MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 55 



drying for 20 and for 40 minutes. It was apparent that, with this 

 particular lot of fish, drying for a period of from 20 to 30 minutes 

 under the conditions prevailing would have been sufficient. The 

 fish packed after longer periods of drying were too hard, and did not 

 make a good appearing or tasting can of sardines. 



The results of these experiments show the wide divergence in the 

 quality of sardines packed from fish containing varying amounts of 

 water. It is true that at certain times, when the intervals of drying 

 are short or conditions for drying the best, no very great difference 

 in the packed goods is noticeable. The drying period should be as 

 short as is consistent with securing the proper degree of dryness 

 for the product. 



Work still remains to be done in establishing simple tests to deter- 

 mine when the proper degree of dryness has been reached. It may 

 be suggested here that the weight of a number of fish of uniform size 

 taken from the flakes as they enter the drier, be accurately deter- 

 mined. When the weight of an equal number of fish of the same size 

 after drying is 15 per cent less than the weight of the raw fish, the 

 proper state of dryness within the established limits will have been 

 reached. 



Oil sardines packed from fish insufficiently dried have a distinctly 

 poor appearance. They are soft, and can not be taken readily in a 

 whole condition from the can, while the oil surrounding them often 

 looks milky and usually contains large drops of water. The taste is 

 also decidedly bad, often soapy, a condition probably caused by the 

 saponification of a small part of the oil during the sterilizing process 

 in the presence of the excessive amount of water in the can. If dried 

 too much, the fish become dry, hard, and brittle, and the flavor of 

 the oil is strongly predominant. Oil sardines prepared from over- 

 dried, hard fish lack the characteristic fish flavor. 



Variations in Water Content of Dried Fish Taken the Same Day prom 



Different Canneries. 



A series of samples were taken from several canneries at practically 

 the same time of day, to determine how efficiently the fish were being 

 dried, and to ascertain the variations in the degree of drying in the 

 different canneries. Three of the canneries from which samples were 

 taken were equipped with tunnel driers, one with the Ferris wheel oven 

 type, and one with the old-style kiln drier. The time of drying was 

 60 minutes, 14 minutes, and 3 minutes, respectively, for the three 

 types of driers. 



The description of the samples, the kinds of driers, the conditions 

 surrounding drying, and the results of this test are given in Table 26. 



