No. 2(I92I) REMARKS ON CANNING IO9 



packed; others afterwards. The packing should in any case be 

 such that while the fish are closely packed there is room for the 

 full amount of oil ; it is a grave mistake to be over-sparing in oil, 

 since the fish, unless very fat, absorb a great deal of oil, especially 

 if baked or steamed instead of being fried, and a can almost devoid 

 of oil is not attractive, nor do the spices sufficiently part with their 

 flavour in a dry tin. The top layer should be of selected fish and 

 very neatly packed so that when opened the fish may present an 

 attractive appearance and please the consumer; an irregular, 

 ragged appearance repels. In key-opening tins the can is only 

 opened at the top : in keyless tins it is well to put a mark indi- 

 cating the top so that they may not be opened wrongly. 



155. The oil as explained above (paragraphs 80 — 86) is a very 

 difficult subject ; in the highest classes of French goods olive oil is 

 always used, but it is to be remembered that much ' olive oil ' 

 contains groundnut (arachis) oil ; in other countries, e.g., the 

 United States of America, cotton seed oil is frankly (and by law) 

 the standard packing oil. Here in India canners are at present 

 almost confined to refined groundnut oil, but a mixture of the 

 highest class sardine oil is not only not objectionable but masks the 

 groundnut flavour and enriches the fish from which class indeed 

 it has been prepared. Refined cotton seed oil of the best class is 

 better for Indian packing than any other obtainable oil, but may 

 be mixed with the groundnut and sardine oil ; at present it is 

 hardly, if at all, obtainable. 



156. The cans most used are rectangular 'quarters,' i.e., nor- 

 mally quarter of a kilogram (2"2 lb.) or nearly 9 oz. of which about 

 2^ oz. are the weight of the soldered tin ; hence nearly 6^ oz. fish 

 in the full sized quarter of 4%" x 3" x i". But both in France 

 and elsewhere the quarters often weigh far less and give only 4 or 

 5 oz. of fish in a can Ys" to M" depth. In Beypore the nett weight 

 of fish packed averages 7 oz. which is the standard. In soldering 

 these quarters the use of the ratiere is indispensable ; this forces the 

 four sides close up to the cover, so that a minimum of solder is 

 needed and none can get into the can. 



157- If the sardines are received so late that they cannot be 

 closed or processed the same day, it is quite safe, after sterilisation 

 and pre-cooking by frying or steaming, to pack them into the cans 

 with oil or to place them in a cool place till next morning, but in 

 either plan they should be entirely covered with oil. This not 

 only preserves but enriches them. 



