HOME-MADE PICKLES AND KETCHUP 



173 



In 1 899, fourteen states packed 94,6 per cent of 

 the tomatoes and 92.3 per cent of the corn for the 

 United States. Maryland alone packed 31.4 per 

 cent of the total pack of tomatoes, and Maryland, 

 New Jersey and Indiana, 53.4 per cent. New York 

 alone produced 21.1 per cent of the total can of 

 corn, while New York, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland and 

 Maine produced 78.3 per cent. 



For further detailed statistics the reader is 

 referred to the reports of the Bureau of the Census. 



For Canada, in 1891, there were sixty establish- 

 ments engaged in fruit and vegetable canning, with 

 a total capital of $571,520, employing 2,304 per- 

 sons, paying $523,151 for materials, and turning 

 out a product valued at $929,778. In 1901, there 

 were fifty-eight establishments, with a total capital 

 of $2,004,915, employing 4,640 persons, paying 

 $1,571,681 for materials, and turning out a product 

 valued at $2,831,742. 



HOME-MADE PICKLES AND KETCHUP 



By Anna Barrows 



There is but slight diiference between acid 

 fruits preserved with sugar and spice (spiced 

 currants for example), and the sweet pickles in 

 which vinegar is added to supply lack of acid in 

 the fruit, or to make a preserve more acceptable 

 to serve with meats. 



The average proportion for sweet pickles is one- 

 half pint of vinegar, one-half to one pound of 

 sugar, one ounce of mixed spice, to two pounds of 

 fruit. Because of the uncertain quality of ingre- 

 dients this is subject to variation; some vinegar is 

 so strong that it should be diluted with water; 

 brown sugar is often preferred and sweet fruits 

 require less sugar. 



Vinegar is a product of bacterial action, but 

 after the acetic acid, which is its most important 

 principle, is formed, it protects anything placed in 

 it from change. Thus it is used often for a tem- 

 porary preservative of vegetables, such as pickled 

 beets or turnips for salads. Cider vinegar is usu- 

 ally preferred. Spices are a further protection 

 against ferments and mold. Vinegar has also the 

 .power of softening the cellulose of green vegeta- 

 bles, and thus renders some most unpromising sub- 

 stances acceptable as condimental food; the hard 

 green cucumber and tomato, melon rind, string 

 beans and the like, are thus made usable. It is a 

 question whether, now when we can bring fresh 

 fruit from all the world, we are wiser to retain 

 some of these, or to discard them as we have the 

 rose-haws, which our fore-mothers used to pre- 

 serve. 



Some of these materials keep better and lose 

 objectionable flavor if they are first soaked in 

 brine. Some are so hard that they should be stewed 

 in weak vinegar before scalding in the syrup. 

 Eipe fruits are oftener treated to intermittent 

 sterilization. The ordinary sour pickles are pre- 

 pared in the same general way, omitting the 

 sugar. The green cucumbers, and the like, fre- 

 quently are packed in salt as fast as they grow, 



and the final preparation with vinegar and spices 

 is left until they are needed for use. Sauer kraut 

 is cabbage prepared with salt, but not enough to 

 prevent fermentation, so that there is some acid 

 formed which softens the cellular tissues of the 

 cabbage. 



It is difficult to retain a fresh green color 

 in pickles that have been long salted. It has 

 been secured by scalding the pickles and vinegar 

 in a brass kettle, but this is dangerous. Grape 

 leaves, or others rich in chlorophyll, placed in 

 the jar sometimes aid in producing the desired 

 color. 



To make pickles more crisp, old recipes often 

 recommend the addition of one tablespoonful of 

 powdered alum to the gallon. This may not be 

 seriously harmful, but it may well be omitted. The 

 best way is to make the pickles more quickly, so 

 that color and crispness are not lost, instead of 

 packing in dry salt which extracts their juice and 

 makes it necessary to soak them for a long time to 

 remove salt and restore water. Soak small cucum- 

 bers in salt water over night, then drain and 

 pour hot spiced vinegar over them and leave for 

 several weeks. The flavors of the different jars 

 may be varied, onion in one, dill in another, 

 and mixed spice in another. A horseradish leaf 

 on top of a jar of pickles is thought to retard 

 mold. 



Ketchup and like preparations. 



Ketchup, catchup, or catsup, is " a spiced condi- 

 ment for meats" which is not mentioned in our 

 earlier dictionaries. Yet it is probably of very 

 ancient origin, — a form of the East Indian "kitjap" 

 from which these names are evidently derived. 

 Dr. William Kitchiner, in his "Cook's Oracle" 

 published in 1838, gives recipes for mushroom, 

 walnut and oyster "catchups." The cook-books 

 give many formulas for appetizers of similar 

 nature, many of them doubtless of similar origin : 

 " India relish," "chowchow," "chutney," "picalilli," 

 "chilli sauce," appear with many variations. These 

 bear much the same relation to pickles that jams 

 and marmalades bear to preserves; some are 

 strained, others are not, but all are fluid. 



Almost any fruit or vegetable pulp may be used 

 as the basis for these preparations, and this is 

 supplemented by additions of salt, sugar, vinegar 

 and spices. Tomato is perhaps more generally used 

 than any other foundation, but apples, gooseberries, 

 grapes and plums may be prepared in the same 

 way. Imperfect tomatoes and those not fully ripe 

 may be used in this way to advantage. After 

 cooking and straining, the seasonings are added to 

 the ketchup, and then it is cooked down to a con- 

 sistency as thick as will pour easily. The brilliant 

 color which has been seen in some tomato ketchups 

 is plainly artificial. Small bottles are best, since 

 after opening, anything of this nature is liable to 

 mold, unless it contains strong preservatives. 

 Olive oil is sometimes used on top of fruit syrups 

 and ketchups to keep out air. When the bottle is 

 opened, the oil may be removed by a swab of cotton 

 or soft paper. 



