CHAPTER IX

A DISCUSSION OF THE INGREDIENTS OF CATSUP; WHEN AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE ADDED; AND THE AMOUNTS OF EACH PER 100 GALLONS OF FINISHED CATSUP

Practically all of this chapter will be devoted to non-preservative catsup. The use of benzoate of soda and the changes in the formula which its use involves will be briefly discussed at the end of the chapter.

Measuring the Volume of Tomato Juice

When catsup is being manufactured direct from tomatoes the tomatoes should be previously cycloned, either by the cold or hot process. I have never cooked catsup direct from crushed tomatoes, as it is evident that crushed stock is open to at least two objections. The first is that the finishing point would be rather hard to gauge accurately, due to the presence of so many peelings, and the second is that when the peelings and seeds are screened out by the finishing machine they would no doubt carry some of the ingredients with them, chiefly sugar, which would be a waste.

If the tomato juice is delivered to the catsup cooking kettle from a “breaking tank,” as it is in the hot pulping method, the volume of tomatoes to be used per batch of catsup is measured on the “breaking tank,” and the cycloned juice is delivered from this tank to the catsup cooking kettle as the condensation gradually allows more and more of it to be taken care of.

If the cold pulping process is used some other method of measuring the tomatoes for each batch must be used. One way is to have the catsup cooking kettle built high enough so that it can hold the entire volume of cycloned juice required for the batch without boiling over when the steam is turned on. The juice is then pumped over to a certain measure on the kettle before the cooking is begun. This requires very high cooking tanks. Another way is to take over as much juice as the kettle will hold and concentrate it, and then shut off the steam and take over another measured volume according to a gauge on the inside of the tank which reaches from top to bottom, and is marked off in gallons. If this method is used the cooking kettles need not be so high. Another way is to use a meter on the pipe line between the cyclone and the cooking kettles, which will register, within twenty-five gallons, the volume of tomato juice being pumped over.

It is, of course, an advantage to start the cooking as soon as the coil or jacket is covered, so as to kill growing micro-organisms as quickly as possible, and it is also an advantage to keep the contents of the kettle vigorously boiling from the time the coil or jacket is covered with the fresh juice until the batch of catsup is finished.

None of the ingredients should be added until all of the tomato juice for the batch is in the kettle, with the exception of the bag of spices.

It is usually not considered advisable to cook batches of catsup of over 300 gallons when finished. I have cooked as much as 400 gallons at a time, but it requires quite a long cook to complete the condensation unless the tank has a large surface for evaporation and a coil with a very large cooking capacity, and a high steam pressure is available.

Amount of Tomatoes

In discussing the proper amounts of the various ingredients to use, a batch of finished catsup of 100 gallons in volume, when measured hot, will be taken as the basis throughout this chapter.

The amount of tomatoes required to make 100 gallons of finished catsup varies according to the season of the year and the quality of the stock. If the tomatoes are watery, or contain so much rot that 25% or more must be cut away, that of course makes a big difference. If, on the other hand, the tomatoes are large and meaty, and contain scarcely any rot, a comparatively small amount of them are required. Taking tomatoes of average size, containing an average amount of solid matter, and from which 10% by weight of rotten material is sorted out, it is safe to figure on 37 bushels of tomatoes or 59⅝th bushel baskets for 100 gallons of finished catsup.

Keeping Batches Uniform

If the catsup batches are to be kept uniform in size throughout the season, as they should be, the quantity of tomatoes per batch will have to be changed slightly from time to time according to the amount of water they contain. The only safe way is to put a gauge on each cooking tank which marks the desired volume of catsup when cooked, and to vary the volume of tomato juice per batch to the extent which is indicated by the gauge. If the batches are running two inches low, the cook will know by a little experimenting just how much extra juice will be required per batch to make it right.

Having all the batches come out exactly the same in size is important, both in preservative and non-preservative goods. In the former, the percentage of preservative cannot, of course, be kept uniform unless the batches are kept uniform in size. In non-preservative goods it is advisable to keep the percentage of acetic acid—that ingredient upon which the keeping quality chiefly depends—as nearly uniform as possible. Of course, if a batch runs large, the acetic acid percentage will be low, while if the batch runs small, the acetic acid percentage will be higher than necessary. The spicing will also be more uniform if the batches are uniform in size.

