12 



BULLETIN 928, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



per cent corn sugar, was considered to be of good quality. In fact, 

 in the experiment carried on at establishment B the hams cured with 

 this sugar ranked first. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SWEET-PICKLE BACON. 



Experiments with sweet -pickle bacon were carried on at each of 

 the four establishments, but, as with the hams, the one at establish- 

 ment X was of a preliminary nature. In all, 19 tierces of bellies were 

 cured. 



PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT AT ESTABLISHMENT X. 



Three tierces of bellies were cured at establishment X, one with 

 granulated sugar, one with cerelose, and one without sugar. The 

 chilled bellies were packed in tierces as follows : Tierce 1 : Sixty-one 

 bellies were packed together with 8 ounces of sodium nitrate, 10 

 pounds of salt, and 4| pounds of granulated sugar, the curing mate- 

 rials being sprinkled over the faces of the bellies. Tierce 2 : Fifty- 

 five bellies were packed with the above quantities of salt and sodium 

 nitrate and with 4^ pounds of cerelose. Tierce 3 : Fifty-five bellies 

 were packed with the same quantities of salt and sodium nitrate, but 

 without sugar. The tierces were held 48 hours in a curing cellar at 

 35°-37° F., then filled with plain 70° brine, and held at the same 

 temperature until cured. The tierces were rolled on the fifth, fif- 

 teenth, and thirtieth days after packing. The cured bellies were in- 

 spected for -soundness, soaked 5 hours in water, and smoked 13 hours. 

 No unsound bellies were found. Two smoked bellies were selected 

 from each lot for test purposes. In Table 9 is presented a brief 

 record of the experiment. 



Table 9. — Record of preliminary sweet-pickle bacon experiment, establish- 

 ment X. 



Item. 



Tierce 1, 

 granu- 

 lated 

 sugar. 



Tierce 2, 

 cerelose. 



Tierce 3, 

 no sugar. 



Number of bellies 



Curing period days. 



Weight of cured bellies pounds. 



Condition of cured bellies 



61 



33 



410 



Normal. 



55 

 33 



425 

 Normal. 



55 



33 



419 



Normal. 



QUALITY OF THE SWEET-PICKLE BACON. 



The relative quality of the three lots of bacon was judged upon 

 the basis of the appearance of the freshly cut surface of the bacon 

 and upon the appearance, texture, and palatability of the fried or 

 broiled product. The three lots of bacon were tested by 12 indi- 

 viduals, 6 of whom determined the quality of the bacon in their 

 homes, while the other 6 attended a test held in the laboratory. In 



