=Canned Indian Corn.=--In the United Sta_Foods and Their Adulteration Origin, Manufacture, and Composition of Food Products; Description of Common Adulterations, Food Standards, and National Food Laws and Regulations

extensively consumed throughout all parts of the country is one almost

unknown in Europe, namely, succulent Indian corn. In the growth of

Indian corn, at the period when the starch is formed in the grain and

before it becomes set or hard, the immature grains make a palatable

and excellent food product. In the appropriate season this delicious

vegetable substance is eaten principally on the cob. A variety of

Indian corn, which has already been described, namely, sweet corn, is

the one chiefly used for edible purposes in this immature state. The

Indian corn canning industry is a most extensive one in this country.

The estimate of the number of cans of Indian corn produced during the

year ended Dec. 31, 1905, is 13,939,683 cases of 24 cans each.

The principal centers of the industry are found in the New England

States, especially in Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Ohio,

Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. By planting different varieties of Indian

corn which mature at different ages and extending the planting season

over a long period, the canning season, for instance, in Maryland, may

be continued from the last of July to the advent of killing frost,

usually the middle or last of October.

_Technique of the Process._--The ears of sweet Indian corn are plucked

from the stalk together with the husks, and brought in wagons in this

condition to the factory. The husks are removed by hand or machinery

and the ears passed through machinery by means of which, owing to the

operation of knives, the grains are as evenly as possible removed from

the cob. Care is taken not to cut too close to the cob so as to avoid

mingling any of its particles with the corn. The separated grains are

put into cans, treated with a sufficient quantity of water to fill

the interstices, soldered, and subjected to sterilization. Nearly all

of these operations are conducted by machinery. The sterilization is

often effected by placing the cans upon an endless conveyer dipping

into water or brine of the proper temperature and moving slowly through

this bath at a pace determined by the length and temperature thereof,

so that upon emerging the sterilization is complete. The cans may

also be heated in closed vessels as already described. A typical view

of a factory employed in the canning of Indian corn is given in the

accompanying illustration, Fig. 44.

_Composition of Canned Indian Corn._--The composition of canned Indian

corn varies so greatly that it is only possible to give analyses of a

somewhat general character, without attempting to express the extremes

of composition which may be found. The immature Indian corn differs

from the dry mature variety principally in the following respects:

There is usually more sugar, as compared with the same amount of dry

substance, and less starch and protein than in the matured variety.

In fact, the constituent which is of chief value in the green Indian

corn is the natural sugar which it contains. This natural sweetening

cannot be imitated by the addition of sugar although the mixture may

be made very sweet by this method. There is a delicacy of flavor and

a peculiar palatability in the natural sweetness of Indian corn which

must necessarily be due to the form of combination with other natural

ingredients in which the sugar is found, and not solely to the sugar

itself, which is practically ordinary sugar, sucrose, or its inverted

product. While there is less starch in the immature kernel of Indian

corn the starch is in a different physical state. In other words, it

has not become solidified into aggregates of solid particles. The

starch in this form also appears to be more palatable, and perhaps

somewhat more digestible, than in its aggregate and solidified

condition. As a nutrient the green corn is not so valuable by any means

as its equal weight when dry. The percentage of water in green corn is

many times as great as in the dry variety. For mere nutritive purposes,

therefore, it would not be worth while to go to the trouble of canning

green Indian corn. Its value is that which is attached to a succulent

fresh vegetable, that is, it is condimental and hygienic as well as

nutritive.

The mean analysis of many samples of canned sweet Indian corn is given

below:

Water, 75.50 percent

Dry matter, 24.50 „

Oil and fat, 1.26 „

Cellulose, .79 „

Ash, .93 „

Salt, .23 „

Protein, 3.51 „

Sugar and starch, 17.58 „

These data were obtained on samples bought in the open market, some of

which had been artificially sweetened and to some of which starch had

probably been added. The analysis of the fresh green corn is given on

page 227.

_Adulteration of Canned Corn._--Unfortunately many adulterations have

been practiced in connection with the canning of Indian corn which,

while not extensive or applicable to the great mass of material, have

cast an unjust suspicion on the unadulterated product. The trade in

this canned product would be vastly increased if the consumer could be

assured that all forms of adulteration had been eliminated from the

industry. The principal adulterants used are mentioned on page 228, but

the following additional statements are pertinent:

_Adulteration with Starch._--In order to make a more creamy liquid

in the can the addition of starch has been largely practiced. There

are two objections to the addition of starch to canned corn. In

the first place it unbalances the ration and makes it more or less

unwholesome. Starch itself is an unbalanced food product, but Nature

has so distributed the starches in various foods as to present them in

the most favorable form for digestion and assimilation, and when this

natural balance is disturbed by artificial means the result is more

or less injurious to the organs of digestion. There are many persons

to whom starchy foods are not nutritious nor easily digested, and

when persons of this kind consume canned Indian corn to which starch

has been added their health may be injured. The addition of starch,

therefore, is reprehensible for hygienic reasons. In the second place

it is objectionable because it is deceptive, since the canned product

has a richer and better appearance to the eye by this addition than it

otherwise would have, and because more water can be used in the can.

_Adulteration with Sugar._--It seems strange to speak of adulterating

with sugar, and yet the addition of sugar without notice to canned

Indian corn may become an adulteration. It has already been mentioned

that the nature of Indian corn for canning purposes depends very

largely upon its natural sugar content, and when corn of the proper

sweet variety is selected the addition of other sweetening material is

unnecessary. The use of sugar, therefore, in connection with canned

Indian corn serves to cover up the defects of a corn whose natural

sweetness is below the standard and thus the consumer is deceived. In

addition to this, attention is also called to the fact already stated

that no artificial sweetening, even with sugar, can produce that

delicate and desired saccharine quality which the natural sweet corn

possesses. The addition of sugar, therefore, to canned Indian corn

without the notice thereof being plainly stated on the label is not to

be encouraged.

_Addition of Saccharin._--The use of benzoic sulfinid, or, as it is

commonly known, saccharin, to canned corn unhappily is too often

practiced. This body, which has no relation chemically or hygienically

to sugar, which is not a food, which is wholly indigestible, and which

the majority of experts regard as harmful to health, should never be

placed in canned Indian corn, even if its use is notified upon the

label. It produces an intense, but not agreeable, sweet taste and

yet one which the unwary consumer would naturally attribute to the

sugar present in the corn itself. Thus the consumer is deceived, and

at the same time he is consuming a drug which has valuable uses in

medicine but which should only be administered with the consent and

by the advice of a physician. It is believed that under the scrutiny

of municipal, state, and national inspection the use of saccharin in

food products will disappear. Moreover, the name saccharin itself

is misleading. It is an application of a word which by common usage

is attributed to natural sugar substances to a substance which has

no relation of any kind to sugar. The use of a word of this kind is

evidently objectionable. The canner himself who uses this product often

buys it under another name, which gives no indication of its true

character.

_Character of the Cans._--It is important that the containers in which

canned vegetables are preserved should be of a character to yield no

poisonous or injurious substance to the contents therein. What is said

here in respect of canned Indian corn is generally applicable to canned

products of all descriptions.

The approved standards for food products in the United States require

the following properties for the containers:

“I. Suitable containers for keeping moist food products such

as sirups, honey, condensed milk, soups, meat extracts, meats,

manufactured meats, and undried fruits and vegetables and wrappers in

contact with food products contain on their surfaces, in contact with

the food products, no lead, antimony, arsenic, zinc, or copper or

any compounds thereof or any other poisonous or injurious substance.

If the containers are made of tin plate they are outside soldered

and the plate in no case contains less than one hundred and thirteen

(113) milligrams of tin on a piece five (5) centimeters square or one

and eight-tenths (1.8) grains on a piece two (2) inches square. The

inner coating of the containers is free from pin-holes, blisters, and

cracks.

“If the tin plate is lacquered, the lacquer completely covers the

tinned surface within the container and yields to the contents of the

container no lead, antimony, arsenic, zinc, copper, or any compounds

thereof.”

=Souring and Swelling of Canned Corn.=--In all cases where

sterilization is not complete, or where spores remain undestroyed

which afterward develop and produce various kinds of ferments, the

canned corn spoils. The contents usually become sour and acquire a bad

taste, and, in many cases, on puncturing the container gas escapes.

The pressure of this gas in the can is sometimes great enough to

produce a swelling, and hence the technical term “swelled” applied to

cans of this kind. Various forms of ferments are active in producing

these conditions. The usual alcoholic ferment does not usually occur

by reason of the fact that the yeasts which produce this form of

fermentation are readily destroyed in the sterilizing process. Ferments

which produce lactic, butyric, and other acids, and those which act

upon the nitrogenous matter and tend to form various decomposition

products are the most common.

In the case of canned corn and other canned vegetables the nitrogenous

decomposed products are not usually very poisonous. On the other hand

in the case of meat, and especially of fish and crustaceans, the

degradation products from the nitrogen constituents of the food become

poisonous and are known collectively under the name of ptomains.

If the sterilization has not been complete at the time of preparation,

sweet corn as well as other foodstuffs in similar circumstances

undergoes a kind of fermentation which renders it unfit for food. The

fermentation is usually due to the greater vitality of spores and

fungi, the real bacteria usually succumbing to the heat of preparation.

Various gases beside carbon dioxid are produced, causing the corn to

swell. All swelled goods should be rejected for food purposes.

=Canned Peas and Beans.=--These leguminous products lend themselves

readily to canning purposes, and are preserved in great quantities in

the United States in this way. Peas are always shelled before canning,

and are harvested at a time to secure their greatest succulence. If the

peas be too ripe they make a hard, unpalatable berry which detracts

from the value of the canned product. The smaller variety of pea is

preferred to the larger for canning, but, irrespective of size, they

should be fresh, succulent, and not too mature. In the large canning

factories the peas are harvested with machines such as are used for

the cereals. The harvested material is passed through a shelling

machine, by means of which the pods are opened and the peas separated.

The rest of the pods, stalks, leaves, etc., are very valuable for

cattle food or fertilizing purposes. Peas, before canning, should be

separated into different sizes so that all those entering one can may

be as nearly uniform in size as possible. This separation not only

makes the contents of the can appear more attractive but also renders

the sterilization more certain and easy. If a large and small pea are

put in the same can the heat of sterilization must be high enough and

continue long enough to sterilize completely the large pea, and this

might induce an over-cooking and impair the edible properties of the

small one.

The technique of the canning process is not at all different except in

the preparation of the material, as described above, from that of other

vegetable canning factories.

_Composition of Canned Peas._--The composition of typical varieties of

canned peas compiled from a large number of analyses is shown in the

following table:

Water, 85.47 percent

Fat, .21 „

Fiber, 1.18 „

Protein, 3.57 „

Starch and sugar, 7.79 „

Ash, 1.11 „

Salt, .67 „

From the above data it is seen that the canned pea does not have a high

nutritive value, considering its bulk. In the canned pea one of the

principal food elements in the wet material is the protein which it

contains, both the pea and the bean being very rich in this important

food material.

