INSPECTION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNEBIES. 35 



POTATOES, SWEET. 



Sweet potatoes are canned extensively in Delaware and Maryland 

 ind in the South. As a general rule, only the smaller tubers are used 

 )y the canner. The tubers are placed in baskets or shallow slat boxes 

 md cooked with live steam for about 10 minutes in a suitable inclos- 

 ire of wood or metal. The hot tubers are taken out and the skin is 

 emoved at once, by hand in small plants, or in rotary machines made 

 'or the purpose. Those treated in the machines require further hand 

 reatment for the complete removal of bits of skin, roots, etc. 



There are two distinct methods of packing sweet potatoes. In one 

 he cans are hand filled completely, the operators using sufficient 

 pressure to mash the soft potatoes and squeeze out all air, the can 

 oeing completely filled except a slight depression at the top. In the 

 )ther method, the operators fill the potatoes into the can so that they 

 ie close together but are not mashed, as little space as possible being 

 eft as voids. In the first method, the contents turn out as a solid 

 nass, the outline of the individual tubers being lost. In the second 

 nethod the mass shows the outlines of tubers which can be picked 

 ipart and cooked as individual potatoes. The voids or air spaces 

 ;ometimes give trouble because the potatoes surrounding them are 

 nore or less darkened and unsightly, owing to the action of the air. 

 Because of this action of the air, some canners put up a solid pack, 

 rhose who pack by the second method give the filled cans a very 

 ong, hot exhaust in unusually long exhaust boxes, in this way driv- 

 ng out nearly all of the air, and then seal the hot cans at once, thus 

 securing a finished article which commands a higher price than that 

 Dacked by the other method. Sweet potatoes require a very long 

 oeriod of processing, especially when packed in No. 10 cans. 



PUMPKINS. 



Pumpkins, carefully selected for canning, are stemmed and well 

 ivashed to remove any adhering dirt. They are cut into large pieces, 

 jither by knives or roller disks, and are given a general washing in 

 t heavy squirrel cage, the principal object being to remove seed and 

 oose fiber. The fiber is then put in large iron crates and cooked in a 

 :etort until it softens, which requires about 20 minutes at 240° F. It 

 s next run through a cyclone which removes the hard part of the 

 ;kin and the tough fibers. If it is of a good consistency the pulp is 

 looked very little, but if light or thin it is evaporated until it has the 

 right body. It is filled into the cans while hot, sealed, and processed 

 lit 250° F. for 90 minutes. Pumpkins are packed principally in No. 3 

 lans. In some canneries the seed and pulp are not removed before 

 looking, as certain packers believe that the seed and fibrous pulp sur- 

 rounding them produce a better taste. 



