44 BULLETIN 196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



If the peaches be hand peeled, the fruit may or may not be graded for size first, and 

 the subsequent conveying to the pitters and peelers may be in boxes. The difference 

 is that the peelers have more waste to handle, but, owing to the preliminary gi-ading, 

 they do not have more than two pans into which to divide their fruit. The method 

 itself makes it necessary to handle the fruit promptly to avoid discoloration. The 

 conveying of the fruit to the pitters and of the waste and the peeled peaches to the 

 blancher is subject to the same criticism as in the other system. 



If a freestone, the peach is split around the line of the pit mark and the halves 

 easily torn apart by a slight circular motion; if a cling, the pitting scoop is inserted 

 close to the pit, cutting it free from one side, then scooping it out from the opposite 

 half. The scoop is held close to the pit to avoid waste or marking the fruit. If the 

 peach is hand-peeled, a curved knife having a guard is used, the halves being handled 

 separately after the pitting. With a very few varieties of eastern freestones, the 

 peeling is done by slipping the skins. This is accomplished by placing the halves, pit 

 side down, on a tray which has been covered with cheesecloth. The cloth is then 

 folded over the fruit and the tray placed in a steam box for about three minutes. The 

 skin can then be lifted by picking it up at one edge. The pieces are immediately 

 put in a can and the desired sirup added. 



When hand peeling is practiced, it is the usual custom to blanch the peaches in hot 

 water to make them more flexible for placing in the can and to remove any browning 

 effect from the oxidase. The peaches neither gain nor lose appreciably in the blanch, 

 as the variation on 25-pound lots by this treatment amounted to only about 4 ounces, 

 and might be an increase or decrease. It makes it possible to pack from one-half to 

 1^ ounces more in a can than when blanching is not practiced. The cans are filled 

 according to the size of the pieces, the off quality and the defective being separated 

 for a lower grade. The sirup selected will vary according to the grade packed. 



Where lye peeling is followed, the halves are passed through a machine containing 

 a strong, hot solution of caustic soda. The amount of soda used is from 1 to 2^ pounds 

 a gallon, strong enough to instantly cauterize the tissue with which it comes in con- 

 tact. The time required for the fruit to pass through the solution is from 18 to 25 

 seconds, the object being to prevent the solution from penetrating the tissue. As 

 soon as the peaches emerge they are struck with streams of water under strong pressure, 

 which has the effect of instantly cutting off the cauterized portion. Dropping the 

 fruit in a tank of water or under streams with weak pressure is not effective. The 

 strong, sharp spray is very essential. The halves are next passed over grading screens 

 having holes 64, 68, 72, and 76 thirty-seconds of an inch in size, which, with those 

 that pass over the end, give five sizes. Automatic conveyers carry the different 

 grades to the filling tables. The peaches are washed on the way to the grader, while 

 they are on the grader, and are kept in water on the filling tables. By far the larger 

 proportion of peaches are lye-peeled. Each method has its advantages and disad- 

 vantages, but in either case more depends upon the packer and the quality of the 

 frmt used than upon the method employed. 



The cans are filled by hand, the quantity being made to equal or exceed a certain 

 number of ounces. The present method is to fill trays of one dozen cans, which are 

 carried or trucked to the filling machine. This can easily be improved upon by the 

 use of a conveyer. Sirup of the desired degree js added, the can exhausted for three 

 minutes, sealed, and processed for from 12 to 20 minutes at 212° F. 



The waste in canning peaches consists in pits, peels, and trimmings. The pits are 

 dried, and in some places used for fuel, or they are shipped abroad for manufacture into 

 oil. The table waste is sent to the brandy distillery if one be near. The waste from 

 pits is about 16 per cent and from hand peeling about 33 to 35 per cent. 



The effect of varying degrees of sirup upon peaches is not marked unless the fruit ia 

 very ripe. If overripe, the fruit breaks down and the sirup can not be drained uni- 