_Adulteration of Canned Peas._--The principal form of adulteration

which is practiced in the canning of peas is the addition of sulfate

of copper for the purpose of producing an intense green color. The

delicate shade of green of the fresh, succulent pea tends to assume a

yellowish tint on canning, and especially after keeping for some time.

To such an extent does this oxidation of the natural chlorophyl go

on that in many samples when opened, instead of a green, we discover

a decidedly yellowish tint. When a copper salt, such as sulfate, is

heated in contact with a nitrogenous substance, such as that which

exists in the pea, a chemical combination is formed between the copper

and nitrogenous bodies which has an intensely green tint.

It is often supposed that the sulfate of copper is added to canned

peas to preserve their natural color. This, however, is not the case.

The copper combination, as above mentioned, produces a dye of a very

bright green hue. Sulfate of copper is a highly poisonous substance,

and for this reason should be excluded from food products. It is only

fair to state that those who use this material claim that in the form

of the combination produced it remains insoluble during the process

of digestion, and therefore the copper is inert. This claim is not

sustained by the facts in the case. It is quite certain that the copper

product forming the dye or the excess of the copper which is used

remains in a state of very unstable composition which is easily broken

up under the action of the acids and enzymes in the digestive organs.

It is greatly to the credit of the canners of the United States that

the use of sulfate of copper has never come into use in this country.

_Tests for Copper._--Fortunately the presence of copper in canned peas

is easily ascertained even by the novice. If a portion of the peas be

rubbed in a mortar to a fine paste and mixed with water acidulated with

two or three drops of hydrochloric acid, a paste will be formed which

on boiling will deposit copper on a clean metallic substance such as

silver, steel, or iron. If a bright steel knife or a clean iron nail be

placed in this paste, the surface will soon be covered with metallic

copper. This simple test shows that the copper is not combined in any

such permanent form as is claimed.

_Saccharin._--The use of saccharin as an imitation of the natural sweet

of the pea is, unfortunately, very largely practiced and is open to the

same objections as were pointed out in the case of Indian corn. The use

of sugar, salt, and other condimental substances in canned peas cannot

be regarded as an adulteration unless deception results therefrom. It

is claimed there is no special variety of pea distinguished by its

content of sugar, and therefore the addition of sugar does not cause

one variety of pea to imitate the properties of another. If this be

true no deception is practiced, and, if the sugar is pure, no injury

is done. In all cases of this kind, perhaps, it would be better if the

manufacturer would plainly mark on the label the name of the added

materials. Then there could be no question of the nature of the product.

=Canned Tomatoes.=--Next, perhaps, in importance to the industry of

canned corn, is the preservation of tomatoes. Immense quantities of

these goods are produced annually in the United States. The technique

of the canning process is not at all different from that of canned

corn. By reason of the pulpy condition of the material and its freedom

from hard and impenetrable matter in the preparation for canning, the

sterilization is accomplished in less time and with greater certainty

than in the case of Indian corn.

_Preparation of the Raw Material._--Only fresh, ripe, mature, and sound

tomatoes should be used in the preparation of the canned goods. These

are delivered by the farmer or contractor in baskets or otherwise to

the factory. After sorting and rejecting all those that are unfit, the

portions selected for preservation are treated in the usual manner to

secure sterilization.

The skins, cores, and rejected portions of the tomatoes should be

removed to a sufficient distance from the factory to prevent any bad

odor or danger of infection.

_Composition of Canned Tomatoes._--The chemical composition of canned

tomatoes is shown in the following analysis:

Water, 93.59 percent

Fat, .23 „

Fiber, .60 „

Starch and sugar, 3.47 „

Protein, 1.29 „

Ash, .66 „

Salt, .14 „

From the above data it is seen that the tomato is not particularly

valuable on account of its nutrient properties. It consists chiefly of

water, and its value as a food product is principally condimental. It

must not be denied, however, that it has that peculiar value which is

possessed by all edible succulent vegetables and fruits, namely, it is

a means of keeping the digestive processes in good form, preventing

constipation, and promoting the general metabolic activity. In this

sense it is seen that it is more than condimental. It also, of course,

has a distinct food value, due chiefly to the carbohydrates it contains.

_Addition of Sugar and Spices._--Sugar and other condimental substances

are often used in the preparation of tomatoes. In this case it is

doubtful whether the addition of pure sugar can be regarded in any

sense as an adulteration if properly notified on the label. It is

claimed that there is no distinction in the classification of tomatoes

based upon their sugar content. If there was a variety of distinctly

sweet tomato as distinguished from the ordinary field crop, then

the addition of sugar to the field crop to imitate the sweet of the

naturally sweet article would be an adulteration. But even in this case

unripe or imperfect tomatoes may be used and sugar added to conceal

inferiority. The use of common condimental substances, such as salt,

spices, vinegar, etc., in the preparation of various products of

tomatoes must be regarded as a perfectly legitimate operation.

_Adulteration of Canned Tomatoes._--Fortunately there are few

adulterations practiced in the case of canned tomatoes. The use of

antiseptics to insure the conservation of the contents of the can was

formerly practiced to some extent, salicylic and benzoic acids being

the chief antiseptics employed. Since it has been made possible to

easily, speedily, and economically sterilize the contents of the cans,

the use of antiseptics is practically a thing of the past. The most

common adulteration of tomatoes, perhaps, has been artificial coloring.

The use of artificial coloring is resorted to solely for deceptive

purposes. Where green or immature tomatoes are used, or other portions

and parts of such fruits as are not suitable for the production of

the highest grade products, the naturally red color of the tomato is

imitated artificially, usually by the addition of cochineal or a coal

tar dye. The use of artificial color in canned tomatoes has almost

ceased in this country.

Saccharin is also sometimes used as an adulterant to imitate the

properties of pure sugar.

It has already been intimated that green or unfit tomatoes or the

residue of better grades are sometimes prepared and sold as the real

article. This is a form of adulteration which is most reprehensible.

Unfortunately, except in so far as the artificial color is concerned,

this adulteration is not readily revealed by either chemical or

microscopic examination, although the latter is exceedingly valuable

in detecting certain forms of this kind of material. Only by a rigid

inspection of the factories can this form of adulteration be excluded

with certainty. The use of such immature fruits or scraps without

notice to the consumer is, without doubt, an adulteration of an

exceedingly bad type. If there be a desire to make a very cheap grade

of the product out of these materials the nature of them should be

plainly stated upon the label and then, perhaps, there would be a valid

excuse for their appearance on the market.

=Other Canned Vegetables.=--There is no necessity to enter into the

detail of the preparation of other canned vegetables further than to

say that practically all vegetables which are offered on the market,

except those which are necessarily eaten in a raw state, are preserved

or can be preserved by the sterilizing process.

=Tomato Ketchup.=--A sauce which is used in large quantities in the

United States and in other countries is known as tomato ketchup and is

manufactured in many parts of the country. Tomato ketchup is the pulp

of sound, ripe tomatoes mixed with various condimental substances and

flavoring matters to make it palatable and desirable as a sauce. The

character of flavor and condimental substances employed is left to the

judgment of the manufacturer and the taste of the consumer, provided

the materials are wholesome and sanitary. It has been claimed by some

manufacturers that it is impracticable to place this desirable product

upon the market without the use of chemical antiseptics. They admit,

as in the case of the manufacture of fruit sirups, that tomato ketchup

can be sterilized and kept properly until the bottle is opened for

consumption; but, inasmuch as it is used in small quantities and a

bottle of it lasts for many days, it cannot be kept in a proper state

except by the use of such preservatives. The principal antiseptics

which are used in connection with tomato ketchup are salicylic and

benzoic acids.

Experience has shown that these claims are not of sufficient value to

warrant the exception of tomato ketchup from the ordinary regulations

respecting pure food. The habit of leaving a tomato ketchup bottle upon

the table where the material adheres to the rim and becomes hardened to

a gummy paste, serving as a pabulum for flies, does not appeal with any

great force to the æsthetic sense relative to dining rooms. A ketchup

bottle carefully opened and used in such a way as to avoid infection

and then returned to the ice box can be kept for many days without

danger of fermentation.

_Artificial Colors._--Tomato ketchup is sometimes subjected to

artificial coloring. This is done to imitate the color of the best raw

material. If red, ripe, sound tomatoes are used no artificial color is

necessary.

_Use of Refuse for Making Ketchup._--It has been stated that the

ripe, imperfect tomatoes at the time of harvesting are cooked in

large quantities and treated with benzoic acid and stored in large

containers until the canning season is over, after which this material

is made into ketchup and artificially colored. Further statements have

also been made to the effect that the skins, cores, and refuse of the

cannery have been treated in the same way as indicated below. The

proper inspection of the factories would exclude from the preparation

of ketchup unfit material of the kind mentioned. It is doubtless true

that when the people are finally convinced that the ketchup which is

used is made of the best material and contains no artificial color or

no harmful antiseptic, its use will be immensely increased.

A manufacturer of ketchup recently made the following statement

respecting the utilization of the refuse matter at the cannery:

“We use in our standard catsup the peelings and small tomatoes. We

preserve the pulp with four ounces of sodium benzoate to each 50 gallon

barrel, cooked and whipped through a cyclone pulp machine. It takes two

barrels of this stock to produce 60 gallons of catsup, and we use eight

ounces more of sodium benzoate to preserve it.”

If waste material of this kind is sound and wholesome, there can be no

valid objection to its use if the product be offered for sale under its

proper designation.

STARCHES USED AS FOODS.

=Edible Starches.=--Attention has already been called to the fact

that starch is the principal constituent of many of the common foods,

such as cereals and the different varieties of the potato and other

vegetables. Starch is often separated from the part of the plant

producing it, and is then largely consumed as food in practically a

pure state. Starches used in this way are presented in the form of

pudding or desserts of some kind, and are often richly spiced, highly

sweetened, and often eaten with cream. Starch also appears in the

market under other names such as tapioca, arrowroot, etc.

_Arrowroot._--The plant which furnishes the substance known as

arrowroot belongs to the natural family Cannaceæ and is principally

native of tropical regions. The most important source of the arrowroot

of commerce is the _Canna indica_. The starch of this plant exhibits in

a strong degree certain characteristic qualities of starches derived

from this natural family. The hilum in this starch is round and in some

varieties double. The appearance of this starch under the microscope

is shown in Fig. 45. The product of commerce is obtained from the

rhizome and tubers.

_Bermuda Arrowroot._--The Bermuda arrowroot is obtained principally

from the _Maranta arundinacea_. This arrowroot is also produced very

largely in St. Vincent and other West Indian localities. The granules

of the starch are very much smaller than in the two species just

described. The hilum is prominent, and frequently takes the shape of

a well defined slit instead of the usual round spot. These arrowroots

and those of South African origin are very extensively used for invalid

foods where starchy foods are indicated, which, however, is not

very often the case. These starches form a firm and semitranslucent

jelly-like body when heated to the boiling point in a small quantity

of water. The term arrowroot is applied to starch from plants of the

origin mentioned because the natives of the country producing them use

the bruised rhizomes as a poultice for wounds caused by arrows.

