The Preservation of Food in the Home. — Part I 1281 



fruits, and in the manufacture of molasses. In every low-grade molasses 

 the sulphur naturally occurs in extraordinarily large quantities. 



" In the preparation of evaporated apricots, peaches, pears, and man- 

 darins, sulphuring is practiced for the following reasons: 



" I. To produce as clear and intense a yellow color as possible. 



"2. To conceal decayed portions of the fruit which have been over- 

 looked in trimming. 



"3. To prevent fermentation and decay during the drying of the fruit. 



"4. To protect the fruit during drying from flies and other insects, the 

 larv£e of which would otherwise develop after the fruit was stored. 



"5. To kill the cells of the fruit and thus make the texture more porous, 

 which expedites drying. 



" That excessive quantities of sulphur are not necessary for the produc- 

 tion of evaporated fruits of pleasing appearance is well attested by ana- 

 lytical data obtained by the examination of fruits purchased in the open 

 market having a light and pleasing color and at the same time containing 

 only a small quantity of sulphurous acid. 



" In all such cases, however, it will be found not only possible and 

 desirable to make the food product in question without the use of the 

 deleterious substance, but there is evidence to show that the products 

 thus manufactured will be more palatable, more wholesome, and more 

 valuable than those made according to the methods commonly used at 

 present. Practical experiments have shown, for instance, the possibility 

 of producing a high-grade sirup from cane juice and other saccharine saps 

 without the use of fumes of burning sulphur. Analytical data show the 

 presence on the market of considerable quantities of desiccated fruits of 

 good appearance in which the quantity of sulphur is so small as to be 

 ascribed rather to the conversion of the natural sulphur content of the 

 product than to the addition of the sulphur in its manufacture." 



Concerning the use of formaldehyde. — " Inasmuch as milk, of all ordinary 

 foods, is the most prone to deterioration and requires the most careful 

 treatment, the temptation to use such an efficient preservative as formal- 

 dehyde IS proportionately greater, especially during the summer months. 



" It seems not out of place to call attention to the fact that apart from 

 the injurious effects of formaldehyde itself its use as a preservative would 

 be especially inadvisable in inilk or cream, because its addition in dilute 

 solution prevents the growth of acid-forming bacteria, but has no effect 

 in retarding the action of many harmful organisms; in other words, the 

 milk is prevented from becoming sour, and thus indicating its age, and 

 the danger signal is thus removed ; while the other organisms which are 

 capable of producing disease continue to multiply in the milk with prac- 

 tically the same degree of rapidity as if the formaldehyde were not 

 present. 



