COMMERCIAL CANNING OF FOODS. 7 



sequent operation, and the best time to make a separation is before the work of prep- 

 aration is begun. A lai-ge part of the sorting can be done better by a few specially 

 trained helpers, although some of it may be continued in subsequent operations. 

 The hai-d and faulty ears of corn may be picked out more easily while it is being con- 

 veyed to the silker than later by the cutter feeders, who are very busy keeping the 

 machines working and can not take the time to sort properly. A few persons can 

 pick out green, defective, and wriojcled tomatoes which will npt peel ecO|h>pmically 

 and do it better before the fruit reaches the scalder than the peelers can do. The 

 same principle holds true for peaches and many other products. Those who peel 

 or fill the cans should have the minimum of grading to do. The sorting is usually 

 done upon belts or special table tops to expedite the work. Berries are picked, 

 stemmed, and defectives picked out when graded, to save handling. 



Washing. 



The next operation is generally that of washing, the method depending upon the 

 material canned. In general, most products are placed in a tank of water to loosen 

 adherent dust and dirt, gently rolled over by the agitation of the water, and then sprayed 

 as they emerge. Since the spraying is the important step, it is deshable that the 

 water have force rather than a large volume. A small spray with force will cut off 

 dirt and adherent mold very successfully. The principle is the same as cleaning a 

 floor with a hose having a nozzle, or with one having an open end; the former will 

 Mse less water, but will clean better. Some hard-coated products, as peas, are washed 

 in revolving wire cylinders, known as "squin-el cages. ' ' Soft fruit, such as raspberries, 

 require very gentle washing, and if the fruit appears clean some packers object to 

 washing it at all, claiming that it causes injury and loss of flavor. Whatever method 

 is used, the cleaning should be thorough. 



Preparation and Blanching. 



Many of the fruits need no special preparation other than cleaning and sorting, 

 after which they are placed directly in the cans. Fruit like peaches, apples, and 

 pears must be peeled and cut to the proper size. Nearly all vegetables require more 

 or less treatment; peas are shelled, gi-aded for size and quality, and washed and 

 blanched by automatic machinery; corn is cut, silked, brined, and cooked; beans are 

 snipped and strung, graded for size, and blanched; asparagus is cut into lengths and 

 blanched; sweet potatoes and beets are peeled and graded, and so on. The operation 

 of blanching Ls in reality parboiling. Vegetables are dropped into boiling water for 

 from one to five minutes, as a rule, to cause softening, and at the same time to remove 

 some of the mucous substances which form upon the surface. The effect produced 

 by a short boiling in the open as compared with boiling in the closed can is surprising. 

 Peas or beans which are a little aged and hard will soften quickly in the blanch but 

 retain their condition in the can. In almost any case of very cheap peas some may 

 be picked out which, if thrown upon a table or the floor, will bounce a couple of feet 

 or more. Thin is evidence that they were not properly blanched and that softening 

 did not take place in the can. The operation of blanching is of much importance in 

 putting up good vegetables. It is not a matter of whitening, as the name might seem 

 U> indicate;, though it does have the effect of producing a much clearer liquor than 

 would otherwise be present. 



WAflHiNf; anj) FiLUNfi THK (!anh. 



The can.H Hhould be washed just prior to being used. In the Hhii)ping and storing 

 more or Ijjhh dirt an<l dust find lodgment on the inside, and washing is the only inelhod 

 of removing it. The fjuantity of dirt which can bo ol^tained from a thousand cans is 

 Uflually a inattiT of Hur|)ri."c. The work is rlono very r-ffcrtivcily at the j)reH(!nt time 



