THE FRENCH SARDINE INDUSTRY. 555 



cooking of the fish is completed; (2) the bones are softened; (3) 

 the bacteria in the oil and fish are killed; (4) the presence of leaks 

 in the cans is disclosed. After cooling, the cans are placed in dry saw- 

 dust and stirred from time to time; this absorbs the oil and moisture 

 on the surface, and renders the cans, clean and ready for packing. 



The sardine manufacturers ostensibly employ only two kinds of oil 

 in their canning operations — olive oil and arachide or peanut oil. Na- 

 tive olive oil is used with the best quality of sardines. Fish packed in 

 it will remain in good condition ten years or longer, and are reported 

 to be better the second year after packing than earlier. Arachide oil 

 i? extensively employed. It is made in Bordeaux, Fecamp and Mar- 

 seilles from peanuts imported from India, Senegal and other parts of 

 Africa, and other countries. It comes in three grades, the best quality 

 costino; less than one-third as much as the best olive oil. Peanut oil is 

 largely used to meet the American demand for a low-priced sardine. 

 Most of the cheaper French sardines exported to America are packed 

 in peanut oil, which is practically tasteless. While it is reported that 

 the manufacturers knowingly handle only the oils named, it is under- 

 stood that cottonseed oil, being tasteless and cheap, is used by the 

 French oil-dealers for adulterating both olive and peanut oils. A can- 

 ner may fry his sardines in peanut oil and fill the cans with olive oil, 

 or vice versa; or one oil, with or without the admixture of cottonseed 

 oil, may be used throughout the process. 



There are various other ingredients with which or in which the 

 sardines are packed to give them flavor or piquancy. Some of the very 

 best goods are prepared with melted butter instead of oil; these are 

 mostly for special French trade. Tomato sauce, pickles and truffles 

 are also used. With most of the oil sardines a small quantity of 

 spices is added in order to impart a flavor. The usual ingredients 

 for each can are 1 or 2 cloves, quarter or half of a laurel leaf, and a 

 small piece of thyme ; these are put in the can before the fish, so that 

 they will be on top when the can is opened. The fresh leaves of tar- 

 ragon are sometimes used. 



Americans need hardly be told that French sardines, when of the 

 best quality, have a flavor and richness which make them preferable 

 to the sardines prepared on the Atlantic coast of the United States 

 from the young of the sea herring. French sardines of average grade, 

 even when canned in peanut and cottonseed oil, are superior in pala- 

 tability to the great bulk of the American output; while the cheaper 

 grades of French sardines — which unfortunately find a ready market 

 in the United States— are certainly not preferable to much of the 

 native pack. 



The conditions which underlie the general superiority of the French 

 canned sardines, and the steps which may be followed in America for 



