54 BULLETIN 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



fish was dark and soft. The mustard sauce in the pack dried for 2 

 hours was brighter, and contained no particles of fish. The flesh of 

 this fish was white and firm. The mustard sauce surrounding the 

 fish which had been dried 7 hours, allowed to stand overnight, and 

 then dried 1\ hours was bright and of about the same consistency 

 as when put in the can, and showed no particles of fish. The flesh of 

 this fish was very firm, although not as white as that of the fish dried 

 for 2 hours. The contents of the cans of this last pack when opened 

 had the best appearance of all four lots. The pack dried 2 hours 

 differed very little in taste from that which was dried the longer time. 

 The proper quantity of water to be driven from this particular lot of 

 fish to be packed as mustards would seem to be 20.63 per cent. 



Lot 2. — On opening the cans of raw fish from this pack a few days 

 after they had been put up, it was found that the mustard sauce, 

 which was of a different brand than that used in the case of lot 1, 

 was quite thin, but retained its yellow color. The fish were soft, and 

 had a characteristic fresh fish taste. The mustard sauce of the fish 

 packed as they came from the steam box was of a good color and con- 

 sistency, and the fish were fairly firm. The fish which had been dried 

 and baked were, if anything, firmer than those from the steam box, 

 but otherwise the same. The fish which had been dried, baked, and 

 allowed to stand for an excessive length of time at room temperature 

 were firm and hard. The mustard sauce was thick and pasty, as all 

 the water it originally contained had been absorbed by the fish, 

 which, however, remained hard and dry. The fish that had been 

 packed raw differed very markedly in appearance from those packed 

 after an excessive period of drying. In this experiment the cans with 

 the best appearance and quality were those from the pack that had 

 been dried for 15 minutes. 



Lot 3. — The steamed fish packed without drying were soft, and the 

 cans contained a great deal of water. Fish dried 20 minutes were 

 much firmer, and the oil surrounding them appeared to be in good 

 condition. The fish dried for 2 hours were the firmest of the lot, 

 and the oil around them was the best in appearance and flavor. The 

 physical examination of this pack was made before the determina- 

 tions for water were completed. All who participated in the examina- 

 tion wondered at the apparent lack of improvement in the packs 

 which were dried for the customary periods of time. The reason for 

 this was evident when the moisture content was known (Table 25). 



Lot 4- — When cans from this pack were opened and compared, it 

 was the consensus of opinion that for both the oils and the mustards, 

 drying for 20 minutes gave a product of very good appearance and 

 flavor. There was not much difference between the packs after 



