Miscellaneous Products. 



244 



[September, 1908. 



MANUFACTURE OP PINEAPPLE 

 JUICE. 



During the manufacture of canned 

 pineapples a very large amount of refuse 

 in the form of peelings and trimmings 

 collects in the factory, which raw 

 material is at present allowed to go to 

 waste, and its disposal is quite a nuisance 

 to the factories. Early last year the Agri- 

 cultural Chemist prepared a few bottles 

 of pineapple juice, which were opened 

 after having been kept for twelve 

 months, and the juice was found to be 

 of excellent quality, having kept its 

 pure flavour of the fresh fruit- Tue 

 complete success of the experiment en- 

 couraged the Department of Agriculture 

 and Stock to experiment on a larger scale, 

 so as to prepare about a gross of pint 

 bottles of pure pineapple juice from 

 waste materials only for tJie Franco- 

 British Exhibition. Messrs. Hargreaves 

 and Sons, of Tiugalpa, were good enough 

 to allow us the use of their manufactur- 

 ing plant, and also supplied the raw 

 material, the peelings of barely a couple 

 of hours' work. The peelings have to 

 be worked up at once, as even after a 

 few hours' keeping fermentation would 

 set in, which must be avoided to get a 

 juice absolutely pure, possessing a fine 

 flavour, and which is free from alcohol 

 and preservatives. The demand for 

 such pure fruit juices in Europe and else- 

 where has enormously increased of late 

 years, and our pineapple juice should be 

 a successful rival of such drinks pre- 

 pared from other fruits. The juice may 

 be used iu its pure state, or may be 

 diluted with water, according to taste, 

 or, again, could be aerated, and make a 

 sparkling, palatable and nutritious drink. 



The peels are passed through some sort 

 of pug mill, and then are pressed in a 

 strong press. The juice is run through a 

 sieve or cloth to remove any floating mat- 

 ter and is then heated in a suitable boil er 

 to about 170 degrees Fahr., and kept a t 

 that temperature for about half an ho U r. 

 This heating pasteurises the juice by 

 destroying all micro-organisms, and at 

 the same time coagulates some of the 

 impurities, which easily settle down on 

 standing. 



The hot juice is drawn off into a clean 

 cask, which is covered up and allowed 

 to stand for about twelve hours to settle, 

 and the clear juice syphoned off. The 

 drawn-off clear juice is again heated to 170 

 degrees Fahr., and bottled whilst hot and 

 corked at once. The filled bottles have 

 again to be heated after having been kept 

 for twenty-four hours, which is best ac- 

 complished and does away with further 



handling by placing them into a wooden 

 steam chest, where they can be gradually 

 heated to 165 degrees, and kept at that 

 temperature for about half an hour. 

 The right temperature is ascertained by 

 placing a thermometer right into the 

 centre of a bottle of the same size filled 

 with water, and placed in the centre 

 near the top of the chest, so that the 

 thermometer projects through the top 

 of the steam box. This heating is repeat- 

 ed after another twenty-four hours' 

 standing, which completes the treat- 

 ment. 



This process of repeated heating to 165 

 degrees Fahr., with twenty-four hours' 

 interval, absolutely sterilises the juice, so 

 that it will keep indefinitely, preserving 

 at the same time the fine fruity flavour, 

 as the juice was never actually boiled. A 

 small amount of sugar may be added to 

 the juice if the pines are not very sweet, 

 and in the manufacture of such juice on 

 a large scale, the juice drawn off from tbe 

 settling cask or tank may be filtered by 

 some suitable apparatus in order to get 

 it absolutely clear. — Queensland Agri- 

 cultural Journal., Vol. XX., Part 4, 

 April, 1908. 



PRESERVATION OF RED SORREL 

 FRUITS. 



In the course of an article in the 

 Natal Agricultural Journal entitled 

 ' The Roselle or Jamaica Sorrel ' (Hibiscus 

 sabdariffa), so well-known in the West 

 Indies, the following note is given on 

 the preservation of fruits : — 



The roselle is well adapted for jam- 

 making, giving a palatabie, easily-kept 

 product if put up in earthenware or 

 glass. Unfortunately the fruits contain 

 an acid principle which precludes them 

 being put up as preserves in ordinary 

 tin-ware, and hence some failures have 

 been experienced in this respect. For 

 pickles the fruit is well adapted, and it 

 makes an excellent condiment. 



It has been found that the best 

 method of handling the fruit is to dry it 

 after the removal of the seed pod. The 

 dried fruit has been kept in jars and tins 

 for two or three years iu good order. The 

 first preparation that is necessary is the 

 cutting off of the stem of the fruit, 

 and the basal end of the calyx (the 

 calyx is the red-coloured edible portion) 

 to where the seed pod is united with 

 the calyx, when a gentle pressure with 

 the fingers will force out the seed pod. 

 Then the fruit should be placed in some 

 roomy, airy position (not necessarily in 

 the sun), an trays or in sheets on the 



