May, 1912.] 



415 



Edible Products. 



upcountry farms, and the ordinary farm 

 horse or cow soon learns to be very 

 fond of all it can pick up or reach. 

 Other uses of the mango are for chutney - 

 making, for which condiment the de- 

 mand appears to be steadily increasing. 

 For this purpose many tons of mangoes 

 are cut up and converted into " pulp " 

 and sent to the Southern factories. A 

 small quantity is preserved in sugar or 

 as jam, but very little demand exists 

 for this— at least in the North. 



Another method I have not seen any 

 published references to, and which I 

 found some settlers in the Cooktown 

 district' successfully carrying out, would 

 seem to have considerable possibilities. 

 The mango is picked just before turning 

 colour. On being peeled, the flesh is 

 found to be firm \ and a pale-yellow 

 colour. This is cut off with a large knife 

 in chips or^ small slices some 2 in. in 

 length, 1 in. or so wide, and perhaps |in. 

 thick. These slices are laid in the sun 

 to dry, and become dry enough to store 

 in three or four days. Sheets of gal- 

 vanised iron (roofing) were used with 

 sheets of paper laid on them, Cloth was 

 not found satisfactory, and the paper 

 could not be dispensed with, as the acid 

 juice of the .fruit turned the product 

 a dark colour if in direct contact with 

 the iron. I observed various stages of 

 drying, but was unable to see any one 

 batch through from peeling and paring 

 to packing. I was, however, informed 

 that if laid out in full sunlight in the 

 day, and covered at night, it is dry 

 enough to pack in three to four days. 

 One turning is required. The fully dried 

 " chips " are of a very pale-yellow or 

 brownish- white colour, and if only cut 

 into similar shapes could hardly be 

 distinguished in appearance from the 

 best dried apples. Sometimes when half- 

 dried the chips are threaded on to strings 

 or hemp twine for convenience, as is 

 done with apple chips in some countries 

 and with meat in others, as such strings 

 are more easily exposed to the sun and 

 air, as well as brought under cover 

 again than are trays. I have even seen 

 these strings, 5 or 6 yards in length, 



draped over the clothes-lines for final 

 drying. 



These chips, when thoroughly "dry, 

 are stored in airtight receptacles, and 

 may be packed quite tightly in them. 

 Large glass jars and wide-mouthed 

 bottles are used, but the best recept- 

 acles are the large earthenware jars in 

 which the Chinese import liquor, pre- 

 serves, or sauces. Hermetical sealing is 

 very necessary, and is generally done 

 with ordinary beeswax. 



In this manner the mango keeps per- 

 fectly, and apparently indefiritely, with- 

 out any preservative whatever. 



When cooked, the dried fruit darkens 

 in colour a little, and is not so decided 

 in flavour as is the typical fresh mango— 

 in fact, to one who did not know what 

 it was, it tastes somewhat like a mixture 

 of dried apples and apricots. It makes 

 excellent tarts and pies, and could 

 equally be used for jams or chutneys, 



Here in the North there is quite a 

 considerable demand for dried fruit of 

 this nature, mostly apples and apricots, 

 the retail cost of which is about Is, 

 per lb. With many the particular kind 

 of fruit is immaterial, and dried mangoes 

 would be welcomed — in fact, one or two 

 local grocers who have had dried mango 

 put before them have not only found 

 a ready sale, but a demand for all they 

 could procure. 



Prepared in the way described, no 

 doubt it would be expensive on a large 

 and commercial scale, but properly taken 

 up by a small company with a little 

 capital, and American machinery and 

 appliances (such as rotary peelers, 

 sheers, evaporating ovens, &c.) used, it 

 looks as though a fair share of the 

 market for dried fruit might be captured 

 with a distinctly enticing new commo- 

 dity, the preparation of which would 

 leave a good margin of profit between 

 cost of producing or procuring and re- 

 tailing at Is. or even less per lb. 



The raw article is certainly cheap 

 enough at any season, and especially 

 so in a season such as has this year 



