Twelve hundred and ninety-six bottles were shipped from Terre Haute
to Lafayette, Ind., and some were reshipped in order to duplicate
the conditions in trade. Some were kept in a warm temperature and in
strong light, others in a comparatively cool place and in the original
shipping cases, in order to duplicate the conditions in the warehouse
and grocery store. There has been no spoilage after ten months other
than that resulting from four or five cork leaks and neck cracks. These
experiments have shown conclusively that ketchup can be put up on a
commercial scale and delivered to the consumer in perfect condition
without the use of a preservative.
It was demonstrated by the first experiment that the goods could be
bottled at a high temperature without difficulty, and that subsequent
treatment was unnecessary. The after treatment at 190° was tried
because it had been found in small experiments that, in giving a higher
temperature, the internal pressure would cause more or less breakage of
bottles or loosening of corks. After treatment is practiced by some who
also use a small quantity of preservative as a further precaution. This
treatment is continued from two to three hours at the temperature of
high pasteurization.
The process at 212° was given with little breakage, as the bottles
used were of good quality. At and above this temperature the breakage
may be reduced by either raising the temperature of the ketchup before
bottling or applying pressure upon the outside while giving the process.
Neither the acetic acid nor the oil extracts showed any advantage over
whole spices in their preservative effects, as all kept. The color was
slightly improved, but the flavor was impaired, particularly when the
oil extracts were used.