Use of Spices in a Sack

Where the spices are put in a sack, the sack is usually tied to the coil, if this type of cooking tank is being used, and where a jacketed kettle is used, there being no place to tie the sack, it is usually just thrown on top of the boiling tomato juice and allowed to float around near the surface during the boiling. One concern uses a long pole which is suspended from overhead and reaches to within a foot of the bottom of the jacketed kettle. The sack is tied to this pole, and it is thus held down during the boiling. As to whether any flavor is actually lost by allowing the spice bag to float near the surface is a question. This could easily be determined by an analysis of the spice residue.

Use of Spices Direct and When to Add Them

As far as I know, whole spices are always used when the spices are placed in a sack, and when they are thrown into the catsup direct, ground spice is used. It is claimed by some that the latter method gives just as good results as the former, and that no advantage is to be gained by the use of sacks. As to whether or not this is true I cannot say, as I have never used ground spices in catsup with the exception of pepper, ginger and paprika. The reason for using sacks, of course, is to allow the flavor of the spice to be extracted without having the spices come in direct contact with the catsup. If you will macerate some ground allspice or cloves in dilute acetic acid for a while, you will notice the black substance which is extracted, and it is surely reasonable to suppose that at least some of this will be extracted in catsup when the ground spices are thrown in direct. As for the cassia, there probably would be no objection to the use of the spice direct.

The flavor of mace is lost by continued boiling, and the use of it in a sack which stays in the boiling liquid for thirty minutes or longer is a waste of the mace. If mace is boiled long in direct contact with the catsup it imparts a very bitter taste. The proper way to add mace is to throw it in direct in the broken form about three minutes before the batch is done. Ginger should be added at the same time as mace, as its volatile oil passes off very rapidly, and if cooked long it will practically all be lost by volatilization. As to the pepper and paprika, they are added direct in the ground form at the beginning of the cooking. Mustard is also said to be used in catsup, but it apparently isn’t used extensively.

Use of Spices in Two Batches

If the whole spices are placed in a sack it is a good idea to cook each sack of spices in two batches. In this way more of the flavor is extracted than would be taken out by one boiling. This can be proven by cooking a batch of catsup with no spice other than a sack of spices which has been previously cooked in a batch of catsup. Note the flavor which is extracted by the second cooking, and you will see where you are losing valuable material when you throw away a bag of spice residue after one cooking. Of course the cook will then have two sacks of spices in each batch—a new one and an old one, and he must mark them in some way so he can tell which is which when the batch is drawn off. A good way is to tie the new sack with a single knot, and the old one with a double knot. This method seems to be less confusing to the cook than any other.

It is also important to tie the spices in the sack loosely. If a cook is not instructed about this he will invariably tie a cord around the sack so close to the spices that there is no room for them to move around while the sack is being agitated by the boiling. Undoubtedly a better extraction can be obtained if the spices have freedom of movement in the sacks.

What Is Extracted

What we really get from the spices is a water extract. The acetic acid of the vinegar probably extracts a little more, but as the vinegar is only cooked in the catsup about three minutes, a great deal of extraction could not be expected from that source. Not only the volatile oils, but organic compounds called esters, and also some of the non-volatile oils are extracted from the spices. The volatile oils produce most of the flavor, however the esters also add to the flavor considerably. The non-volatile or “fixed” oil of cayenne pepper has quite a strong spicy flavor, although not nearly as strong as the volatile oil of cayenne. The fixed oils of cassia, allspice, and mace have no flavor at all.

Even though a bag of spices be boiled in two batches of forty-five minutes each, a great deal of their flavor is still left in them. This has been proven by chemical analyses of spice residues. Even quite a large percentage of the volatile oils still remain in the spice residue, and, of course, a larger percentage of the non-volatile or fixed oils. It is a question, however, as to whether the extraction of the volatile oil of these spice residues would be a paying proposition. So far as I know, none of the distillers of essential oils seem to be interested in them.

Storing Spices

Spices should not be held in storage for a long time, particularly in open bins, as some of their volatile oils pass off little by little into the air and are lost. This is especially true of cassia, either ground or broken. They should be stored in a dry place, as some of them are apt to mold if left in an atmosphere of condensing steam, and of course this mold would contaminate the catsup to some extent. I have seen mace which was in a very moldy condition due to its having been stored in the cook room for some time, and having collected moisture. Some of the milder varieties of pepper are also known to become moldy on exposure to extreme dampness.