[Illustration: FIG. 45.--MARANTA (ARROWROOT) STARCH (× 200).--(_Courtesy

Bureau of Chemistry._)]

_Canna edulis._--This species of Cannaceæ also furnishes a starch of

commerce nearly allied to the _Canna indica_. The common commercial

name of this variety of starch is “Tous les mois.” The starch granules

of this species are rather larger than those of the _Canna indica_, and

the concentric markings are more delicate and regular.

_Madagascar Arrowroot._--There is also produced in Madagascar an

arrowroot from a different form of plant, namely _Tacca pinnatifida_.

It is not, however, of any very great commercial importance. A similar

starch is made from the same plant in Otaheite.

_Plantain Meal._--The plants of the natural family Musaceæ are

important articles of food in many tropical regions, the plant

yielding also, in addition to the starch, fibers suitable for textile

use. The fruit of the _Musa paradisiaca_ is chiefly employed for

this purpose. It is quite similar in its character to the fruit of

the allied species, _Musa sapientum_, or common banana. The starch

granules which make up the plantain meal are remarkable for their long

and narrow shape. The lines marking their surface are only faintly

distinguishable, and the hilum is small and somewhat indistinct.

Plantain meal is not used to any very great extent outside of the

country where it is produced.

[Illustration: FIG. 46.--A CASSAVA FIELD IN GEORGIA.--(_Photograph by

H. W. Wiley._)]

_Sago._--Another form of starch which has a high value as a food

product is made from the natural family Palmaceæ. The palm starch or

sago is consumed in immense quantities in many parts of the world, and

is probably in importance only second to the starch derived from the

cereals as human food. The starch granules are rather large and coarse,

although very many small granules are found mixed with them. Some of

the larger granules appear to be partially divided or broken. The hilum

is distinct and very long. The sago of commerce is like a tapioca

made from the palm starch. It has been subjected to heat while still

moist in the process of manufacture, so that it is quite difficult,

as a rule, to find the distinct starch granules of the palm in the

commercial article. Sago is grown principally in the Moluccas and

Sumatra.

_South African Arrowroot._--There are many species of Marantaceæ

cultivated in South Africa from which arrowroot is manufactured. They

are of the same variety as that used in Bermuda and the West Indies.

The cultivation of the plant has modified to some extent the action

of the starch granules as originally found in the uncultivated plant.

The starch granules in the cultivated variety approach more nearly a

spherical form. The concentric lines are much more distinct and the

hilum more prominent than in the wild variety.

_Tapioca._--The most important of the starch products used as food is

the tapioca. It is made from the plant belonging to the natural family

Euphorbiaceæ, and is derived particularly from the variety of cassava

plant known as _Manihot_. Attention has been called to the fact that

many of the varieties of cassava plant are highly poisonous, due to

the natural development during growth of hydrocyanic acid, one of the

most violent of known poisons. This substance, however, is of quite

a volatile character, and when comminuted cassava root is heated or

boiled, all or at least the principal part of the hydrocyanic acid

(prussic acid) disappears. None of it or at least not more than a trace

is found in the food product tapioca. A comparatively sweet variety of

cassava that is containing but a small proportion of prussic acid is

grown in Florida and Georgia. The appearance of a field of cassava is

shown in Fig. 46. The tapioca of commerce is prepared by the separation

of the starch in the usual way by grinding and washing with water.

Before the starch becomes dry, in fact, while it is still containing

its maximum degree of moisture, it is submitted to heat first at a

low temperature, gradually increased until the starch granules are

disintegrated or agglutinated into a somewhat firm and gelatinous mass.

The heat is then continued at the proper temperature until the water is

nearly all driven off. The starch from this plant is sometimes known as

Brazilian arrowroot.

The starch granules of the bitter cassava are very small and often

angular in shape, although some of them appear as well rounded

spheroids. The hilum is, as a rule, clearly distinguished. The

microscopic appearance of the grains of cassava starch is shown in Fig.

47.

_Adulteration of Tapioca._--The true tapioca should only be made from

starch of the cassava. Any starch, derived from any source whatever,

if taken in the moist state may be subjected to the same process of

heating, and forms an imitation tapioca which possesses many of the

physical and probably all of the edible properties of the genuine

article. The substitution, however, of any of the other starches for

that of the cassava is at least an imitation, if not an adulteration,

of the genuine article.

[Illustration: FIG. 47.--CASSAVA STARCH (× 200).--(_Courtesy Bureau of

Chemistry._)]

_Food Starches Derived from Cereals._--The starches which are derived

from the common cereals are also extensively used as food products,

especially the maize starch in the United States. It is commonly

sold as “corn” starch, and is largely used for the purpose already

mentioned. It may be in its natural state or it may be previously

submitted to the action of heat while still moist, so that it takes

on the character of tapioca or sago. In the United States the Indian

corn is practically the only cereal which furnishes the food starch in

very large quantities, although rye starch is extensively used for this

purpose in other countries.

The starches of certain of the legumes, such as peas and beans, have

also been separated and used for food purposes. They are not, however,

used to any such extent as would warrant any especial reference to

them at this point.

_Starch from the Peanut._--The peanut also yields a starch which has

sometimes been separated and used for food purposes. The quantity so

employed, however, is of no consequence as far as magnitude of product

is concerned.

_Food Starch Derived from the Potato._--Potato starch is also used

very extensively for food purposes, either in its natural form or when

subjected to heat while still moist, as in the preparation of tapioca

and sago.

_Adulteration of Starches._--The most common adulteration of starches

is rather a misbranding than adulteration. The practice of adding inert

white powdered mineral matters to starches is practically unknown

in this country. Starch sometimes contains sulfurous acid used as a

bleach in its preparation. This is an injurious substance and should

be excluded from edible starches. The naming of a starch of one kind

by the name of another and more valuable kind is simple deception. It

is practiced to some extent in this and other countries. Starch itself

may be used as an adulterant, as when maize starch is mixed with wheat

flour or powdered starch mixed with granulated sugar. This kind of

adulteration is quite unknown in this country. The selling of cheaper

starches for tapioca and sago is more common than it should be.

CONDIMENTS.

=Condiments other than Sugar, Salt, Vinegar, and Wood Smoke.=--The

principal condimental substances which are used for food are of

vegetable origin and of a highly aromatic character. Condimental

substances themselves may have food value, that is, contain digestible

material which takes part in the metabolic processes. Their utility,

however, and their value do not depend upon the amount of food which

they contain, but upon their aromatic and condimental principles above

mentioned. Condimental substances are used in a variety of ways, but

in general it may be said that in an air-dried state they are reduced

to a fine powder and employed in this way. Extracts may also be made

from these condimental substances, either with water or usually with

alcohol, and this extractable matter used as a condiment. The essential

oils which they contain are also frequently separated by distillation,

and in this purified and concentrated state are, after dilution with

alcohol, used for condimental purposes. Peppermint oil is a type of

this character of condiments.

It will be sufficient for the purpose of this manual to mention the

principal condimental substances and refer for the character of their

composition to the standards of purity established for them under

authority of Congress in Appendix A.

_Allspice_, also known as pimento, is the dried fruit of the _Pimenta

pimenta_ L.

_Anise._--The anise is a plant which grows from 14 to 16 inches in

height. Its botanical name is _Pimpinella Anisum_ L. French, anis;

German, Anis; Italian, aniso; Spanish, anis.

The anise produces abundant seeds, which are the principal condimental

part. The seeds are used either directly in bread and other foods or

especially in the manufacture of liqueurs and confections. Anise seed

is one of the oldest of condimental substances of which historical

account has been preserved.

_Bay leaf_ is the dried leaf of the _Laurus nobilis_ L. In a powdered

form it is used as a condimental substance in food, but it is chiefly

employed in flavoring alcohol in the manufacture of the material known

as bay rum.

_Capers._--The capers are obtained by drying the flower buds of the

caper bush. The botanical name is _Capparis spinosa_ L. French,

caprier; German, Kapernstrauch; Italian, cappero; Spanish, alcaparra.

The caper is a plant which is a native of southern Europe of shrub-like

proportions, growing to a height of from three to five feet. The

flower buds are gathered when they are about as large as peas and are

preserved by pickling in vinegar.

_Caraway._--This is a plant which is native to Europe, is either annual

or biennial, and belongs to the botanical species _Carum Carvi_ L.

French, carvi; German, Feld-Kümmel; Italian, carvi; Spanish, alcaravea.

The seeds contain the aromatic principles which make the caraway

valuable as a condiment. The plant often grows wild. The roots have

some value as food and are also highly spiced, but are seldom eaten.

The seeds are used very largely for flavoring bread, especially among

the Germans. They are also used in certain varieties of cheese,

especially that made in Holland. Often they are found in certain

candies and other confections.

_Cassia_ is that variety of cinnamon obtained from other species of

cinnamon than _Cinnamomum zeylanicum_, and is not so highly valued for

condimental and other purposes as the true cinnamon.

Cassia buds, which are often used for condimental purposes, are the

dried immature fruit of any species of the cinnamomum plant. The

cinnamon, as it is offered for condimental purposes, is usually finely

ground, and the same is true of cassia.

_Celery Seed._--The seeds of celery are highly prized for condimental

purposes, either directly or in the form of an extract. The seeds or

their extracts are also often recommended for medicinal purposes.

_Cinnamon._--The cinnamon is the bark of various species of plants

belonging to the genus _Cinnamomum_. The true cinnamon is derived

solely from the bark of _Cinnamomum zeylanicum_ Breyne.

_Cloves._--Cloves are dried buds of the _Caryophyllus aromaticus_ L.

They are used either in the original dried state or as a finely ground

powder.

_Coriander._--The aromatic principles of coriander which is used for

condimental purposes are the dried seeds of the _Coriandrum sativum_

L. This is a plant which is indigenous to southern Europe, growing

from two to two and a half feet high. The seeds are used in the

manufacture of liqueurs and for seasoning a great number of culinary

preparations. It is stated by some authorities that the leaves are used

for condimental purposes, but this is not the case. The leaves as well

as the other green parts of this plant have a very unpleasant odor from

which the name of the plant is derived. This odor is of a character

which would exclude the leaves from use for condimental purposes.

_Cumin Seed._--The cumin plant (_Cuminum Cyminum_ L.) is thought to

be indigenous to Egypt. It is an annual plant, sometimes growing from

four to five inches high. The seeds are the aromatic part and are used

for condimental purposes. They have a hot, acrid taste and a strong

aromatic flavor. They are used chiefly for flavoring soups and in the

manufacture of pastry of all kinds. They are also found in many kinds

of liqueurs.

_Dill._--The dill plant (_Anethum graveolens_ L.) is indigenous to

southern Europe. It is an annual plant and grows from two to two and a

half feet high. The seeds, which are the condimental part of the plant,

are flat and have a strong and bitter flavor. They are used in this

country principally for flavoring a kind of pickle known as the dill

pickle.

