COMMERCIAL CANNING OF FOODS. 47 
aS 
a 
‘pieces from the better grades. The work of packing, which is wholly by hand, re- 
|) 
| quires somewhat skillful adjustment of the pieces to secure full weight. All cans are 
_ weighed and packed as close to the weight selected as the size of the pieces will admit. 
| The three grades, standards, seconds, and water, are filled without layering, which 
| accounts in some measure for the lower weight, though anything under 500 grams in 
these grades should be regarded as ‘‘slack filled.’’ 
| Pears, not being particularly acid or juicy, do not require a very heavy sirup. The 
flavor is impaired rather than improved when more than 25° sirup is used, and the 
higher sirups found in the special extra and extra grades are more for jobbing purposes 
in the trade than for real quality. After the hot sirup has been added, the cans are 
exhausted, then processed in an open bath for from 10 to 20 minutes. 
An experiment was made to determine the effect of allowing the peeled pear to 
stand. In the factories it is not unusual for quantities of certain grades to accumu- 
late and be held for an hour or more in the cans. In the experiment pears were allowed 
to stand one, two, three, and four hours. They were then exhausted and processed 
in the usual way. The effect was that some of the more delicate cells on the surface 
| would dry out, so that after processing a more or less pitted appearance was given. 
| The depth and size of these pits increased on standing. It was also found that during 
_ the processing a certain part of the tissue in these pits was loosened and floated in the 
sirup, giving a decided turbidity. This points very clearly to the necessity for rapid 
action in order to secure the bright, clean sirup so desirable for pears. 
The color and the texture of the pear make it especially valuable in studying the 
effect of exhausting. A well-canned pear should have a clean, bright color, but a 
_semitranslucent body showing quite clearly the fibro-vascular structure. The dead 
white or hard chalky appearance is decidedly objectionable. Properly matured 
_ pears, when given a quick, hard exhaust, which heated only the outside, retained 
_ this dead white appearance, whatever the process given. Pears given a slow exhaust 
_at a lower temperature, but taking time for the heat to penetrate through the pieces 
gave the desired effect each time. High, quick heating also produced more turbidity 
of the sirup than longer heating at a lower temperature. 
Effect of varying degrees of sirup upon pears and the ‘‘ cut-out’? sirup. 
| 
Density of sirup Gross |Weight of| Weight of/Weight of} Brix Reduc- 
(degrees). weight. |contents.| fruit. sirup. | reading. |ing sugar. Sucrose. | Acidity. 
Bartlett; weight of 
fruit , 560 grams; ex- 
amined Oct.17,1912, 
> Apr. 7, 1913, Apr. 2, Grams Grams Grams 
1914: Grams. | Grams. | Grams. | Grams. | Degrees. |per 100 cc.\per 100 ce.\per 100 cc. 
965 825 568 267 122) |= 5:60 1.90 0.14 
| WAL Ores os 970 830 560 270 11.0 4,7 2.13 16 
| 965 825 565 260 10.8 6.14 . 68 16 
| 975 835 575 260 12.8 4, 25 4, 38 15 
Nes 5 eee 980 840 560 280 14.4 4, 00 5. 58 14 
975 835 560 275 13.7 6.12 4.16 13 
995 855 568 287 16.1 4, 87 6.77 14 
2 net See ees 975 835 542 293 16.6 4.00 8. 64 13 
1,000 860 535 325 16.6 6. 24 7. 22 12 
997 857 557 307 19.8 4.87 10. 73 13 
Sle ey ene ae 990 850 545 305 20. 2 4, 25 11. 26 13 
1,005 865 530 335 21.5 7. 28 11.15 13 
1,020 880 565 315 24.5 5.00 15. 20 14 
HURBE Beene Se eae 1,030 890 572 318 25.0 5. 25 15. 20 13 
1,030 890 595 295 25. 4 8. 24 13. 32 12 
1,035 895 540 355 27.5 5. 25 17.10 14 
BOE Ser sects Baie 1,035 895 550 345 27.0 4, 50 16. 86 13 
1,050 910 555 355 27.2 7.64 16. 59 12 
1,055 915 560 355 30.8 4,75 22. 56 11 
U1 a ee eee 1,055 915 570 345 31. 2 5.12 21. 48 14 
1,065 $74) Ween MogcetllGEeseeooee 30.9 9. 98 Ile ii 12 
