34 



FKUITS AND FRUIT PRODUCTS. 



The following analyses, made by J. S. C. Wells, a give the compo- 

 sition of the ash of a number of samples of American glucose: 



TABLE 6. Composition of the ash of glucose. 



PRESERVATIVES. 



Preservatives find an extensive use with those classes of fruit prod- 

 ucts put up in glass and not hermetically sealed. With fruits put up 

 in tin or in sealed glass jars the use of any preservative would be 

 superfluous if the fruit and the receptacle were properly sterilized and 

 the latter properly sealed at the time of canning. It would seem, too, 

 that their use for the purpose of preserving jellies and jams subse- 

 quent to their preparation should not be necessary, as the high content 

 of sugar present is sufficient to prevent any fermentation. This point 

 is borne out in the home preparation of jellies, jams, and marmalades 

 where no preserving agent is used, and yet the danger of the product 

 spoiling is very slight. Furthermore, those products which were 

 found to contain no preservatives showed keeping qualities in no way 

 inferior to those that had been artificially preserved. While many 

 manufacturers undoubtedly use preservatives to prevent spoiling sub- 

 sequent to the preparation of the articles, others use them for the 

 purpose of keeping the fruit until it is worked up into the finished 

 product. The pulped fruit to be used for making jellies and jams is 

 sometimes kept for several weeks after the addition of some sugar, 



a Import on glucose to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by The National 

 Academy of Sciences, 



