Experiments on the Spoilage of Tomato Ketchup — John Shaqi
Experiments on the Spoilage of Tomato KetchupBitting, A. W. (Arvill Wayne)
Science
Experiments on the Spoilage of Tomato Ketchup
Bitting, A. W. (Arvill Wayne)
Ketchup
The wide labels on the neck of the bottle are objectionable. Some of
these are 2 inches in height, and serve to cover the discolored and
spoiled ketchup. As spoilage begins usually in the neck of the bottle,
it is difficult to see it when the neck is wrapped with a label, and
thus it might easily be overlooked until the main body of the ketchup
is affected. The bottles which have the widest labels around the neck
are usually the ones provided with one or two large labels on the lower
part of the bottle, though some bottles have no other label but the one
around the neck. As a rule, however, these are narrow, close to the
stopper, and unobjectionable.
In buying ketchup for experimental purposes it was difficult and
sometimes impossible to learn its age, as often the grocer does not
know it, and at other times he will not tell. It appeared, however,
that often the ketchup had been on the grocer’s shelf or in the
warehouse from one to four years.
MANUFACTURING EXPERIMENTS WITHOUT THE USE OF PRESERVATIVES.
OUTLINE OF THE EXPERIMENTS.
During September, 1907, ketchup was made in experimental batches to
determine whether it could be manufactured on a commercial scale
without the use of preservatives. These experiments were made to
determine (1) the keeping quality before opening the container and (2)
the length of time the product will keep without spoilage after the
bottle is opened.
The ketchup was made in a factory in which the conditions of
manufacture and all the surroundings were sanitary; whole, ripe
tomatoes, the same as used in the regular grade of canned goods,
were used and the formula and process were for a mild ketchup giving
the maximum of tomato flavor. Each batch consisted of 50 gallons of
finished goods, from which 1 gross of pint bottles was retained for
observation.
The term “regular ketchup” as used in these experiments means the
pulp of fully ripe tomatoes, to which was added granulated sugar,
80-grain, distilled vinegar, table salt, onions, garlic, whole
cinnamon, cloves, mace, and ground cayenne pepper. The pulp was cooked
in a steam-jacketed copper kettle for forty minutes and reduced
about 50 per cent. The finishing was done after cooking. The regular
bottles are pint sizes, washed in hot water, rinsed, and then heated
to a temperature of 190° F. for thirty minutes or more. The sterile
bottles referred to in the experiments were placed in a steam chamber
for twenty minutes at 230° F. The corks were sterilized by a bath in
paraffin at about 270° F. All of the work was accomplished quickly to
insure a smooth, even product with a bright, clean color. Acetic acid
extracts and oil extracts of spices were used in such quantities as
would give the same amount of spicing as when the whole spices were
employed.
In all of the following experiments the ketchups discussed were made in
September, 1907, and the last examination reported was made ten months
later, in July, 1908:
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