_Fennel._--The fennel plant (_Fœniculum fœniculum_ L.) is indigenous

to southern Europe. It grows both wild and under cultivation. The

common garden fennel is biennial in its habits. The seeds contain the

condimental properties of the plant, and the seeds of the cultivated

fennel are usually about twice as long as those of the wild variety.

They are flat on one side and convex on the other and crossed by thick

yellow-colored ribs. The seeds are used chiefly in the manufacture of

liqueurs.

_Ginger._--The ginger is the root of the plant _Zingiber zingiber_ L.,

and is one of the most highly prized of the condimental substances. It

is a plant which naturally contains a large amount of starch, which

forms nearly half of its weight in the dried state. The roots are

often sent into commerce covered with lime, either for the purpose of

preserving them or bleaching them. This is such a common condition

that the limed ginger or bleached ginger is recognized as a legitimate

article of commerce.

_Mace._--The mace of commerce is composed of the dried arillus of

_Myristica fragrans_ Honttyn. Mace contains a large quantity of fatty

substance, usually not less than 20 nor more than 30 percent of its

total weight. There are several varieties of mace on the market, the

principal one being Macassar mace, which is obtained from the dried

arillus of _Myristica argentea_ Warb. The Bombay mace is derived from

the dried arillus of _Myristica malabarica_.

_Marjoram_ is the dried leaf of the plant known by the botanical name

of _Majorana majorana_ (L.) Karst. or _Origanum vulgare_ L. This plant

is a native of Europe and is a very common wild plant in France,

especially on the borders of the forests. It is also extensively

cultivated. It is a perennial. The leaves of the plant are the

condimental portions. A plant known as mountain mint is frequently sold

as marjoram and has some of its condimental properties.

_Mustard._--The mustard seed is derived from various species,

distinguished largely by the color of the seeds. For instance, the

white mustard is the seed of _Sinapis alba_ L., the black mustard the

seed of _Brassica nigra_ (L.) Koch, and the black or brown mustard

the seed of _Brassica juncea_ (L.) Cosson. The mustard is a widely

distributed plant probably indigenous to Europe. It grows extensively

wild and is also largely cultivated. The mustard seed forms one of the

most important condiments of commerce. The mustard is often ground

before it is sold, and frequently it is mixed with other spices and

with oils and is known as prepared mustard. This latter variety is

subjected to all kinds of adulterations, frequently containing very

little mustard but with enough turmeric to give the preparation a

yellow color resembling that attributed to the pure article. Prepared

mustard should be a thick paste composed largely of ground mustard seed

together with salt, spices of different kinds, and vinegar. It may also

be ground in oil.

_Nutmeg._--Nutmeg is the seed of _Myristica fragrans_. The seed is

sent into commerce with a thin coating of lime, which, of course, must

be removed before the nutmeg is used. It is principally used as the

unground nut and by grating it into the food which is to be flavored at

the time of use. The nut thus retains its flavor much better than when

all ground at once and kept for some time. There are many varieties of

nutmeg on the market, the principal ones being the Macassar, Papua,

male, and long nutmegs. These are all the dried seeds of the _Myristica

argentea_.

_Pepper._--Pepper is one of the most important of the principal

aromatic condimental substances. There are many standard varieties

which are known to the trade and which are derived from distinct

botanical species. The principal varieties are black pepper, white

pepper, and paprika pepper. Black pepper is the dried immature berry

of _Piper nigrum_ L. White pepper is the dried mature berry of _Piper

nigrum_ L. from which the outer and the inner coatings of the seed have

been removed. Paprika pepper is a red pepper of very mild aromatic

qualities grown chiefly in Hungary and in Spain.

Cayenne pepper is a very active aromatic red pepper which is the dried

fruit of _Capsicum frutescens_ L. or _Capsicum baccatum_ L.

The red peppers, therefore, may be divided into two distinct classes,

namely, cayenne or hot, acrid pepper and the paprika or mild-flavored

pepper. There is another variety of pepper known on the market as long

pepper which is the dried fruit of _Piper longum_ L.

_Saffron_ is the dried stigma of _Crocus sativus_ L.

_Sage_ is a common garden plant which is very extensively used for

condimental purposes, belonging to the species _Salvia officinalis_ L.

Sage is used very extensively by the housewife in the preparation of

domestic sausage, and is perhaps more commonly used in meat products of

this description than in other foods.

_Savory_ or _summer savory_ is a preparation from the leaf, the

blossom, and tender tips of the branches of _Satureja hortensis_ L.

_Sweet Basil._--This plant is indigenous to India, growing usually

about one foot high. The botanical name is _Ocymum Basilicum_ L.

French, basilic grand; German, Basilikum; Italian, basilico; Spanish,

albaca.

The leaves of the plant are the aromatic part and are extensively used

for condimental purposes of different kinds. There are many varieties

of basil in use.

_Thyme._--Thyme is a plant indigenous to southern Europe and belongs to

the botanical species _Thymus vulgaris_ L. It is a perennial plant and

grows in the form of a small dwarf shrub. The plant may be propagated

either by cuttings or may be grown from the seed. The leaves and young

shoots of the thyme may be used for condimental purposes. Some other

species of the thyme are also used for condimental purposes, especially

the varieties known as lemon thyme and mother-of-thyme.

=Vegetable Flavoring Extracts.=--In speaking of condimental substances

it was stated that they were either used directly in a state of fine

subdivision for flavoring purposes or their extracts were employed.

The use of the extract is often more convenient than the use of the

powdered material, and, also, it secures a more even distribution of

the flavoring principal throughout the food product. It is doubtful,

however, if for really condimental purposes there is any advantage in

the use of the extracted materials. Nevertheless there are many food

products in which it would be inconvenient to use the powdered aromatic

substance itself and the flavoring extract has become established as a

legitimate article of a condimental nature.

All the common extracts used in foods are described in the standards

of purity established by the Secretary of Agriculture by authority of

Congress, and will be found in Appendix A.

FRUITS.

=Definition.=--Under the term “fruit” is included the edible products

of many trees and shrubs. The term “fruit” in its general sense can be

applied to any kind of a food product, as for instance the fruit of

the farm, the fields, and the forest, but in a restricted sense, as

it will be used here, it is applied to the class of orchard products

represented by apples, peaches, pears, etc. Fruits, in a general sense,

include also that class of wild or cultivated edible bodies known

as berries. The term “berry” is restricted in its present sense to

the products of certain small shrubs or vines, such as gooseberries,

blackberries, raspberries, etc. The fruits that grow upon small

bushes, such as the currant and gooseberry, occupy an intermediate

position between the orchard fruits which have been mentioned and

berries. Orchard fruits are conveniently divided into large and small

fruits, the large fruits being represented by the apple, pear, peach,

quince, etc., and the small fruit by the cherry and plum. Fruits were

doubtless among the earliest foods of man, and this leads to another

classification of fruits, namely, wild and cultivated. Wild fruits,

at the present time, do not include any large proportion of human

foods. There are certain trees growing wild, such as the mulberry, the

wild cherry, and others, which produce delicious fruits, usually of

small size. The term “fruit” as used herein does not include that very

valuable class of foods known as nuts, which is considered under a

separate classification.

=General Characteristics of Fruits.=--The general characteristics of

fruits include their color, flavor, odor, and nutritive properties in

so far as we are concerned with them in this manual. They are composed

very largely of water, perhaps 80 percent or more. The solid matter

consists of the usual cellulose structure of vegetable bodies, sugars,

gums, organic acids, and mineral matters. Fruits are all succulent,

that is, by reason of their high content of water, composed chiefly

of matters in solution which constitute their juices. All fruits,

therefore, when subjected to pressure yield a juice which contains the

principal portion of their dietetic constituents. The study of the

composition of the fruit juices would, therefore, naturally accompany

a study of the fruits themselves. The chief characteristics of fruit

from a dietetic point of view and also a palatable standpoint are

their sugars and acids. The characteristic of taste depends on these

two constituents principally. In addition to this, the fruits contain

aromatic substances belonging to the class of essential oils and

compound ethers which give to them the agreeable odor which adds so

much to their value. Fruits are naturally colored and these colors, to

which the eye is accustomed, become marks of distinction and excellence

in many cases. The prevailing colors of fruits are red, yellow, and

green. All shades of colors, however, are represented by the mingling

of the primary tints. Certain colors are associated with certain fruits

as, for instance, red with the cherry, raspberry, etc., green, red,

and yellow with apples, and shades of red and yellow with peaches.

These colors are due to the different conditions of the chlorophyll

or vegetable coloring matter which the skin of the fruit contains.

The three principal color tints which are produced are known as

chlorophyll, green, xanthophyll, yellow, and erythrophyll, red. The

mingling of these three distinct colors in the plant coloring matter

forms the various tints which are seen in fruits and which render them

so attractive to the eye.

The sugars in fruit include both the common sugar (sucrose) and invert

sugar, which contains equal quantities of dextrose and levulose. As the

sugar is more or less abundant in proportion to the other ingredients

the fruit is more or less sweet. The different fruits contain different

quantities of sugar,--the richest perhaps is the grape which often in

a state of complete maturity may have from 25 to 30 percent of sugar.

Apples contain from five to 15 percent of sugar, and peaches and pears

somewhat less. In fact this range in sugar will cover nearly all the

fruits, large and small, as well as most of the berries. The quantity

of sugar contained in each of the fruits will be especially noted in

treating of them individually. One of the most important constituents

of fruit from a palatable point of view is found in its organic acids.

These vary in different classes of fruits. The most common organic acid

in fruit is malic, which is the chief acid in the apple and allied

forms. In citrus fruits, such as the lemon and orange, citric acid is

the principal organic acid. In grapes the principal organic acid is

tartaric. More than one of these acids is, however, usually contained

in a single fruit, and other organic acids than those named are found

in small quantities in various fruits. The three mentioned may be

regarded as the typical acids in fruits. These acids, if prepared

chemically and administered in a pure state, have practically no food

value at all, and cannot be considered as wholesome material to place

in the stomach. When, however, they are eaten in their natural state

in combination with the potash and other bases which fruits contain,

and mingled, as Nature has done, with the other constituents, they

add not only to the palatability but also to the wholesomeness of the

product. This is only another illustration of the fact that natural

products are often wholesome and desirable where artificial products

of the same kind chemically are hurtful and undesirable. Many fruits

contain considerable quantities of a carbohydrate allied to some extent

in its composition to sugar and starch but which has the property of

setting to a semi-resilient mass known as jelly. This constituent in

fruit is known as pectin or pectose and is present in greater or less

quantities in almost all fruits. It is by the utilization of this

component of fruit that the jellies which are so common an article of

food are prepared. While in its physical properties the jelly of fruits

has some resemblance to the gelatine or jelly of animals, its chemical

composition and nutritive values are entirely different. The gelatine

or jelly of animals is essentially a nitrogenous product while the

pectin or jelly of fruit is essentially a carbohydrate product. The

two, therefore, are not to be confounded.

=Nutritive Uses.=--The edible fruits are not only valuable on account

of the nourishment they contain but particularly so because of

the general effect which they have upon the digestive operations.