Quality of Flavor

A great deal could be written about the quality of various varieties of the same spice. All of these varieties will not be discussed here but I will try to show how the packer is sometimes mislead by spice salesmen who show chemical analyses of their spices as positive proof of the actual value that they contain. As a matter of fact, the true value of a spice cannot be shown by a chemical analysis.

Take, for example, cassia. The finest flavored cassia is the Saigon cassia, which can be obtained in the thin quill, the medium bark, and in the thick bark. At the other extreme we have the China cassia, which is considerably cheaper than the Saigon. If the catsup packer is going to judge his spices according to strength, he may find that he gets more strength from the cheap cassia than from the expensive one. The chemical analysis may show that the China cassia contains more essential oil than the Saigon does. In fact, this is often the case. However, what about the quality of that essential oil? There is the point. The essential oil extracted from the Saigon is different from that extracted from the China cassia. It has a more delicate, refined flavor. Its flavor is more pleasing to the palate, and is free from “harshness,” and “strength” of an unrefined nature.

This does not mean that one cannot make a nice flavored catsup with China cassia, as such is not the case, but a better flavor can be obtained with Saigon. The point is that quality of flavor as well as quantity of flavor must be considered. Chemical analyses are only of value when exactly the same variety of two or more samples of spice are compared.

When it comes to cayenne pepper, the quality of the flavor is not the important factor that it is in the milder spices. Cayenne is used to give “hotness” to the catsup, and the hotter the cayenne is, the greater its value to the packer. The Mombassa and the Japan chillies are the hottest, although in recent years they have been so expensive that it is more economical to use some of the others, even though a slightly larger quantity may be required.

For allspice, it is not necessary to use a large, fancy berry, but a small size which is fairly free from sticks, stones, and decayed or pithy berries will answer the purpose just as well. The relative values of samples can be compared by inspecting them and noting the percentage of foreign and decayed material.

As to cloves, it is again not necessary to use a fancy article, although all varieties will not impart exactly the same flavor, just as in the case of cassia a different flavor is obtained from Saigon and China cassia. Some packers like the flavor of the Zanzibar cloves, while others give another variety slight preference, chief among which are the Penang, Amboyna, and Pemba.

Penang and Banda are the fanciest varieties of mace, but some of the other varieties are all right for catsup, with the exception of Bombay mace, which has no flavor, and is considered an adulterant.

Use of Essential Oils

In many cases spices are not used at all, but their essential oils are used instead. In other cases both spices and oils are used. Some packers object to the use of cloves on account of the large amount of tannic acid they contain (usually from 16 to 20%), which it is thought has a darkening tendency, especially if any iron is present, and it is also thought that other darkening substances are extracted from the cloves. If the essential oil is used, this is avoided.

Essential oils, when added properly, produce a catsup of good flavor, and the product is in every way acceptable. A better flavor, however, can be obtained by the use of whole spices. A water extract obtained from whole spices is different from the essential oil of the spice. It contains the essential oil, part of it at least, but it also contains other substances which impart flavor. The flavor produced by whole spices is not quite as harsh as that produced by essential oils. “Harsh” is not exactly the word, but it comes about as close to it as anything I can think of. The whole spices impart a wealth of flavor, but there is freedom from “strongness,” or any faint suggestion of a “drugstore taste.” I have tasted catsups made with oils in which this “drugstore taste”—I use the term for lack of a better one—was apparent, and it may have been due to the quality of the essential oils used, but more than likely was due to the fact that they were not properly administered. It is necessary to get the oils thoroughly and evenly incorporated into the catsup without volatilizing too much of them.

How to Add Essential Oils

The best way I know of to do this is as follows: Add the oil from a small lipped container, like an 8 oz. glass graduate, after the catsup is cooked, that is, just as soon as the steam is shut off of the batch, spreading it slowly over the entire surface of the catsup, not dumping it in one spot; then turn the steam on full, and leave it on five seconds; then shut it off immediately, and open the exhaust. This will not make an absolutely perfect mixture of the oil in the catsup, but it will do the job better than agitators, and by only leaving the steam on five seconds very little of the oil is lost by volatilization. The brushing of the catsup through the finishing machine also helps in more thoroughly mixing in the oil, and if the catsup is then pumped from the finisher to a receiving tank over the filling machine, as is often done, the mixing is made still more complete by the pumping process. If a number of different essential oils are used they are mixed together before adding. One large manufacturer whose catsup is well liked uses no whole spices at all, even using oleo resin capsicum instead of ground cayenne pepper. Oleo resin capsicum is much hotter than the ground cayenne, and, of course, a very small quantity of it is required.

