46 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 398 



Work has been done on the farm and home production of apple syrup to re- 

 place sugar and corn syrups. Partial neutralization of the acid in fresh apple 

 cider with baking soda and concentration of the cider approximately seven to 

 one produces a sweet, pleasant-tasting syrup which can be used on the table or 

 for making apple sauce, apple butter, mince meat, or other products. As most 

 fresh apple ciders contain between 10 and 13 percent of sugar it only requires 

 between six and seven quarts of cider to produce one quart of syrup. Clarifica- 

 tion of the syrup can be obtained by proper use of gelatine but for most home 

 uses it is not considered necesssary. Many New England farms having cull 

 apples, a cider press, and a maple sugar evaporator are in a position to make 

 large quantities of this syrup. 



Marine Products Research. (C. R. Fellers and R. G. Tischer.) A successful 

 method for canning the blue crab {Callinectus sapidus) wh'ch is common along 

 the Central and Southern East Coast of this country has been developed in this 

 laboratory. A preliminar\' investigation has been made to find out whether this 

 method is equally satisfactory for the canning of the sand crab {Platyonichus 

 ocellatus Latreille), an edible crustacean which abounds in coastal waters from 

 New York to Nova Scotia. The aluminum dip method for preventing discolora- 

 tion of canned crab meat was found to provide a satisfactory procedure for the 

 packing of sand crab meat in both glass and metal containers. 



The Effect of Processing on the Available Iron in Foods. (F. R. Theriault and 

 C. R. Fellers.) The dipyridyl method for available iron gave consistent results 

 for fruits, vegetables, and fish and checked with the bioassay method. 



The commercial quick freezing of foods was found to increase the availability 

 of ircn slightly. Canning in glass had little or no effect on total and available iron. 



Foods canned in tin showed changes in iron content somewhat correlated with 

 their hydrogen ion concentrations. No change or slight gains in iron content 

 were observed with vegetables, and considerable gains in iron occurred in the 

 case of the more acid fruits. Fish (red perch), with a pH value of 6.9, lost half 

 of its total iron and nearly all of its available iron when packed in tin cans lined 

 with zinc enamel (C-enamel). With semi-acid and acid foods the iron gained 

 from the can was nearly 100 percent available. 



The Development and Control of Molds in Vanilla Beans. (F. W. Wenzel, 

 Jr., A. S. Levine, and C. R. Fellers.) Vanilla beans which have been properly 

 cured and aged are resistant to molds because of the presence in the beans of 

 natural compounds, such as vanillin, which possess mycostatic properties. 

 Improperly cured beans are susceptible to the grow'th of the saprophytic Aspergilli 

 and Penicillia. Moisture and humidity regulation, refrigeration, and storage of 

 the beans in carbon dioxide may be utilized as means of partial mold control. 

 Ultraviolet irradiation of the beans is of little value as a control measure. Pre- 

 vention of mold growth may be secured by immersion of the beans in an alcoholic 

 vanillin solution or by vacuum fumigation with ethylene oxide. 



The Use of Levulinic Acid as a Food Acidulent. (C. R. Fellers, R. G. Tischer, 

 and B.J. Doyle.) The present shortage of the acids commonly used in foods has 

 created a need for adequate substitutes. Levulinic acid (B-acetylpropionic acid) 

 may now be prepared from corn at a fairh- low price. Laboratory and clinical 

 tests have shown that levulinic acid, even in excess of amounts that might be 

 commonly used, is non-toxic to humans, rats, guinea pigs, and chickens, and 

 suggest that levulinic acid in small amounts may be safely used to acidulate foods 

 or beverages. 