Their judicious use is conducive to health in many ways. The fruits

are mildly laxative, as a rule, although there are some exceptions

to this. For instance, in some berries, like the blackberry, the

quantity of tannin present is sufficient to cause a styptic or binding

action. While all the fruits contain tannin it is usually not in such

proportions as to produce a constipating effect. On the other hand the

combination of the acids, bases, pectins, and sugars favors a free

and natural progress of the food through the alimentary canal. The

entire withdrawal of fruit from the dietary, even if the nourishment

it supplies be provided in some other way, would work great damage

to health. There are certain dangers, however, to be avoided in the

general use of fruit. Immature and imperfect fruits are unwholesome.

Fruits are often subjected, moreover, to infection with eggs of various

kinds of insects, and these organisms and the larvæ or eggs thereof may

be introduced into the stomach with more or less injurious effects. In

the eating of fruit, care should be exercised in the inspection and

proper preparation of the article; it should be free from infection,

decay, and insect life. The natural condition in which fruit is eaten

is in the raw state, and in general it may be said that this is the

more wholesome and preferable way of eating it. On the other hand the

cooking of fruit sterilizes it and makes the consumer secure against

any infection from bacteria and insect life, and in some ways promotes

to a certain degree the digestive processes. This is especially true of

fruits of a hard or unyielding nature. Cooked fruits, as a rule, may be

considered less desirable than the natural article, but they deserve

mention on account of their freedom from infection, wholesomeness, and

general dietetic value. Some fruits, such as apples and pears, contain

notable quantities of starch, especially in the immature state, and

this disappears to a greater or less extent during the process of

ripening. At the period of complete maturity the starch is reduced to

a minimum and the sugar in the fruit reaches a maximum. After this

period the fruit begins to lose in dietetic value, due to the natural

process of decay, which is not even entirely checked by placing the

fruit in cold storage. The sugar gradually ferments and disappears. The

fruit becomes more spongy and less palatable and its general properties

are impaired. Other fruits, such as the orange and lemon, berries,

etc., contain little or no starch at any period of their growth. By

careful storage the period of maturity may be prolonged for weeks or

even months, and thus the fruit made available over a very much longer

period than would otherwise be the case. Under the existing conditions

of communication with all parts of the world it is not impracticable

for even those who are not blest with wealth to have a daily supply of

fresh fruits grown in different parts of the world. In temperate climes

fresh fruits are available from June until May of the following year,

either furnished directly from the orchard or properly preserved by

storage.

=Apples.=--The apple is one of the principal fruits in the market both

for its crop value and for its general properties.

It is the most abundant as well as the most valuable of fruits. The

apple is grown practically in all parts of the United States, but

there are some localities in which the apple tree flourishes in great

abundance. Among the states which are famous for apple growing may be

mentioned New York, Virginia, Michigan, and Missouri.

The varieties of apples are so numerous that it will be useless to

attempt to mention them. Some of the most important are the Ben Davis,

the Pippin, the Winesap, Jonathan, Rhode Island Greening, York,

Albemarle Pippin, Clayton, Early Harvester, Sweet June, Tompkins King,

Northern Spy, Russet, Yellow Bellflower, etc.

_Acidity of Apples._--One of the chief points in the palatability of

apples as well as in their general character is their acidity. While

apples are not relished when too sour they are as little relished

when too sweet. The sugar and acid in apples are the chief factors

in their palatability, not excluding the delicate flavor imparted by

essential oils and ethereal substances which, though present in such

small quantities as not to be measured chemically, nevertheless are

highly important in making up the total effect of palatability and

wholesomeness. The chief acid in apples is malic. It exists during all

periods of the growth of the apple, but is more apparent in the green

and immature state than in the ripe fruit. The relative quantity of

malic acid in respect of sugar and starch is given under the heading of

“Behavior of Apples During Storage.”

_Adulteration of Apples._--There is, of course, no adulteration of

apples in their natural state except the attempt which is sometimes

made to deceive the purchaser respecting the character of the whole

package by placing the best and most attractive fruit on the top. This

is such a well known practice, though regrettable, as not to demand any

particular comment. The purchaser who has his own interest at stake

will usually inspect the bottom as well as the top of the package

before buying. The chief forms of debasement are those which are not

practiced with any attempt to deceive. They consist in offering apples

which are bruised by carelessness in gathering, or which are infected

by insect life. In fact the greatest damage to which the apple is

subject is that of the ravages of insects. There are certain kinds

of insects which naturally breed in the apple. The egg is often laid

in the early development of the fruit and by the time the apples are

ready for consumption the larvæ stage has been reached and the worm has

produced ravages to a great extent which are often not indicated by

any external appearance. It is evident that the farmer cannot be held

responsible in all cases for this condition of the fruit. Nevertheless

it is only fair to state that in the modern development of the spraying

industry the ravages of insect pests can be restrained and controlled,

if not entirely prevented, by the proper spraying of the fruit. This

spraying introduces another danger which cannot be forgotten, namely,

the remaining upon the surface of the fruit of some of the spraying

material itself. If present at all this material is apt to be either at

the point of the junction of the stem with the fruit or at the opposite

extremity of the apple. For this reason the fruit when eaten raw should

be peeled in order that any remaining particles of the poisonous

material used in spraying may be removed. It is to the interest of the

merchant to present fruit of this kind in the most attractive form, by

the exclusion of bruised, rotten, or infected apples and the offering

of the sound, ripe fruit in as presentable a condition as possible.

_Composition of Apples at Various Stages of Maturity._--The following

table shows the analysis made of one variety of apple, the Baldwin, at

various stages of maturity:

------------+-------+------+------+-------+---------+------

------------+-------+------+------+-------+---------+------

| _Per- |_Per- |_Per- | _Per- | _Per- |_Per-

Very green, | 18.47 | 6.40 | 1.63 | 4.14 | 1.14 | 0.27

Green, | 20.19 | 6.46 | 4.05 | 3.67 | .... | ....

Ripe, | 19.64 | 7.70 | 6.81 | .17 | .65 | .27

Overripe, | 19.70 | 8.81 | 5.26 | None | .48 | .28

------------+-------+------+------+-------+---------+------

The chief point of interest in the above analysis is the gradual

decline of the starch. When the apple is overripe the starch is

entirely gone. When the apple is ripe only a small part of the starch

is found. In the green apple very large quantities of starch are found.

The sugar increases as the starch diminishes. There is a little over

14 percent of sugar in the perfectly ripe apple but much less in the

green. The acidity calculated as malic acid diminishes as maturity is

approached. In general it may be said that in the ripening of an apple

the starch is converted into sugar and the acidity is diminished.

The composition of apples varies very greatly, as may be easily

understood, with the variety of the apple examined, the character of

the season in which it grew, and with the individual apple or sample.

The best that can be done in showing the composition of apples is to

give some of the most reliable analyses, covering the largest range of

examinations in this and other countries. In the following table are

given three sets of analyses of American apples and two sets of foreign

apples, the first three being American and the second series being

foreign.

The table gives the number of samples included in the analytical data,

and the mean, maximum, and minimum results of the analyses.

-----------+-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------

| NO. | | | EX- | PRO-| | |

| OF | | |PRESSED| TEIN| RE- | |

| SAM-| TOTAL | | AS | N × |DUCING| CANE | CRUDE

-----------+-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------

| | _Per- |_Per- | _Per- |_Per- |_Per- | _Per-|_Per-

Average, | | 13.77 | .240 | .376 | .590| 7.04| 4.59 | ....

Maximum, | 13 | 16.47 | .320 | .670 | .806| ....| 7.79 | ....

Minimum, | | 9.37 | .170 | .190 | .356| ....| 1.80 | ....

Average, | | 16.43 | .27 | .486 | ....| 7.92| 3.99 | ....

Maximum, | 27 | 23.36 | .34 | .811 | ....| 11.75| 6.81 | ....

Minimum, | | 13.46 | .17 | .073 | ....| 5.34| 1.74 | ....

Average, | | 13.65 | .288 | .452 | .694| 8.73| 1.53 | 0.96

Maximum, | 23 | 16.55 | .404 | .863 | 1.094| 10.80| 2.81 | 1.29

Minimum, | | 10.60 | .228 | .139 | .421| 6.89| .15 | .70

| | | | | | | |

_Series 1_:| 17 | 16.42 | .310 | .614 | .39 | 7.73| .... | 1.98

Average, | | 15.07 | .290 | .234 | ....| 10.12| .55 | ....

Maximum, | 5 | 16.03 | .360 | .329 | ....| 10.69| 1.11 | ....

Minimum, | | 14.04 | .240 | .190 | ....| 9.77| None | ....

-----------+-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------

The combination of the average data of the American series shows a mean

percentage of reducing or invert sugar of 7.90 and of cane sugar of

3.40. The average American apple therefore contains 11.30 percent sugar.

_Dietetic Value._--The wholesomeness of apples is well recognized by

all authors on physiology and hygiene, and the necessity of at least a

partial fruit diet is acknowledged by all. Inasmuch as the apple is one

of the most abundant of fruits, being produced in enormous quantities

and sold often at a very low rate, its value as a food product is

probably not as fully acknowledged by our own people as it should be.

Through a greater part of the year apples can be made a staple article

of diet. They are, of course, to be most highly recommended uncooked,

and especially those varieties which have high palatable qualities and

a suitable softness of texture. Very hard apples, even if palatable,

are not recommended for eating raw. In a cooked state the apples are

scarcely less wholesome and nutritious than in the raw state. It is

true that in pastry their good qualities are often counteracted by the

poor quality of the pastry envelop which, by reason of the method of

its preparation, usually with an excessive quantity of lard or some

other oil or fat, is rendered sometimes not only unpalatable but also

difficult of digestion. In a stewed condition or prepared in some

other unobjectionable manner no adverse criticism can be made upon the

quality of the apple as an edible product. It may also be preserved in

cans by sterilization by the process described under canned fruits. In

this condition the product is known as “canned apples.” When prepared

in this way the apples are often flavored with sugar and sometimes with

spices.

Many suggestions are often given as to the proper time for eating

apples, but it probably makes little difference, so far as their

dietary or hygienic character is concerned, whether they are eaten

before or after meals or during meals. Since it is advisable, as a

rule, not to introduce into the stomach continually fresh portions of

food, it may be regarded as safe advice to suggest that the consumption

of fruit be made practically a function of the meal and that it be

not used indiscriminately, loading the stomach between meals with

additional quantities of material which require digestion.

_Length of Harvest._--By selecting varieties that mature early in

the summer, in the early autumn, and in the late autumn the period

for harvesting apples may be prolonged in the northern states from

August to November. During this period, if the different varieties are

properly selected for the maturing time, the ripe apple can be offered

to the markets fresh from the tree during the entire season. As a rule

the later maturing varieties are more palatable, more aromatic, and

more nutritious than those that mature early.

