in contact with the catsup are of bronze. Needless to say, enamel lined pipe should be used. The receiving tank should be either of wood, or enamel, or glass-lined steel. Regarding the finishing of the catsup, the action on the metal screen is more severe than in pulp, and it is best to use a monel metal screen. It will usually be noticed that the frothy catsup which collects at the large end of the cone of the screen blackens quickly. This is probably due to the air, and this catsup should be scraped off into a pail as it collects, and mixed back in the cooking kettle, just giving it a minute cook. It is also very important to see that the screen fits absolutely tight, and to frequently inspect it for small cuts which are often made by pieces of tin or glass accidentally getting into the catsup. Filling and Sealing If the catsup is to be sterilized after bottling it is usually just run through an ordinary enamel lined pipe from the receiving tank to the filling machine, but if it is not to be given an after-sterilization a steam-jacketed pipe should be used here. This will be discussed further later in the chapter. Rotary fillers are being used quite commonly for catsup now, and they do the work rapidly, with little waste, and with a small labor outlay per gross for bottling. The more simple types of fillers, operated either with a foot or hand lever, are less expensive, and also do the work quite well, although not as rapidly as the rotary fillers. The empty bottles should be washed in hot water on a rotary bottle washing machine, and filled directly after washing if an after-sterilization is to be used. If the catsup is not to be processed after bottling, the empty bottles should be given a hot air sterilization after they are washed, and the bottles conducted to the filling machine from the sterilizer. If an automatic rotary filler is used, the bottle capping machine is usually regulated to operate at the same speed as the filler, and the whole line becomes automatic. The type of closure most commonly used now is the crown style, either plain or of the self-opening type. The cork is getting to be a thing of the past for catsup. These closures come either with a composition cork insert or with a solid cork insert, the former being a little cheaper, and for catsup it is just as good. For chili sauce, or any bottle having a wide mouth, I do not like the composition cork insert, as the vacuum produced in a wide-mouthed bottle on cooling is too great a strain on the composition, and is apt to cause it to crack. For narrow-mouthed bottles such as catsup, the composition cork is all right. Washing the Filled Bottles Whether or not an after-sterilization is used, the filled bottles should be run through a warm water bath immediately after sealing to wash off any catsup which adheres to the outside of the bottle before it has a chance to bake on. If this water bath has a couple of jets of compressed air entering it to keep the water vigorously agitated, the bottles will come out nice and clean. Of course, a continuous flow of clean water must be allowed to pass into the bath, with an overflow at the opposite end. If bottles of catsup are put into processing tanks with catsup adhering to the outside of the bottle, the soluble part of the catsup will be dissolved in the process water but there will be flakes of insoluble tomato fiber floating in the process water everywhere, and these will bake on the bottles so hard that it is very hard to remove. After a few days this condition in the process tanks becomes very bad, and the bottles become increasingly hard to clean. If the bottles are clean when they are put into the tanks, and the tanks are clean, they will come out of the tanks clean and ready to be labeled. Processing The process method is probably used by the majority of catsup packers, first, because they feel that an after-sterilization is an insurance which is well worth paying for, and they can have more peace of mind knowing that they have processed their goods; second, because by processing carefully and intelligently the color and flavor of their goods will be scarcely effected, except when made from pulp which is a little overcooked; third, because they don’t know much about packing catsup so that it will keep without processing, and they don’t care to experiment, as they feel that in the end the experimenting may prove disastrous to their business. In this attitude no one can blame them. There is nothing more trying on a manufacturer than having complaints on fermentation coming in from every corner of the country. The natural inclination is to let well enough alone, and take no chances. At the same time it must be admitted that thousands of cases of catsup are being manufactured every day without processing, and it is giving little or no trouble. Those who use this system say it is a waste of time and money to process, and that years of experience have shown that processing is unnecessary. Advantages of Omitting Processing There are certain advantages in not processing. In the first place a better colored and flavored product is often obtained, particularly if the catsup is made from pulp, and especially is this true if the pulp is a little overcooked, and consequently a little dark in color. Then there is the advantage of the saving on labor and on steam, which is a large item. Running a half dozen or more process tanks constantly draws heavily on the steam supply, and the processing means more handling of the bottled product, and therefore more labor. It also means more equipment, with the floor space which this equipment takes—not only a lot of tanks, in case stationary tanks are used, but iron baskets to hold the bottles, electric or steam hoist, and trolley track. Not only the original cost but the maintenance of this equipment is considerable. Then there is a certain amount of breakage during processing. Also, steam must be kept up late at night for no other purpose than processing. When no after-sterilization is used all of this is done away with, and the only equipment needed to supplant the above is a steam-jacketed pipe to conduct the catsup to the filling machine, and a continuous hot air sterilizer for the bottles, which usually consists of a vertical shaft, and takes up practically no floor space. Process Method I will discuss in detail the process method first. The catsup should be filled as hot as possible, and it is a good idea to use a steam-jacketed pipe in this case, as well as in the non-process method, because the hotter the catsup is when bottled, the quicker the center of the bottle will be raised to the desired temperature, and the quicker the sterilization can be accomplished. The catsup should be 180 degrees or above when it enters the tank of the filling machine, and it should be placed in the process tanks as soon after sealing as possible. The process tanks may be large stationary iron tanks, or a continuous pasteurizer such as is used in beer bottling plants may be used. The latter is the better way, as it is compact, automatic, takes up very little floor space, and there is no danger of over-sterilization, or of scorching by leaving the bottles in the tanks after the water is drawn off, where the air cannot get at them to cool them off. The reason continuous pasteurizers are not used more commonly is their expense, although they should pay for themselves in a few years by the labor and steam they save, it being only necessary to keep one large tank in operation instead of a half dozen or more. If stationary tanks are used, which is usually the case, the catsup should be taken out of them as soon as the water is drawn off, so that the air can get at the bottles and cool them off. To leave the hot, bottled catsup in the tanks over night is almost as bad as piling a lot of hot pulp close together, the only difference being that there is a little more room for air circulation between the catsup bottles, but not much. Time and Temperature There is a great difference between the time and temperature employed