124 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES, 
CANNING SMOKED SALMON. 
A number of ventures in the line of canning smoked salmon have 
been made on this coast, but most of the pioneers were not content 
or able to invest the amount of capital needed and wait the time 
required to create a demand for such products, and soon quit. 
One of the leading British Columbia packers, H. Bell-Irving & Co., 
some years ago put up in cans some pink salmon which had been 
treated to an artificial smoke in a vat, and these are said to have 
made a favorable impression in Australia. Another canner operat- 
ing on the Fraser River smoked pink salmon, and then, cutting them 
to the proper length, packed them dry in half-pound cans. 
In 1908 the Columbia Canning Co, put up at its cannery on Chilkoot 
Inlet, Alaska, some smoked salmon which had been shaved into thin 
strips like dried beef. These, called ‘“Flaxamo,’’ were packed in oil 
and were very good, especially in making sandwiches. 
In 1915 two companies began in Seattle the smoking, slicing, and 
canning of coho and king salmon. These were put up in oblong flat 
cans of various sizes, similar to sardine cans, 24, 44, and 74 ounces, 
respectively, while for a special trade a 74-pound can was also packed. 
These fish were cut quite thin, about 40 to 50 slices to the pound, and 
were packed in hermetically sealed cans with Bre a oil. The 
fish were all hard smoked before slicing and canning. 
The same companies are also putting up kippered salmon in cans. 
Salmon loaf, made by mixing salmon with flour and various other 
ingredients, thus producing a paste, is also being canned by several 
packers. 
A straight salmon paste, made solely from the flesh of the salmon, 
and mixed with oil and spices, is being manufactured by one of the 
leading packers. 
HOME CANNING. 
At a number of places along the coast it has become the custom for 
the thrifty housewives to do a little home canning of saimon for winter 
use when the fish are abundant and cheap, and they find canning 
salmon as easy as canning vegetables and fruit. The fish are dressed, 
skinned, and the backbone removed. It is then cut into transverse 
strips of a size to fit either a pint or a quart glass jar, whichever is to 
be used. The jars are then filled with the pieces, salted to taste, the 
rubber ring put on, after which the can cover is put on loosely so that 
the steam may escape. Strips of thin wood are placed at the bottom 
of a kettle or wash boiler and the cans set down on them. Enough 
cold water is then poured into the kettle to bring it up to within about 
2 inches of the top of the cans. The kettle is then put on the stove 
and, after it comes to a boil, note is made of the time, and the cans are 
cooked from one and one-half to three hours. There seems to be a 
great variation in the time of cooking on the part of the operators. 
Some even cook only one hour, but these generally use a preservaline. 
About three hours seems to be the best time, as the bones are then 
uite soft. At the end of the cooking period the tops are tightened, 
the kettle removed from the stove, and the water Fadi cans allowed to 
cool in the kettle. 
Portableretortsand hand doubleseamers arenow available for house- 
hold use, and as a result many are using tin cans as containers. A re- 
cent improvement on the double seamer permits of the use of a tin con- 
tainer three times, thus materially reducing the heavy expense for cans. 
