32 BULLETIN 196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



sometimes standard and seconds, in light sirup. Those packed without sirup are 

 known as water or pie fruit. 



There is no chemical difference between a high-grade granulated sugar made from 

 sugar cane and one made from sugar beets, though canners have been taught that 

 there is a difference in favor of cane sugar and pay a premium of from 10 to 20 cents 

 per hundred pounds for it. Some of the best packers make no discrimination now 

 except on the basis of price. Both kinds of sugar were used in the experimental work 

 and no difference was observed except in one case of beet sugar, in which the difference 

 was apparently due to the sulphids present. A rather ashen gray color was given to 

 white cherries and the delicate color in some of the berries was destroyed. Chemical 

 tests showed the presence of sulphid, and leaving a silver or aluminum spoon in the 

 sugar overnight was sufficient to cause blackening. How far such troubles extend in 

 canning is not known. 



Apples (Pyrus malus). 



Apples used for canning should be of varieties that cook well. They should be 

 slightly acid, smooth and sound, and without bruised spots. Poor apples can not be 

 used in canning and make a first-class product. The peeling is done by hand or 

 power peelers and the core removed by the same operation or with a coring machine. 

 Apples which are intended for dumplings are left whole and graded into sizes to give a 

 certain nimiber to the can, but those intended for pies or other cooking purposes are 

 sliced in quarters or smaller pieces. The peeled apple is placed in cans as quickly 

 as possible and hot water added to make the fill. If the apples can not be packed in 

 the can at once, they are held in tubs of cold water to prevent their oxidizing or turn- 

 ing brown. The process on apples is about 8 minutes at 212° F. for No. 3 cans and 

 about 10 minutes for No. 10 cans. 



The waste in the proportion of good apples will be from 20 to 40 per cent, depending 

 in a measure upon whether they are cut into small sUces for pie stock or allowed to 

 remain whole for dumplings. The waste is used for jelly stock, and dried for chops 

 and vinegar. The method of utilization depends upon the quality. 



Apricots (Prunus armeniaca). 



The apricot is produced for canning and drying in its highest state of dcA^elopment 

 in California. It is one of the good fruits with a distinctive and agreeable flavor, 

 although this is not developed until the fruit is ripe and ready to turn soft. If packed 

 at this stage and a proper sirup used, it is delicious. If packed while immature, it 

 possesses an astringent and peculiar bitter taste that is unpleasant. If it is allowed 

 to become overripe and soft, it melts down under the process and does not have an 

 attractive appearance. The period for proper canning is therefore short, which 

 accounts for much of the inferior product found upon the market. The fruit is grown, 

 hand picked, and boxed for the factory as peaches are. At some factories they are 

 graded for size by running the fruit over screens ha^dng openings 40, 48, 56, 64, and 68 

 thirty -seconds of an inch in size. The apricot is not usually peeled; it is pitted and 

 thoroughly washed, and any black spots (called soot or smut) on the surface are care- 

 fully trimmed off. The great bulk of the crop is simply split along the pit mark and 

 left in halves, a few are peeled, and a few are sliced for a special or fancy trade. 



The cans are filled by hand, the fillers using some care in separating fruit for quality 

 after it has come to them graded for size. Fancy stock must be evenly ripened, of 

 good color, and free from spots or defects. The underripe, soft, and badly smutted 

 pieces are separated for seconds and water-stock. The fruit receives the appropriate 

 sirup, is exhausted until hot, and processed for from 6 to 12 minutes. 



An experiment was made to compare underripe and ripe fruit, the stock being 

 selected from the same source and picking. The fruit which was in prime condition 

 for canning was separated into one lot, and that which was evidently green, but which 