_Pectose Content of Apples._--The juice of apples like the juice

of many other fruits has the property of coagulating to a solid or

semi-solid material on boiling to a proper consistence and allowing to

stand. It is due, essentially, to the existence of pectin or pectose

bodies as described in the introduction on the chapter on fruits. This

is a body allied to the carbohydrates and must be regarded as one

of the essential constituents of apples and as imparting to them a

characteristic flavor and quality.

_Picking and Care of Apples._--The greatest difficulty experienced in

marketing apples is in the danger of bruising either at the time of

picking or during transportation. The apple when removed from the tree

still remains a living organism with all of its functional activities,

except additional growth, continuing in full power. As a rule, at the

time of picking the apple is not yet mature, and unless intended for

immediate consumption the utmost care should be exercised that the skin

be not broken or the flesh bruised. Wherever the flesh of the apple is

bruised it lessens its vitality and decay soon begins. This is shown

very conclusively in the studies in the Bureau of Chemistry, where

it was found that the starch which is still present in apples at the

time of picking is gradually converted into sugar during the storage

of the apple, thus increasing the palatability of the fruit. In those

parts of the flesh that have been bruised and the vitality impaired the

starch remains unchanged during the process of ripening. By the careful

picking of the fruit and wrapping in soft papers, so as to prevent

bruising in transit, apples of the proper character can be transported

long distances, even beyond the seas, and arrive in good condition.

This is an especially important fact in the American product, because

our foreign trade in fresh apples is very large and constantly

growing. It is useless to attempt to send a bruised or decaying apple

on a long journey, since it will arrive in a condition unfit for

consumption and, further than this, the organisms which are active in

decay are conveyed to the sound fruit, and thus a whole package may be

infected from a single apple in bad condition.

_Storage of Apples._--The apple is a crop which is capable of being

stored through many months, especially in winter time, without any

material deterioration. The subject of the storage of apples has been

carefully studied in the Bureau of Chemistry and the Bureau of Plant

Industry, and the following are some of the conclusions which have been

reached:

_Tannin Principle._--Apples, as is the case with other fruits, have a

notable content of tannin in some form. This constituent of apples is

also active in giving flavor and palatability to the product. It is

not present in quantities which render the apple unusually bitter or

styptic in its character. Inasmuch as tannin is practically a universal

constituent of all vegetable substances it must not be neglected as

a normal constituent of fruit, while some of the fruits, especially

the grape, owe some of their chief characteristics as to flavor and

palatability to their tannin content.

_Preparation of Apples for Drying._--The apples usually are brought to

the large factories in wagons or by railway and are pared and sliced

by machinery. Where proper control is exercised all the imperfect,

rotten, and infected apples are rejected, and are used either for

cattle feeding or sometimes, unfortunately, in cider making. The sound

apples, after they are pared and sliced, are placed in trays and passed

to a sulfuring apparatus where they are exposed to the fumes of burning

sulfur to prevent their becoming dark upon evaporation. In other

words it is essentially a bleaching process. The fumes of sulfur are

also strongly antiseptic in character, and thus the finished product

is less likely to decay or become infected with mould than a similar

product not exposed to the fumes of sulfur. This process is extensively

practiced, but its extent does not render it immune from proper

criticism. Of 24 samples of evaporated fruits purchased on the open

market 13 samples had been treated with sulfur fumes. This shows that

over 50 percent of evaporated fruits are sulfured during the process

of preparation and evaporation. The greater number of physiological

and hygienic experts agree that the fumes of burning sulfur, commonly

known as sulfurous acid, are injurious to health. It has been shown by

researches in the Bureau of Chemistry that sulfurous acid or sulfites

have a specific influence upon the red corpuscles of the blood, tending

to diminish them very largely in relative numbers. This acid has also

many other influences upon metabolism of an objectionable character.

The question is one worthy of very careful consideration--whether for

the sake of preserving a light color and securing immunity from mould

or decay it is advisable to introduce into a food product any quantity

whatever of a substance injurious to health. The answer to this

question seems almost unavoidable, and it is, and should be, negative.

It is highly advisable that the manufacturer of evaporated apples, as

well as other fruits treated in a similar manner, should at once begin

a series of experimental determinations for the purpose of ascertaining

whether or not a product equally as palatable and more wholesome

cannot be made without the use of sulfurous acid. The result of this

investigation cannot be doubted. There is no doubt whatever, even at

the present time, that by the elimination of the sulfuring process

a product can be made which is far more wholesome, although perhaps

not so presentable as that which is now made. If all manufacturers of

evaporated fruits practice the same method there can be no injury in

the market as a result of a darker color which the finished product

would assume. On the contrary the consumer of this product would soon

understand that the darker color was due to a more hygienic method of

preparation, and hence the product would be commended in such a way

as doubtless to enter more largely into consumption. Instead of the

manufacturer being injured by the prohibition of the use of sulfur he

would in a very short time be greatly benefited. It is hoped that by

the means of general information which is spread abroad concerning

matters of this kind among our people and also through the operations

of national and state laws the use of injurious substances, such as

the fumes of burning sulfur in connection with food products, may be

entirely discontinued.

_Dried Apples._--A very important industry in this country is the

preservation of apples by drying or evaporation. The term “dried”

apples is usually applied to the product which is naturally dried

by cutting the apples into convenient sizes and exposing them to

the action of the sun. This is more of a domestic than a commercial

industry, and until the introduction of artificial drying was practiced

very generally by the farmers’ wives of the country. It was not an

unusual thing in the autumn to see the roofs of smoke houses or

kitchens practically covered with sliced apples exposed to the drying

influence of the autumnal sun. In such cases care must be exercised

always to have the exposed articles under such control as to enable

them to be gathered up and put away when rain is threatening. The

dried apple is a wholesome fruit, although somewhat unattractive in

appearance owing to the darkening of the surface during the long

exposure necessary to secure the proper degree of evaporation. When

properly prepared the dried apple has its moisture content reduced to

approximately 30 percent or less.

_Evaporated Apples._--The term “evaporated” is applied to apples

produced on the same principle as “dried,” but instead of being exposed

to the heat of the sun they are artificially dried by evaporation. This

industry has reached a great magnitude in this country, and Wayne Co.,

New York, especially, may be regarded as one of the centers of the

evaporating industry.

=Cherries.=--The cultivated cherry tree is believed by Bailey and

Powell to have been derived from its ancestral type, the sour cherry

(_Prunus cerasus_ L.), which is characterized by a diffuse and

mostly low, round-headed growth with fruit which is always red, with

soft flesh and very sour taste, and from the sweet cherry (_Prunus

avium_ L.), a tall growing tree with the bark tending to peel off

in birch-like rings and with variously colored fruit, spherical or

heart-shaped, with the flesh hard or soft and generally sweet. There

are a great many varieties of these trees. The cherry orchard begins to

bear profitably at about the age of five years; the trees often live to

a great age and continue to bear fruit. Records of cherry trees over a

hundred years old are known. However, it is believed that about thirty

years is the limit for profitable bearing. Cherries grow in all parts

of the United States. Formerly the crop was a very important one in the

East, especially New York, but of late years the California cherries

have been more and more occupying the market. As a rule the California

cherries are finer in appearance, larger, and freer from worms and

imperfections, and possess a flavor which is often equal to that of the

best flavored cherries grown in the East.

_Composition of Cherries._--What has been said respecting the

variations in the composition of apples is applicable with equal force

to cherries. In the following table is given first the mean composition

of six samples of cherries of American origin with the maximum and

minimum. Following this is the mean composition of nine samples of

foreign cherries.

------------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------

| | | | EX- | PRO- |

| SAM- | TOTAL | | AS | N × | TOTAL

| PLES.|SOLIDS.| ASH. | H₂SO₄.| 6.25.|SUGARS.

------------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------

| | _Per-|_Per- | _Per- |_Per- |

Average, | | 20.13 | .443 | .432 | 1.425| 11.10

Maximum, | 6 | 38.84 | .521 | .605 | 1.727| 12.75

Minimum, | | 11.46 | .403 | .328 | 1.100| 8.98

Average, | 9 | 19.74 | .73 | .665 | .620| 10.24

------------------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------

The data show that the average quantity of insoluble matter in cherries

is about the same whether of American or foreign origin. The total

solids represent that part of the cherry which is not water, including

principally the cellulose, the ash, and the protein. The quantity of

protein, as is seen, is quite small, the average being a little less

than 1¹⁄₂ percent. The total sugar present, including cane sugar and

reducing sugar, is a little over 11 percent. The analytical table does

not give the minute portions of essential oils, ethereal substances,

and acids to which the juice owes its distinctive flavor.

_Varieties._--There are a great many trade-names given to different

varieties of cherries. In New York the common varieties are the Black

Tartarian, Black Eagle, Napoleon, Yellow Spanish, Windsor, May Duke,

Robert’s Red Heart, Governor Wood, Early Richmond, etc.

A great many cherry trees are also grown in Iowa. The varieties

most prized in Iowa are the Malaheb, the Mazzard, Wild Bird Cherry,

Sand Cherry, American Morello, Russian Seedling, Northwest, Duchess

d’Angoulême, and very many others.

In Virginia the principal varieties, in addition to those mentioned,

which are cultivated, are the Coe, Early Purple, Kirtland Mary,

Rockport, Olivet, Philippe, etc.

The cherry owes one of its chief values to the fact that it is one

of the first orchard fruits to ripen. In the vicinity of Washington

cherries ripen in May, and further north not later than June. The

cherry, therefore, offers a delicious and wholesome fruit early in the

season, and is the precursor of the crops of orchard fruits which begin

early in May and last until the frosts of autumn. It is eaten raw,

stewed, or in the form of pie or pudding. For cooking purposes it is

desirable that the pit of the cherry be removed.

=Grapes.=--There is no fruit more highly esteemed in this and other

countries than grapes. The utilization of grapes for wine making is

reserved for discussion in the companion volume to the present manual

devoted to beverages. Table grapes are grown extensively in this

country in New York, Ohio, Virginia, Missouri, and California. In

fact, such grapes are grown in almost every state, but those mentioned

embrace the principal grape-growing districts. The Catawba and Delaware

varieties are the chief products of the northern vineyards. Many other

varieties are produced in California, such as the Tokay, Muscat, and

Malaga, while in the South one of the principal varieties is the

Scuppernong. The oldest grape vine known in the United States is the

original Scuppernong stock.

I am indebted to Dr. B. W. Kilgore, of Raleigh, N. C., for the

following description of the vine and also for Fig. 48.

“THE SCUPPERNONG VINE ON ROANOKE ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA.

“The old scuppernong grape vine on Roanoke Island is probably the

oldest fruiting plant in America--certainly one of the oldest of

which there is definite knowledge. A clear record of it begins in

1797, when the land on which it was growing was purchased by Maurice

Baum. Previous to his purchase nothing definite is known as to its

age or to whom it belonged, save the fact that it was then a very old

vine, as Maurice Baum was told by his father that he had eaten grapes

from it when a boy. From Maurice Baum the estate, of which the

vine was a part, descended to his daughter, Mahala, and from her to

Benjamin F. Meekins, her son, who is the present owner.

