This brief presentation of some facts concerning the manufacture of ketchup and discussion of the methods for its examination is offered in appreciation for the many favors shown to us by manufacturers. The text has been kept as free from technical terms as the subject would permit, and the results of observations and experiments covered by direct statements instead of giving details and tables. Nothing new is offered in the method of manufacture, but the doctrine of the use of sound fruit, sani

Ketchup is a spiced sauce used for its condimental effect in imparting flavor, or to give relish to other foods. It receives its distinctive name from the base used, as, tomato, grape, currant, mushroom, walnut, etc. The terms ketchup, catchup, and catsup are used to designate any spiced sauce and seemingly without any reason for the one used other than personal preference. Though the derivation of the term has been attributed to different sources by the dictionaries, there seems to be more reas

The washing is the most important mechanical operation in making pulp or ketchup in order to get a clean product. It is the weak spot in most factories, but fortunately is the one that can be most easily changed. The ideal washer is one that first receives the tomatoes in a tank, holding them for a sufficient length of time to soak and to loosen the dirt, and then submits all parts to a thorough spray under strong pressure. Most washers do not meet these requirements. In many cases the tomatoes

After washing, the tomatoes may be reduced to a pulp in one of three ways: by running the raw tomatoes directly through a grinder and into the cyclone; by passing the tomatoes through a scalder and into the cyclone; and by turning the tomatoes into jacketed-kettles or tanks and cooking them until soft before running through the cyclone. There is a difference in the product obtained by these methods. The first one gives a somewhat larger yield, as the hard parts are cut and torn so that more will

The cooking is done in copper-jacketed kettles, in glass-lined metal, or in wooden tanks, the tanks being heated with coils. The glass-lined tank has the advantage of very little metal coming in contact with the pulp and can be kept cleaner than wood. A question has been raised regarding the suitability of copper for a cooking utensil, though no positive objection has been made. The vacuum pan is coming into use for concentrating pulp, but has been little used in making the finished ketchup. The

The selection of the spices depends entirely upon the flavor desired. Cinnamon, cassia, cloves, allspice, mace, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, mustard, ginger, coriander, bay leaves, caraway and celery seed, are all to be found in the various formulae. Some manufacturers spice lightly in order to retain the maximum of the base flavor, while others go to the opposite extreme on the misguided assumption that they will act as preservatives. The quantity used should be determined by the flavor des

Only new bottles should be used and these should be thoroughly rinsed before using and preferably with hot water. Since new bottles have no tightly adherent particles on the inside, the use of clear water is sufficient, dependence being placed upon the after process to insure sterilization. The bottling should be done at as high temperature as is practicable, about 165 to 170 degrees F. If the temperature is higher than this, the possibility of burns in handling is increased, and too much space

After the bottles are sealed, they should be given a process to insure sterility, the time being about fifty minutes for half-pints and an hour and fifteen minutes for pints—or sufficient time to insure 190 degrees F. for twenty minutes at the center of the bottle. This step is omitted by many manufacturers, dependence for sterilization being placed upon washing the bottle and subsequent heating for about twenty minutes. The heating is accomplished by conveying the bottles through a chamber cont

The making of ketchup is simple and the factory arrangement for doing the work should be as compact as possible, so that after the pulp is once heated, there is an advantage in having the various steps follow in succession by gravity rather than be conveyed by pumps, especially in small plants. The piping should be as short and direct as possible. The machinery for filling bottles, corking, etc., leaves much to be desired; as separate units they work fairly well, but there needs to be some metho

During the height of the season, it may not be possible to convert all the tomatoes directly into ketchup, in which event the surplus may be made into pulp. The first part of the operation is identical with that already described. The concentration is carried just far enough so that subsequently by slow heating for spicing it will give the proper consistency when made into ketchup. A standard has not been fixed, but tentatively it has been proposed that it be at about a specific gravity of 1.035

The losses in stock from canning tomatoes amounts to about forty per cent. This is due to the unbusiness-like attempt to can all kinds—very large, very small, and wrinkled, which can not be peeled with economy—to wasteful methods of peeling, and to excessive draining of fruit from handling in too thick layers. In this waste there is much that has good food value and which might be worked up into pulp or ketchup stock if properly done. In order to do this, the tomatoes should be sorted so that on

Home-made ketchup generally has a rather dark reddish or brownish color, due to prolonged heating, made necessary under kitchen conditions. At one time this was thought desirable and some of the older recipes call for the use of caramel in order to imitate this color. Most manufacturers now aim to secure a clean, clear color, preferably bright red. This may be obtained when good fruit is used and handled quickly; a muddy brownish or yellowish color is looked upon with suspicion as indicating poo

Ketchup must not only keep while in the unopened bottle, but for a reasonable time after opening, if it is to be a commercial success. Every canner understands that if he puts food in a hermetically sealed package and sterilizes by heat, that it will keep until opened. The same principle applies to ketchup in the bottle, but there are some packers who wish to be spared this expense and trouble and prefer to use a substitute for heating. The keeping quality after opening depends upon the utilizat

While tomato ketchup is a complex and variable product, its general composition may be determined with a fair degree of accuracy. Inspection will give a good idea of color, consistency, smoothness of body, fineness of finish, tendency to separate, presence of objectionable particles, and evidence of gross fermentation. The odor and taste will give a clue to the kind and quantity of spices used and to a certain extent the character of the raw material. Judging by odor and taste is not so well don

Pericarp. The tomato is a typical berry, the ovary wall, free from the calyx, forming the fleshy pericarp, which encloses chambers filled with a clear matrix, containing the seeds. The pericarp consists of an outer tough membrane, the epidermis, a more or less thick layer of parenchyma tissue, the pulp, and an inner thin, delicate membrane, the lining layer of the loculi or chambers in which are the seeds. The epidermis consists of a single layer of cells which have a very thick continuous cutic

Although the tomato pulp is broken into fine particles by the action of the cyclone, and the skin and seeds are removed by the fine sieves, pieces of the various tissues can be readily identified. The skin and seeds have characteristics which would serve to distinguish them from similar parts of other vegetables which might be used for adulteration, but particles of skin and hairs from the seeds are rarely found. The distinctive features which can be relied upon are the red, irregularly-shaped,

When tissue is held and allowed to rot spontaneously, the pulp is decomposed into a granular, watery mass. The cells beneath the epidermis are the finest and driest in the sound tomato, considerable pressure of the cover-glass being required to separate them for examination. Even when forced apart, the cells retain their shape. They contain a delicate semi-transparent protoplasm with a rather large nucleus surrounded by protoplasm and having strands from this mass connect with the protoplasm lin

Tomato pulp furnishes a medium suitable for the development of many organisms, as it contains all of the necessary food elements. The raw pulp has an acidity of from 0.2 to 0.4 per cent usually, though there may be variation due to fermentation and other causes. On account of its mild acidity, it is especially suitable for the development of many yeasts and molds, and some forms of bacteria, consequently there is present a varied and abundant flora if the pulp be held for an appreciable time bef

To obtain the number of yeasts and spores in the sample, a count is made in one-half of the ruled squares. Two hundred squares represent a volume equivalent to 1-20 c mm, which, multiplied by the dilution, would give the number in 1-60 c mm. It is stated that it is believed that it is possible for manufacturers to keep the count below 25 per 1-60 c mm. The same mount is used in estimating the bacteria, but the ×18 ocular used so as to increase the magnification to approximately 500 diameters. Th