Chili sauce is of the same general character as ketchup but is made
from peeled and cored tomatoes without removing the seeds, contains
more sugar and onions and sometimes is made hotter than ketchup by the
use of more cayenne pepper. There is a great variation among different
manufacturers with respect to the methods of treating the tomatoes.
Usually large to medium sized tomatoes are employed, separated from
the small tomatoes which are used for making pulp and ketchup. Some
manufacturers of chili sauce place the peeled and cored tomatoes
directly into the kettle and mix the other ingredients without any form
of breaking. Other manufacturers have various methods of breaking and
crushing the tomatoes. Several crushers for this purpose are on the
market and other means of breaking, such as meat choppers, meat cutters
and apple graters are employed. Some convey the tomatoes from the
peeling room to the kettle through a pump which breaks them up more or
less.
Because of the nature of the product there is no method available for
testing the concentration of chili sauce and determining the point at
which the cooking should be stopped. The refractometer may be used as
a rough method of controlling the concentration. The percentage of
solids as determined from the refractometer reading and Geerlig’s table
is too low on account of the relatively high percentage of insoluble
solids. However, a relation between the soluble solids and total
solids may be obtained in this way which may be useful in controlling
the concentration. The consistency of the product is always regulated
by its appearance. The amount of cooking varies among different
manufacturers but in general there is a concentration of from 40 to
45 per cent of the volume of the raw tomatoes employed. That is, 100
gallons of peeled and cored tomatoes yield from 40 to 45 gallons of
chili sauce.
The amount of onions added to chili sauce is substantially larger than
the amount used with ketchup. Some manufacturers use approximately
twice as much as the former. Hier[22] suggests 100 pounds of onions
when used in the preparation of 100 gallons of chili sauce. Large
onions should be used since they are more easily peeled and give less
waste than smaller onions. They should be carefully peeled and should
be finally chopped in order to safeguard against stopping up the tubes
of the filling machine.
[22] “The Manufacture of Tomato Products, 1919.”
The cooking is substantially the same as with ketchup and the same
ingredients are used with the exception of garlic which is not
employed. Some manufacturers make the product rather mild, while
others use substantially twice as much cayenne pepper as with ketchup.
The same amount of salt and vinegar are employed with ketchup but
substantially more sugar, some manufacturers using one-half more sugar
than with ketchup.
Because of its lumpy condition chili sauce affords more difficulty in
filling into the bottle than is the case with ketchup. The bottle is
also harder to seal. Its wide neck makes it more difficult to make the
sealing tight than the smaller neck ketchup bottles, and the black
rings in the top of the bottle are more frequent and more conspicuous
than is the case with ketchup.
The discussion of the processing given under ketchup (p. 70) is also
applicable to chili sauce.