“The vine is situated on the northern end and on the eastern shore

of the island, about two miles south of the supposed site of Fort

Raleigh. It covers an area of about one-fourth of an acre, and as far

back as can be remembered its growth has been stationary, probably

due to a lack of proper training and inducement to spread. The vine

has five large trunks averaging two feet in circumference which

are indescribably gnarled and twisted. It is still vigorous and

yields abundantly, seemingly unaffected by age in this respect. A

conservative estimate of its yield is an average of sixty bushels of

grapes a season.”

[Illustration: FIG. 48.--SCUPPERNONG GRAPE VINE, ROANOKE

ISLAND.--(_Courtesy B. W. Kilgore._)]

There is no part of the country, however, that grows grapes so

abundantly as California. Many thousands of acres are covered with

vines, both for table use and wine making. The climate is remarkably

well suited to produce a grape very rich in sugar. The edible grapes do

not have so high a content of sugar as those used for wine making, as

is shown by the data below.

_Composition of California Grapes_ (three samples) (edible portion):

Water, 80.12 percent

Protein, 1.26 „

Sugar, 16.50 „

Pure ash, 0.50 „

Fat, fiber, etc., 1.62 „

The preceding analyses are evidently of grapes for table use. The juice

of the wine-making grapes of California, according to the composition

of the wine, contains about 24 percent of sugars.

The luxurious growth of the vine in California is illustrated by Fig.

49, showing a scene in a vineyard near Fresno, California.

[Illustration: FIG. 49.--VINEYARD NEAR FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.--(_Photograph

by H. W. Wiley._)]

=Peaches.=--One of the most valued orchard fruits in the United States

is the peach. The peach is a tree which is particularly sensitive to

the environment in respect of bearing a crop. In many localities where

peaches have once been valuable they have ceased to produce with any

regularity, which renders the planting of an orchard inadvisable. The

principal danger in the peach tree is the too early blooming and the

exposure of the tender fruit to late frosts. The peach tree is also

subject to many forms of disease, one of which, namely, the yellows,

has baffled up to the present time the efforts of the experts to

diagnose and treat. In planting a peach orchard experience has shown

that it is well to plant the trees upon high ground or upon the sides

of hills. By being placed on high ground near deep ravines it has been

found that the chilling of the air, which would naturally come with

frosts, makes the air heavier, so that it rolls down into the valleys,

replacing the air on the hills with fresh portions unchilled and thus

protecting the high ground from frost while the low ground is chilled

below the freezing point. Everyone must have noticed, especially in

the autumn at the time of the first frosts, that the vegetation in

low lying land is usually killed before that on the adjacent hills.

The peculiar susceptibility of the peach tree to the environment

mentioned above has practically confined the culture of peaches to

certain definite localities, as for instance to Michigan, Connecticut,

Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, and Georgia. The danger of late frosts

of course does not attach to the peach tree grown in California and

similarly situated localities. At the present time Georgia is probably

the most important peach-growing state in the Union, both on account of

the reasonable certainty of the crop and also because of the early date

at which the peach can reach the markets of the large cities of the

east and central portions of our country.

Many attempts have been made to protect the peach tree against the

danger of premature blossoming and consequent exposure to the late

frosts. In the cultivation of the trees it has been desirable to secure

a variety which blooms as late in the spring as possible. The building

of fires around a peach orchard in the spring when a frost is imminent

has sometimes protected the orchard from disaster. This process is

known as smudging. Another method of protecting the trees from the

danger of late frosts is by whitewashing. The colors which absorb heat

most readily are black and purple. White is one of the best protections

by reason of its reflective power. A whitewashing of the branches of

the trees and in fact of all the tree has been practiced with some

success as retarding the early bloom of the buds. Elaborate studies of

this method of treatment have been carried on by the Missouri station,

and it has been developed that there is a considerable difference

between the temperature of whitewashed and unwhitewashed peach twigs.

The whitewash is therefore recommended as a means of retarding the

development of the buds. The whitewashed trees bloom from a week to

ten days later than those which are not thus treated. It is reasonably

certain that by means of this kind or by cultivation a peach tree may

be produced in any given locality which will put forth its buds from

a week to ten days later than the normal period of blooming in that

neighborhood. In regions where the winters are severe, the development

of the tree in the early spring may also be prevented by placing straw

round about it when the ground is frozen. The straw protects the frozen

ground from rapid thawing and thus delays the development of the buds.

The varieties of peach trees are legion, and it is useless to try to

name them here. Some of the varieties most prized in Georgia are the

Bishop, Champion, Crawford’s Early, Chinese Free, Crimson Beauty,

Crosby, etc.

_Composition of the Peach._--Naturally, the peach varies greatly in

its composition according to the variety, environment, and general

accidental conditions. Its chief characteristics, of course, are the

acid which it contains, its sugar content, and the taste and aroma due

to the essential oils, ethers, etc., which are developed with proper

delicacy in the fruit. The peach also has a distinct flavor associated

with small quantities of hydrocyanic acid. This poisonous compound

is developed in considerable quantities in the kernel of the fruit,

and there are sufficient traces of the flavor above mentioned in the

fruit itself to give a distinct and characteristic taste. The mean

composition of some of the different varieties of peaches is given

below:

Water, 88.1 percent

Protein, .7 „

Fat, .1 „

Ash, .7 „

Sugar and other carbohydrates, 10.8 „

_Free and Cling Peach._--Peaches may be divided into two great classes

in respect of persistence with which the flesh adheres to the pit

of the fruit. Peaches in which the flesh is separated easily from

the pit, leaving the external surface of the pit dry and clean, are

called freestones, while in the other variety, where the flesh is

firmly attached to the pit and on the removal of the flesh a portion

adheres thereto, the term “clingstone” is applied. There is probably no

difference in the value of the two varieties, but by reason of the ease

with which the freestone peach can be utilized for eating and cooking

purposes it is sometimes preferred.

Since the development of rapid means of transportation and the

effective manner of cold storage the peach is exposed in the city

markets from early spring to late autumn. The peaches in Florida are

ready for the market in May and in Georgia from June on, while in the

north the peach ripens at later periods up to October. In fact in the

north the late peaches are esteemed as better in flavor and quality,

and especially suitable for canning and preserving purposes.

_Uses of the Peach._--Peaches are perhaps the most esteemed of all the

common fruits for eating purposes. On the table the sliced peaches with

sugar and cream is a common dish through the whole summer in almost

every part of the country. Peach cobbler (a deep pie) and peach pudding

are dishes which are highly esteemed.

=Plums.=--(Native Plums.) The following data represent the mean

composition of three samples of California plums:

Total solids, 21.60 percent

Ash, .52 „

Acidity, 1.00 „

Protein, .40 „

Total sugars, 13.25 „

The plums imported from Japan and the hybrids produced therefrom

are considered of higher value than the native plum. The Japan plum

(_Prunus triflora_) has been introduced into this country for many

years. They are larger and handsomer and have better shipping qualities

than those of native origin, except perhaps in a few cases. The trees

are also less subject to that great enemy of the plum, the curculio,

than the native plum. Of the plum trees grown in Georgia the varieties

of native trees which are recommended are the Clifford and the Wilder,

of Japan trees the Lutts, Red June, Abundance, and Chabot, and of the

hybrid varieties, the Wickson. Plums in Georgia mature from the first

of June until the middle of July. Further north the date of maturity

is later. The plum, as well as the cherry, flourishes especially in

California, which is more famous for these fruits than any other state.

=Quince.=--The quince is a fruit which is not very extensively used

raw, but is valued chiefly as a preserve. The quince flourishes in

localities that produce good apples, but the magnitude of the crop is

very restricted as compared with apples.

SMALL FRUITS.

=Blackberries= (_Rubus nigrobaccus_ var. _Sativus_ Bailey).--Among the

small fruits one of the most common and abundant is the blackberry.

This fruit grows wild over large areas in the United States, mostly in

the middle portion between the extreme north and south. The brier on

which it grows is an annual plant, springing each year from the roots

and dying after bearing fruit. The plant is very largely cultivated,

bearing larger and more presentable berries, but gaining nothing in

flavor and palatability. The berries are generally black when fully

ripe, though red during the ripening stage and sometimes when mature.

They are eaten raw, stewed, and in pies or “cobblers.” The berry is

extensively used for making jams, jellies, and preserves, and for

canning purposes. The juice of the berry is used for making a wine,

usually with the admixture of sugar. Blackberry cordial is blackberry

juice preserved in whisky or brandy.

=Dewberry.=--This is a variety of blackberry in which the vines lie on

the ground instead of standing upright. Some of the dewberries possess

unusual fragrance and palatability. In other respects they conform to

the statements relating to blackberries.

=Gooseberry= (_Ribes oxyacanthoides_ L.).--The gooseberry resembles

very closely the currant in its general properties. In the European

gooseberry the surface is covered with prickles, but the American

variety is smooth. The gooseberry bush is found in most gardens,

affording a fruit of high condimental value. The fruit is eaten raw,

but principally in pies and as preserves.

=Huckleberry= (_Gaylussacia resinosa_ Torr. and Gray).--The fruit

of the huckleberry bush is used very extensively for making pies,

especially in the northeastern parts of the United States. There

are many varieties of the berry on the markets. The blueberry is one

variety that is very abundant. The term whortleberry is also applied to

this fruit.

=Mulberry= (_Morus nigra_).--The mulberry grows wild over extensive

areas in the United States, especially in the Ohio valley. It is a

tree valued highly for its wood, which is lasting and excellent for

fence-posts. The berries ripen early in the summer or late in the

spring and are used as food to a limited extent.

=Raspberry= (_Rubus strigosus_ Michx.).--The raspberry is nearly

related to the blackberry in all of its characters. It is chiefly a

cultivated plant, being less hardy than the blackberry, and therefore

not growing wild to such an extent. The fruit matures just before

the blackberry, and is usually of a red color and of a pleasant

characteristic taste.

=Strawberry= (_Fragaria Chiloensis_ Ehrh.).--For edible purposes in its

fresh state the strawberry is the most important of the small fruits.

It is offered on the markets at all seasons of the year--ripening in

the winter time in Florida and California and coming into the markets

in the late summer in the northern and northeastern states. It grows

on vines lying on the ground and ripens early in the spring in the

latitude of Washington, viz., from about the middle of May. It is eaten

raw--often with sugar and cream--more extensively than any other small

fruit. The wild strawberry is not so large as the cultivated variety,

but is more highly prized for its aroma and taste.

_Composition of Small Fruits._--

SUGAR,

STARCH

WATER. PROTEIN. FAT. ETC. ASH.

Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.

Blackberries, 86.3 1.3 1.0 10.9 0.5

Cranberries, 88.9 0.4 0.6 9.9 0.2

Huckleberries, 81.9 0.6 0.6 16.6 0.3

Raspberries, 84.1 1.7 1.0 12.6 0.6

Strawberries, 85.9 0.9 0.6 7.0 0.6

TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS.

(Bulletin 87, Bureau of Chemistry.)

