SPECIALTIES AND SOUPS. 73 



sowed, cultivated, and harveMed when ripe and Used only in the fully 

 ripe dried Mate. The <|iiantity' used in thU way i- enormous. 



The beans should be of good quality, small, white. maehine-eleam-d, 

 and hand-picked for defects. Tin- lir>t Mep in preparation is soak- 

 ing, and this is done in tanks or barrels and lasts for from 12 to 24 

 hours, depending upon the method of handling. The water is 

 changed in the laid; about once in 6 hours, or, on the fancy article, 

 about once in 4 hour-. 



From this point on the preparation varies greatly in different fac- 

 tories. For the very cheap trade the brans are boiled in a squirrel 

 cage or pea blaneher for a few minutes before placing them in the 

 can; others boil them very slowly in an iron-jacketed kettle from 30 

 minutes to 3 hours before canning. Some boil them just long enough 

 to slip the skin, the length of time depending wholly upon the grade 

 of the bean. 



Before the cans are filled, a piece of pork is placed in the can, then 

 the beans, and finally the sauce. The sauce varies greatly, though 

 tomato sauce is the most popular at present. This is made from a 

 good heavy pulp, salt, sugar, and spices, the proportions being varied 

 to suit the fancy of the packer. Plain sauce is made with water, 

 salt, sugar, molasses, and spice. It is important that just the proper 

 quantity of sauce be added, for in the processing some moisture will 

 be taken up by the beans, and if too little sauce or moisture is added 

 they will be dry and hard, while if an excess be added they will be 

 sloppy. 



In these methods there is no real baking, the beans having been 

 soaked and boiled. They are subsequently heated in the can at a 

 baking temperature, but no moisture can escape, and baking gen- 

 erally implies that the material is subjected to dry heat, usually in 

 an oven. The real characteristic is the change in and breaking up 

 of the tissues with loss of weight, due to the escape of moisture. 

 Formerly baking was done under hot ashes or coals, in clay or brick 

 ovens; now it is done in stoves and special ovens, and the latter may 

 be heated by steam. The same results may be accomplished in 

 superheated steam as in hot air. The difference between baking and 

 roasting is not always clear, but between baking and boiling there is 

 a distinction. The term "baked " beans, therefore, implies that they 

 have been exposed to a dry heat. This is accomplished by heating the 

 soaked beans for a short time, until they soften but do not break open 

 or become mushy. They are then placed in large pans in thin layers 

 and allowed to bake in ovens until they become dry and mealy and 

 develop the characteristic brown color. The beans, when poured 

 upon the filling table will readily separate from one another. An- 

 other method is to place the beans in large trays in the retort and 

 subject them to dry steam until dry and mealy. The result is almost 



