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 poor material or defective methods. The necessity for a clear red variety has already been pointed out, for without proper stock, a superior product of uniform quality can not be made. The tomatoes must be well vine-ripened, as the presence of green fruit and green butts has a decidedly dulling effect. Colorimeter tests show that the use of even small quantities of green material have an immediate dulling effect. Promptness in handling the fruit after the tissue is once exposed to the air is also essential. The tomato, like some other fruits, turns brownish when the surface is cut or exposed. This does not occur as rapidly, nor is it so marked as in apples or in pears, but it is present. When the tomato is converted into pulp, every particle is exposed to the air for a very short time—long enough to make some slight change. The change is most marked in pulp from raw stock and least in that which has been well heated. It naturally follows that ketchup made promptly from whole stock will have the best color, that from canned tomatoes next, then canned pulp, and lastly, that from trimming stock. Pulp allowed to stand hot for too long a time will have a brownish color like stack burning. When barrel pulp was used, this was ascribed to the tannin extracted from the oak. Pulp should not come in contact with iron at any stage, as the union of the acid of the fruit with the metal will cause discoloration. When such discoloration does occur, it becomes uniform throughout the mass, and not in the neck of the bottle as has sometimes been described. Darkening in the neck of the bottle is frequently due to the spices used, as has already been pointed out. It can be redistributed throughout the whole by placing the bottle in a shaker for a short time. Darkening at the top may sometimes be due to extraction of color from the corks. Soaking corks in two per cent acetic acid, then in hot water before drying, and paraffining, will assist in preventing discoloration on cheap grades.