=Anona.=--This is a variety of edible fruit grown in the tropics,

especially in Cuba, but on account of its restricted production is

of little importance. There are three varieties, known as follows:

Sweet-sop (anona) (_Anona squamosa_ L.), sour-sop (guanabana) (_Anona

muricata_ L.), and custard apple (chirimoya) (_Anona reticulata_ L.).

The sour-sop is a green, irregular-shaped, pod-like fruit, varying

from 3¹⁄₂ inches to 12 inches in length and about two-thirds as broad

near the top, and curving to a blunt point at the lower end. The skin

is thick and covered with numerous small, hooked briers. The pulp has

the appearance of wet cotton and surrounds the numerous seed sacs

containing the small brown seeds. A fibrous core runs through the fruit

from the stem to the lower point. The fruit weighs from 3.5 ounces to

2.2 pounds. The flavor is acid, but not too much so. This fruit is

more extensively used in the manufacture of cooling beverages than

directly as a food, but it is also used very extensively for making

preserves. The sweet-sop resembles the sour-sop in general character,

but does not attain by any means to so large a size. The fruit is

heart-shaped and deeply creased. The pulp contains more sugar and less

acid than that of the sour-sop. This variety is eaten fresh and is also

used for flavoring beverages, but is not extensively used for making

preserves. The third variety, known as the custard apple, varies in

color from light green to reddish brown, and is shaped something like

a strawberry. It has a thick skin and black seeds, and a pulp very

similar to that of sweet-sop in flavor. It is eaten chiefly raw, and is

not very extensively used in the manufacture of preserves.

_Composition of the Sour- and Sweet-sop Varieties._--

------+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+--------

------+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+--------

| _Per- | _Per-| _Per-| _Per- | _Per-| _Per-

------+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+--------

sop, | 72.30 | 19.03 | 13.07 | 1.65 | .41 | .51

sop, | 30.00 | 28.10 | 10.07 | 2.13 | .92 | .20

------+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+--------

The above analyses show that the anona is a fruit which has about half

the nutritive value of the banana. It has a much larger percentage of

waste, especially the sweet-sop variety, where nearly three-fourths of

the fruit is not edible.

_Anona Preserves._--The anona preserves should be made exclusively

with sugar and thus have the character of the fruit modified only by

the amount of sugar added. In one sample of preserves analyzed the

following data were obtained:

Total solids, 54.33 percent

Total sugar, 49.66 „

Protein, .73 „

Ash, .43 „

Acidity, .19 „

The above data show that the natural constituents of the fruit have

been diminished in quantity in proportion to the amount of sugar added.

=The Avocado= (_Persea persea_).--The avocado is a fruit which has

only lately been introduced into the United States. Its common name is

alligator pear and it is already very highly prized.

The cultivation of the alligator pear was first undertaken as a

novelty, and its real value as a dessert fruit is only beginning to be

appreciated. It is evident that this fruit will have a great vogue in

the near future, and will be in much demand as soon as its production

is on a scale which makes it accessible to the people of ordinary

means. The edible part of the fruit is a sweet, soft substance with

an agreeable taste and of a semi-solid consistence. It has a nutty and

peculiar flavor which is highly prized.

In the regions where the alligator pear is grown it is often used in

the raw state or after having been treated with a little salt. It is

highly prized when served in this manner. It is also often cut into

small pieces and put into soup and is said to give a most agreeable

odor and flavor thereto. The ripe fruit has different colors; it may be

green, yellow, brown or dark purple or a combination of any of these

colors. The alligator pear is particularly valued as a salad fruit.

_Composition of the Avocado._--

Water, 81.10 percent

Protein, 1.00 „

Fat, 10.20 „

Starch and sugar, 6.80 „

Ash, .90 „

The above data show that the alligator pear is not a fruit which is

very highly nutritious. Its principle nutrient is fat, the next most

important being starch and sugar, but it is extremely deficient in

protein, and therefore could not be regarded as a balanced ration. Its

principle value, therefore, is mostly on account of its condimental

properties rather than for its nutrients. Bulletins 61 and 77 of the

Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, give important

information regarding the avocado. The accompanying illustration is

taken from Bulletin 77, above mentioned.

From the amount of fat in the alligator pear it might be regarded as

a nut instead of a fruit, but its paucity of nitrogenous constituents

excludes it from that category.

=Bananas= (_Musa_).--One of the most abundant and most important of

the tropical fruits, for food purposes, is the banana. The banana

is not grown to any extent for food purposes in the United States,

though it is produced on a limited scale in southern Florida. Immense

quantities of bananas come into this country from the Central American

states, particularly from Guatemala and Nicaragua. This fruit can be

landed at New Orleans at very small expense for transportation, and for

this reason can be distributed all over the country at a price which

looks to be ridiculously small when it is considered that the fruit

comes from so great a distance. It is also sent in large quantities

to other ports, notably New York, Boston, and Baltimore. For shipping

purposes the banana is gathered while still green, and often the

ripening has not reached the stage when the ordinary yellow color

which characterizes the ripe fruit is seen when it reaches the markets

in the center of the country. The banana is not only valued for its

peculiar flavor, which is pleasant and sweet, sometimes almost too much

so, but it also has a high nutritive value, being a substance rich in

carbohydrates and growing in such abundance that its price is within

the reach of the poorest classes. Great quantities of bananas are also

grown in Cuba, but they are mostly consumed by the native population,

forming one of the principal foods of the island.

[Illustration: FIG. 50.--AVOCADO TREE.--(_Courtesy Department of

Agriculture._)]

The banana has perhaps less waste than almost any other fruit, as

the whole of the inner portion is edible. In the green fruit there

is a large proportion of starch, which gradually changes into invert

sugar in the ripe fruit. In thoroughly mature bananas the quantity of

sugar is relatively high and the quantity of starch correspondingly

low. Bananas are not only eaten raw but also fried and in various

other forms. The banana is a fruit which, when properly cared for,

can be transported over long distances and kept for a long time. When

properly prepared the banana forms a nutritious diet, probably equal

in value to the same amount of solid matter contained in the common

fresh fruits. One hundred grams may be taken as the average weight

of the banana, although some of them are very much larger. About 70

percent of the banana is edible and 30 percent inedible, that is, the

skin, which while not wholly inedible is usually rejected. The banana

is essentially a carbohydrate food, the percentage of protein not

usually rising above 1.3. Nearly all the carbohydrates in the ripe

fruit consist of sugars which are present both as reducing and as cane

sugars. The average total percentage of sugar present in the banana is

a little over 20.

The composition of the banana is shown in the following table which

contains the data of analyses of two samples bought in the open market

in Washington.

---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------

---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------

Sample 1,| 62.10 | 26.13 | 21.71 | 1.13 | .84

Sample 2,| 64.50 | 26.24 | 21.76 | 1.21 | .86

---------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------

The analytical data were obtained upon the edible portion and not upon

the whole fruit.

The bananas which are imported from Jamaica and Central America are

represented by the analyses given above. They are commonly known as

the Johnson banana. Smaller fruits with better flavors are grown in

Cuba,--some of them are of a red color like the oronoco and colorado.

The indiano is a large, yellow, angular fruit with a salmon-colored

pulp and a rather disagreeable acid flavor.

With reference to the banana as a food product it is seen that,

including the starch and digestible cellulose, it consists of at least

25 percent, in its edible portion, of carbohydrates suitable for food

purposes. Its low content of protein indicates that it is not a well

balanced ration, but should be eaten in connection with beans, peas,

or other vegetables rich in protein, or with lean meat in order to

secure a proper quantity of protein in the diet.

On account of the great abundance of the product and luxuriance of

growth in the Central American states, it is evident that the banana

might become a profitable source of industrial alcohol in that locality.

=Cashew= (=Maranon=) (_Anacardium occidentale_).--The cashew, of which

the principal habitat is Cuba, is a small, oddly shaped, yellow and

red fruit from two to three inches long and from ¹⁄₂ to two inches

in diameter at the bottom, decreasing gradually in diameter toward

the top. The seed is small and kidney-shaped and grows outside of the

fruit at the lower end. The seed is regarded as poisonous until it has

been roasted, due probably to the presence of hydrocyanic acid. After

roasting it is regarded as a delectable edible. The meat of the seed of

the cashew resembles the roasted chestnut, but contains more oil. The

pulp is of a dull yellow color, is tough and very juicy, with an acid

astringent flavor and a disagreeable odor. The fruit is not eaten raw

but chiefly in preserves. The composition of the cashew is shown in the

following table:

_Composition of Edible Portion--85.9 percent._--

Solids, 12.84 percent

Sugar, 6.76 „

Acid, .31 „

Ash, .36 „

The composition is somewhat like that of the hicaco, but the cashew

contains a larger proportion of acid and hence is better suited for

preserves. The sample of cashew preserves examined had the following

composition:

Solids, 71.22 percent

Sugar, 66.89 „

Protein, .26 „

Acidity, .08 „

Ash, .14 „

=Citrus Fruits.=--The term “citrus fruit” is applied to that class

of fruits represented by the orange, lemon, grape fruit, and lime.

In the United States extensive areas are devoted to the production

of citrus fruits, and it is claimed by connoisseurs that some of the

best varieties grown anywhere in the world are the products of this

country. Florida and southern California are two localities where

the development of the citrus fruit industry has been carried to the

greatest extent. The phenomenally cold winter which occurred in Florida

some ten years ago almost ruined the citrus fruit industry in that

state for the time being. In the reëstablishment of it the center of

production has been extended farther south than it was before. It

is believed that at the present time the industry has been extended

sufficiently far south in the Florida peninsula to avoid any repetition

of the great disaster which ruined the citrus groves in certain

portions of the state at the time mentioned. The climate of southern

California is more equable, and no injury has ever been experienced in

that location from very low temperature. In Florida the oranges are

cultivated without irrigation, while in southern California irrigation

is universally practiced. The seasonal conditions are therefore under

better control in California than in Florida.

[Illustration: DRYING FIGS

1. SMYRNA 3. ADRIATIC

2. SMYRNA SECTION 4. ADRIATIC SECTION

_From Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1897_]

=Figs= (_Ficus carica_ L.).--The fig is a fruit which is well known in

biblical and profane history. Together with the grape it is the fruit

which is most often mentioned in the Bible.

The importance of the fig as a fruit and food is recognized in all

the earlier writings, both sacred and profane. When dried and pressed

into convenient forms it is a food which can be easily transported,

and makes a ration well suited to supply heat and energy, although

deficient in nitrogen in so far as a complete ration is concerned.

The fig tree is extensively cultivated in all localities where the

temperature permits its growth. It grows in the open in the whole

southern part of the United States, and I have seen fig trees of large

size grow in the yard as far north as Washington.

The fig tree grows luxuriantly and to a great size in California, and

the fruit, both fresh and dried, is of superior excellence. A typical

illustration of a California fig tree is shown in Fig. 51.

Foods and Their Adulteration Origin, Manufacture, and Composition of Food Products; Description of Common Adulterations, Food Standards, and National Food Laws and Regulations · 第 11 / 19 章

=Canned Indian Corn.=--In the United States a dish which is very