COMMERCIAL CANNING OF FOODS. rf 
sequent operation, and the best time to make a separation is before the work of prep- 
aration is begun. A large part of the sorting can be done better by a few specially 
trained helpers, although some of it may be continued in subsequent operations. 
The hard and faulty ears of corn may be picked out more easily while it is being con- 
veyed to the silker than later by the cutter feeders, who are very busy keeping the 
machines working and can not take the time to sort properly. A few persons can 
pick out green, defective, and wrinkled tomatoes which will not peel economically 
and do it better before the fruit reaches the scalder than the peelers can do. The 
same principle holds true for peaches and many other products. Those who peel 
or fill the cans should have the minimum of grading to do. The sorting is usually 
done upon belts or special table tops to expedite the work. Berries are picked, 
stemmed, and defectives picked out when graded, to save handling. 
WASHING. 
The next operation is generally that of washing, the method depending upon the 
material canned. . In general, most products are placed in a tank of water to loosen 
adherent dust and dirt, gently rolled over by the agitation of the water, and then sprayed 
as they emerge. Since the spraying is the important step, it is desirable that the 
water have force rather than a large volume. A small spray with force will cut off 
dirt and adherent mold very successfully. The principle is the same as cleaning a 
floor with a hose having a nozzle, or with one having an open end; the former will 
use less water, but will clean better. Some hard-coated products, as peas, are washed 
in revolving wire cylinders, known as ‘‘squirrel cages.’’ Soft fruit, such as raspberries, 
require very gentle washing, and if the fruit appears clean some packers object to 
washing it at all, claiming that it causes injury and loss of flavor. Whatever method 
is used, the cleaning should be thorough. 
PREPARATION AND BLANCHING. 
Many of the fruits need no special preparation other than cleaning and sorting, 
after which they are placed directly in the cans. Fruit like peaches, apples, and 
_ pears must be peeled and cut to the proper size. Nearly all vegetables require more 
or less treatment; peas are shelled, graded for size and quality, and washed and 
blanched by automatic machinery; corn is cut, silked, brined, and cooked; beans are 
snipped and strung, graded for size, and blanched; asparagus is cut into lengths and 
blanched; sweet potatoes and beets are peeled and graded, and soon. The operation 
of blanching is in reality parboiling. Vegetables are dropped into boiling water for 
from one to five minutes, as a rule, to cause softening, and at the same time to remove 
some of the mucous substances which form upon the surface. The effect produced 
by ashort boiling in the open as compared with boiling in the closed can is surprising. 
Peas or beans which are a little aged and hard will soften quickly in the blanch but 
retain their condition in the can. In almost any case of very cheap peas some may 
be picked out which, if thrown upon a table or the floor, will bounce a couple of feet 
or more. This is evidence that they were not properly blanched and that softening 
did not take place in the can. The operation of blanching-is of much importance in 
putting up good vegetables. It is not a matter of whitening, as the name might seem 
to indicate, though it does have the effect of producing a much clearer liquor than 
would otherwise be present. 
WASHING AND FILLING THE CANS. 
The cans should be washed just prior to being used. In the shipping and storing 
more or less dirt and dust find lodgment on the inside, and washing is the only method 
of removing it. The quantity of dirt which can be obtained from a thousand cans is 
usually a matter of surprise. The work is done very effectively at the present time 
