172 



THE COMMERCIAL CANNING INDUSTRY 



The use of mild antiseptics has also been of 

 frequent occurrence in the packing of corn, the 

 object being not only to prevent development of 

 bacteria, but primarily to render the corn white in 

 color. Excessive heating gives a slightly brownish 

 coloration to the corn, which has been counteracted 

 to some extent by the use of sodium sulfite and 

 similar compounds. The use of antiseptics or 

 bleachers of any kind is not free from objection, 

 as, even if the amount is so small as to be uninju- 

 rious to health, the flavor of the article may be 

 somewhat affected. 



Tomatoes. — In the canning of tomatoes, the fruit 

 is first scalded to make easier the removal of the 

 skins. The peeled and properly prepared pulp is 

 then put into the cans by means of a machine 

 which may serve both as a preliminary heater and 

 as a filler. The preliminary heating is of advantage 

 as it saves time in the final heating or steriliza- 

 tion process. As with other vegetables, the cans 

 are generally capped by use of a machine, when the 

 canning operations are conducted on a large scale. 



As tomatoes are more watery than corn, they 

 may be more readily heated through and hence do 



Fig, 254. Apple paring, coring and slicing machine. 



not require so long a sterilization process. They 

 are, however, extremely liable to fermentative 

 changes if the heating is not thoroughly done. 



Other kinds of vegetables are prepared in simi- 

 lar ways. It is essential to take into considera- 

 tion oniy the physical character of the food and 

 the changes it undergoes on heating to modify the 

 process to suit an individual case. 



Fruit-packing. 



The packing of fruits is in general accompanied 

 by less danger of spoilage than with vegetables, 

 owing to the presence of natural acids and to the 

 greater water content and resulting higher con- 

 ductivity. As in the case of vegetables, specialized 

 machinery has been devised for the carrying out 

 of certain processes. A good example of this is in 

 the peach peelers and pitters. Small stone-fruits 

 are packed whole, i. e., without removal of the 

 pits. A syrup of cane-sugar and water is added to 

 supply liquid. 



The sterilization may be carried out in retorts, 

 or an open water bath may be employed, in which 

 case the temperature does not get above 100° C. 

 (212° F.). The spoiling of fruits is of a different 

 character from that found in vegetables, as in the 

 former case the sugar is most frequently fermented 

 to alcohol and carbon dioxid. Trouble from this 

 source is relatively rare, however. 



Extent of the canning industry. 



The canning of fruits and vegetables has shown 

 an interesting tendency toward centralization in 

 those localities especially adapted for the growth 

 of special kinds of materials. Baltimore, the most 

 eminent canning center, is perhaps an exception 

 to this, as here are packed annually enormous 

 amounts of pineapples as well as other southern 

 fruits. 



New York state lead, in 1899, in canning corn, 

 apples and pears, and also packs large amounts of 

 beans and peas. A second corn-canning area is 

 found in Maine, the only one of importance in New 

 England, and a third of greater extent in the 

 central states of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. 



Tomato-packing is perhaps the most widely dis- 

 tributed of these special branches of the industry, 

 and in this line Maryland stands in first place, fol- 

 lowed by New Jersey, and then by Indiana, California 

 and Delaware. The tomato may perhaps be regarded 

 as the most typical canned fruit. In 1906, there 

 were 9,074,965 cases of this fruit packed, aggregat- 

 ing over 200,000,000 cans of three pounds each. 



The industry, as has been said, is one which has 

 had a rapid growth in this country, and with care 

 and strict adherence to making quality a first con- 

 sideration, is bound to increase to still greater pro- 

 portions. This fact is made evident by a study of 

 the Census figures showing the increase from 1889 

 to 1899 in the five leading canning states for 

 tomatoes and com. The figures refer to the num- 

 ber of cases of twenty-four cans each : 



Tomatoes. 



1899 1889 



United States .... 8,905,833 2,942,440 



Maryland 2,793,522 671,333 



New Jersey 1,080,059 516,701 



Indiana 878,791 194,150 



California 796,080 234,020 



Delaware 763,836 191,797 



Corn. 



1899 1889 



United States .... 6,365,967 1,726,096 



New York 1,341,352 272,925 



Illinois 1,082,196 200,750 



Iowa 995,713 70,100 



Maryland 852,859 400,104* 



Maine 715,211 505,362t 



* Including Virginia. t Including Vermont. 



The pack (cases) of peas for 1899 was as follows 

 in the five leading states : 



United States 2,738,251 



Maryland 758,431 



New York 751,535 



Wisconsin 490,296 



Indiana 209,154 



Delaware 101,038 



