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



very fat fish and for fear of scorching the product. The degree of 

 heat which may be employed in drying is therefore limited ; otherwise 

 it would be possible to overcome the difficulty of drying on exces- 

 sively humid days by raising the temperature of the drying medium 

 sufficiently to obtain the desired results regardless of the humidity. 

 Air should be taken from a source that will not carry particles of 

 dirt to cause contamination of the fish. 



It is believed that a great deal of the difficulty experienced in 

 packing the three-quarter mustard sardines is due to insufficient 

 drying. Fish that are packed too wet or too "green" become soft 

 upon standing, and the mustard sauce often becomes discolored. If 

 the cans should happen to be packed too full, resulting in a "fat can," 

 they are likely to be rejected, particularly if on opening (cutting) 

 the contents are found in the condition described. 



All fish for mustard sardines should be cut and eviscerated. The 

 fact that fish of this size are packed in a sauce containing from 85 

 to 90 per cent of water makes it necessary to dry them a great deal 

 more than fish packed in oil. In some cases it is the practice to 

 allow mustard size fish to stand overnight, after a preliminary drying, 

 and complete the operation just before packing. 



It is also well to have no more than a sufficient number of racks 

 of fish out of the drier on the packing room floor, as the fish after 

 being dried, particularly on a rainy day, absorb enough water to 

 make their handling very difficult. It is practically impossible to 

 prevent breaking of the skin of fish when handling them after they 

 have absorbed water on standing. 



The fish should be separated according to their size, so that the 

 smaller fish need not remain in the driers as long as the larger ones. 



Probably 90 per cent or more of the Maine sardines are packed 

 from fish which have been steam cooked. Attention, therefore, to 

 drying and its better control will have a marked effect on the quality 

 of the product. 



Much still remains to be done in studying the conditions of drying 

 sardines as packed in this region. Investigations might profitably 

 be undertaken with the object of establishing, for example, the proper 

 time of drying, the maximum temperature, and the requisite volume 

 of air (in the tunnel type of drier) under varying degrees of humidity. 



PACKING THE FISH. 



The packing of sardines differs from that of most food products 

 put up in cans, in that it is necessary to arrange the small fish care- 

 fully to insure an attractive looking finished product. No other 

 foodstuff requires the same skill or technique in the matter of being 

 placed in their containers. From the selling point of view it is most 

 important that sardines be properly packed. 



