70 BULLETIN 196, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



can, with saving of labor, cost of cans, and freight. There is little excuse for packing 

 seconds and pieces of tomato in juic3 for soup stock when a better quality can be pre- 

 pared in a more concentrated form, and the water can be obtained at home at less 

 expense. 



The cooking of the pulp may be done with coils or in jacketed kettles, there being 

 a preference for the former. It may be only slightly boiled or it may be condensed 

 more than 50 per cent, depending upon the trade for which it is intended. Hea-\^ 

 pulp is canned in No. 1 and No. 2 cans for family use and light pulp in 1-gallon and 

 5-gallon cans for ketchup manufacturers. No standards have been made for pulp, 

 and as a consequence there is no uniformity in the products found upon the market. 

 The boiling pulp is run directly into cans and sealed ; the process varies with the con- 

 sistency and length of time taken for condensing; No. 2 cans generally receive 25 

 minutes at boiling temperature, and 1-gallon and 5-gallon cans, 30 minutes at 190° F. 

 A good many packers steam the 5-gallon cans, fill them while hot, seal, and do not give 

 a subsequent sterilization. This practice, however, is dangerous. 



Until recently the tomato was packed almost exclusively in No. 3 cans, but with 

 the introduction of the open-top cans No. 1 flat. No. 2, and No. 2J cans are rapidly 

 coming into use, as they furnish more nearly the amounts required in household use. 

 There is also a large quantity of so-called gallons put up for hotel trade. 



Condensed tomato or puree prepared from sound material has many advantages for 

 some purposes over the regular canned article, and its use should be cultivated, 

 especially for soups, etc. At the price paid for the standard grade of tomatoes a better 

 article can be obtained as a puree or paste. Some puree is made from peel and waste 

 from the canning. If the material is clean and sound there is no objection to its use, 

 but too often this is not the case, as is made evident by the presence of microorganisms, 

 broken tissue, and products of decomposition. A paste which is made from the whole 

 tomato and from trimmings by a system of spontaneous fermentation and salting is used 

 largely by foreigners. This article is no longer permissible in interstate trade. 

 Another grade of paste is made by evaporating the pulp until it becomes very stiff and 

 heavy. The straining of the juice or pulp from the seeds and hard portions can be 

 done better and with less waste by special machinery than in the kitchen. 



Tomatoes are sold under various trade grades, as extra choice, extra select, choice, 

 select, extra standard, standard, and seconds. It is unfortunate that there are so 

 many ways of designating the contents of a can, particularly when the prefix is mean- 

 ingless. What one packer calls his " extra choice" or " extra select" may be no better 

 than an extra standard or a standard of another packer. The real grade at present is 

 dependent upon the packer's name, not upon what he claims. There should be but 

 two grades — selected or first grade, and standard or field run for the second. A can of 

 first grade tomatoes should be from selected, prime, ripe fruit, having a fleshy body, 

 well-developed flavor, and uniform color. The can when opened should be full and 

 most of the tomatoes whole or in large pieces, free from all peel, core, or defects. The 

 net weight should not be less than 32 ounces in a No. 3 can. 



A can of standard tomatoes should be from sound, ripe fruit, having a fair body and 

 good flavor. The can when opened should be full, and part of the tomatoes whole or 

 in large pieces. They should be well peeled and cored. The net contents of a No. 3 

 can should not weigh less than 32 ounces. 



MARINE PRODUCTS. 



There is a very large variety of fresh and salt water products put up in cans, and 

 these have received the following classification by Charles H. Stevenson:^ 



There are five general classes of canned marine products, viz, (1) plain boUed, 

 steamed, or otherwise cooked; (2) preserved in oil; (3) prepared with vinegar, sauces, 



1 The Preservation of Fishery Products for Food. United States Fish Commission Bulletin for 1898, 

 p. 512. 



