SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK ADDITION OF SUGAR 63 



that is, that the milk be heated to pasteurizing temperature, 

 170 degrees F. or thereabout, by the use of a continuous pas- 

 teurizer, or a jacketed kettle, or other similar means, and that 

 from there on only to the desired temperature, direct steam be 

 used. 



ADDITION OF SUGAR. 



Considerable quantities of sucrose are added to the con- 

 densed milk for the purpose of preserving it. 



Kinds of Sugar. In order to convey to the milk preservative 

 properties, that kind of sugar must be used which does not readily 

 undergo fermentation and which has the power of inhibiting bac- 

 terial activity when dissolved in a concentrated solution. Glucose 

 could be purchased at a very low cost, but it is not suitable for 

 this purpose, since it is, in itself, very unstable and fermentable. 

 It has no preservative qualities, even in concentrated solutions. 

 Sucrose, saccharose, or cane sugar, C r2 \l 22 O^, properly refined, 

 ferments with difficulty in concentrated solutions, and has the 

 power of retarding the growth of bacteria and other ferments 

 ordinarily present in sweetened condensed milk. It is, therefore, 

 very satisfactory and useful in this connection. 



Beet sugar, which is chemically indentical with cane sugar, 

 is used in European countries very largely in the place of cane 

 sugar. On the continent the beet sugar industry is an important 

 factor. With the climate adapted to the growing of sugar beets 

 and the labor relatively cheap, beet sugar can be secured by the 

 European condenseries at lower cost than cane sugar. In America, 

 where the annual sugar cane crop is large and where the high 

 cost of labor renders the expense of growing sugar beets relative,* 

 ly high, there is practically no difference between the price of 

 cane sugar and beet sugar. When American beet sugar was 

 used in the condenseries during the infancy of the beet sugar 

 industry, this sugar was found undesirable, often giving rise to 

 fermented condensed milk. It was then supposed by the con- 

 densed milk men that beet sugar contained very resistant spore- 

 bearing bacteria, which followed the beets from the soil into the 

 refined sugar. This conclusion is highly improbable, as the 

 temperatures and chemicals employed in the process of beet 

 sugar making are prohibitive of the passage of living bacteria 



