32 MANUFACTURE OF TABLE SIRUPS FROM SUGAR CANE. 



importance in burning tlie bagasse. Since, however, the bagasse 

 accumnlates and must be removed, it is evident that if it can be 

 burned and furnish the heat for manufacturing oi)erations it would be 

 the most economical way of disposing of it. The establishment, there- 

 fore, of milling processes which would leave the bagasse in a condi- 

 tion to be burned would not only increase the total output per ton of 

 cane, but also diminish the expense of manufacture. 



(4) Tlie fourth problem which presents itself for investigation is 

 the determination of the best methods of clarifying and purifying the 

 juice j)revious to evaporation. This is a problem which has been 

 worked out pretty thoroughly, and there is little left to study except 

 mechanical and technical details. The principles of neutralizing the 

 free acids present in the cane juices for the purpose of facilitating 

 clarification must, however, be applied in a somewhat different man- 

 ner in sirup manufacture than in making sugar. It is desirable in 

 the case of sirups to leave the juice decidedly acid. This is necessary 

 for two reasons. In the first place, the acid juices make a light- 

 colored and more presentable looking sirup, and second, in the process 

 of evaporation the free acids of the juices tend to invert certain 

 ({uantities of the sucrose and thus render the finished product less 

 liable to crystallization. To just what extent the neutralization of 

 the natural acids can l)e carried to secure satisfactory clarification 

 and yet leave sufficient acidity for the purposes mentioned above is 

 a j)roblem wliich demands careful study. 



(5) The linal problem which demands consideration in these studies 

 is to secure a sirup of uniform character, both in coloi' and consistence, 

 and to put it in packages in such a way as to jjrevent fermentation 

 during warm weather. When these two conditions are secured the 

 marketable value of the sirup will be vastly increased. The first con- 

 sideration woul<l l)e probably to mix large (luantities of the finished 

 product and thus secure uniformit3% as it would be found difficult, if 

 not imi)ossil)le, to manufacture at different times small quantities of 

 sirup of a perfectly uniform color and cojisistence. 



Not only should the sirup thus manufactured be ]3reserved as iudi- 

 cated, but it also should b(^ so treated as to prevent the possible crys- 

 tallization of the sucrose. This, as indicated above, can be secured 

 l)y imhunng a certain amount ol" invci-sion dui-ing evaporation. The 

 addition of antisei)tics to siru[) of this kind is to be in all cases dis- 

 courag('(l as ill advised and possibly injurious to the consnmer. Free- 

 dom Ci'om f(^rmentation should be secured by packing the finished 

 [)roduct in such a way as lo excbule germs, or if germs be admitted 

 during packing the final i)ackage should be sterilized before being 

 sent to the market. Just what the methods will be for securing these 

 desirable results can only be determined bj^ actual experience. 



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