MILD CUEING OF SALMON IN CALIFORNIA 7 



TIERCES 



The barrels or tierces used in curing, storage, and shipment are 

 a standard size, holding from 775 to 850 pounds of sides, the normal 

 amount being 800 pounds. The barrel has 6 hoops, 28 to 30 staves 

 1% inches thick and 34 inches long, and li/2-inch heads 32 inches 

 in diameter. In Alaska the barrels are made from spruce, but this 

 is not as good as Douglas fir, which is the wood used in about 95 per 

 cent of the California tierces. The barrels usually are shipped 

 knocked down to the curing shed, where they are set-up as needed. 



CURING 



After the tierce has been filled with the salted sides it is in most 

 cases headed up at once, brine is run in at a small bung until full, 

 and a wooden stopper ("cork") is driven home. This is not always 

 the procedure, as there are other methods explained elsewhere. The 

 tierce is then ready for curing in cold storage. 



The brine, or " pickle," for curing is made by mixing salt of the 

 Packers' Fine grade with fresh water. The solution varies in 

 salinity from 90 to 95 per cent. In the past when the pack was 

 put up for shipment to Germany the solution was usually 85 per 

 cent. This is too weak for the best curing, as the flesh sours some- 

 what just under the skin, enough to smell a little; but this odor 

 can be removed in the smoking. The German buyers prefer this 

 slight souring to having the fish too salty. At present brine under 

 90 per cent is seldom if ever used, 92 to 94 per cent is often used, but 

 90 per cent is most frequently used. When fish are allowed to make 

 their own brine, a 92 per cent solution usually results. When the 

 sides are cured (after repacking) a 90 per cent brine is the standard 

 solution used for storage and shipment. 



The time required for curing varies, the size of the fish being the 

 chief factor. Twelve days are often sufficient, but 18 days usually 

 are considered the safe period, and the time may be extended 

 indefinitely. The curing should not extend over four or five months, 

 however, because the brine is weakened by the curing process, the 

 salt settles to the bottom of the barrel, and the " sides " begin to 

 get soft. Because of storage expense and a desire to realize on the 

 fish, it is seldom cured more than one month before repacking. In 

 extreme cases of rush orders the time for curing is sometimes 

 reduced to six or eight days by using stronger brine and curing at 

 a higher temperature. In such cases a little salt is often sprinkled 

 on the sides when repacking, as the cure is not completed and will 

 continue in transit. 



Curing may be done without a regular cold-storage plant by icing 

 alone. The temperature of a closed room may be reduced to 42 or 

 44° by ice, sufficient to cure the sides. This method is even desir- 

 able when the cured fish have to be shipped without cold storage, 

 in which case the tierces may be three or four days in transit if kept 

 cool (as on a boat trip) and immediately placed in cold storage at 

 destination. A train trip of three days through the hot interior 

 valleys without refrigeration would sour the fish. 



