12 



PEANUT BUTTER. 



Another method would be to have the grinder upon a raised plat- 

 form, discharging directly into the filling machine. The separate 

 filling machine has the advantage of mixing the mass more thor- 

 oughly than when the filling is done directly from the grinder. In 

 either case the containers, especially those of the smaller sizes, should 

 be filled from a spout, the bottle being placed over the spout and 

 filled from the bottom, thus avoiding the formation of air bubbles. 

 Peanut butter is jolaced upon the market in several styles of small 

 containers, including bottles, glass jars, and tin cans, and in pails, 

 tubs, and barrels, from which it may be sold by the pound. The 

 three sizes of small glass jars in most common use contain 6 ounces, 



10 ounces, or 1 

 pound each. The 

 usual retail prices 

 of these are 10, 15, 

 and 25 cents, respec- 

 tively. Bulk goods 

 which are packed in 

 pails, tubs, or bar- 

 rels are sold at 

 prices ranging from 

 10 to 20 cents a 

 pound. 



It should be borne 

 in mind that a rub- 

 ber packing is not 

 suited to the seal- 

 ing of jars contain- 

 ing peanut butter, 

 as the oil present 

 will dissolve some of 

 the rubber. Either 

 a ring of paper or a thread of rubberlike compound spun upon the 

 inside of the cap forms a better seal than rubber. The vacuum 

 process of extracting the residual air from the jars is now in com- 

 mon use in packing establishments. 



The pails and tubs used for handling peanut butter in bulk are 

 provided with either metal or wooden covers, and these are fastened 

 on Avith wire, strips of metal, or by nailing, no attempt being made to 

 make the majority of these receptacles air-tight. 



Where peanut butter is packed in small glass jars, these are in- 

 closed in boxes or pasteboard cartons, usually two dozen bottles to 

 a package. The sealed package glass jar is undoubtedly the most sat- 

 isfactory and cleanly method of handling the butter. It is important 



[Cir. 98] 



Fig. 6. — A sinaU grinder commonly used in peanut-butter 



factories. 