Paprika

Paprika is used to a very large extent in catsup, chiefly because of its bright red color, which assists to some extent in toning up the color of a catsup that would otherwise be rather unattractive because of its brownish cast. If any appreciable help is to be obtained from paprika, it must be used in large quantity, and it must be of the most brilliant red variety. Much paprika has a dull brick or brownish color, and it might as well be left out. The use of only a pound of paprika to 100 gallons of catsup scarcely produces any effect on the color. If paprika is used, at least two pounds should be used for this quantity of catsup, otherwise it might almost as well be omitted. Of course, paprika is a spice as well as a color, and on that account it can be used in catsup without any statement on the label to the effect that the product is colored artificially. It does impart some flavor, but the flavor isn’t particularly desirable in catsup. If paprika was yellow or brown, instead of red, it is doubtful if it would be used at all in catsup; certainly it would not be used extensively.

Most of the best catsups on the market are made without paprika, and these catsups are as a rule the most brilliant in color, as they are made almost entirely from fresh tomatoes. The color is not killed by a long succession of cooking processes, and therefore the use of paprika is unnecessary and would add absolutely nothing to the color.

Paprika is a rather poor excuse for a coloring matter anyway. The coloring principle in the spice is not soluble in the catsup, and all of the color is retained within the grains of the powder. If this coloring principle dissolved in the catsup, as does cochineal, the effect would be very good. The use of paprika is very easily detected by pouring out a bit of the catsup on a piece of paper, and making a thin layer of it. The grains of paprika then stand out very prominently.

Some catsups are literally “loaded” with paprika, and they have a sort of brick color, which is somewhat different from the color produced by fresh, ripe tomatoes. This catsup would no doubt be brown if so much paprika wasn’t used. As to flavor, such goods are usually not very good, and are often very poor indeed.

Quantities of Spices and Oils per Batch

As to the quantity of spices to use per 100 gallons of catsup, I would suggest 3 oz. of ground cayenne pepper, 1½ lbs. of medium bark, broken Saigon cassia, 1¼ lbs. of whole allspice, and 1¼ lbs. of whole cloves. The cassia, allspice, and cloves go in a sack, and the cayenne goes in direct at the beginning of the cooking. If paprika is used it is put in with the cayenne. If the essential oil of cloves is preferred to the whole spice, 1 oz. of it will give a pronounced clove taste, although not too pronounced.

If it is desired to use essential oils altogether, with the exception of the cayenne pepper, a good mixture is ½ oz. oil of cassia, 1 oz. oil of cloves, and ½ oz. oil of pimento. A good flavored catsup can also be obtained with the amounts of pepper, oil of cassia, and oil of cloves given above, but with no oil of pimento.

It should be remembered that with these oils the most important point is the successful administration of them. Giving proper quantities to use amounts to nothing if they are improperly administered. In fact, any kind of a formula for making a tomato product amounts to very little in itself. It doesn’t make any difference how fine a formula a man has, it by no means assures a good product. When the formula is obtained a bare start is made. In the hands of one manufacturer excellent results will be obtained with the use of a formula, while another man who has practically the same formula will make an absolute failure of his manufacturing.

Essential Oils Economical

The use of spice oils is more economical as far as the actual expense of the formula is concerned, and it is also very convenient, as you have your flavoring in small packages in a highly concentrated form. As these oils are distilled from spices which are wormy, or for some other reason not marketable as whole spices, the spice from which they are distilled can be obtained very cheap. As a rule the oils are distilled where the spices are grown, and only the essential oil is imported. In order to make the oils comply with the regulations of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is usually necessary to re-distill them here, as they often contain lead from being transported in lead containers.

Adulteration of Ground Spices

If ground spices are used they should be bought from a concern of very high standing, as their adulteration is by no means an uncommon practice. Deception is, of course, difficult in whole spices. Such adulteration as the use of ten or twenty per cent of ground pepper shells in ground pepper has frequently been discovered by government chemists. Ground olive stones, sawdust, brick dust, ground cocoanut shells, and many other inert substances have also been found in ground spices. Adulteration can almost always be detected by either microscopical or chemical examination, but there have been cases where the adulteration has been so cleverly done that the only way it could be verified was by detective work on the part of government agents.

Onions and Garlic

Onions for catsup need not be carefully peeled, as a little peeling will not impart any foreign taste. It is well, however, to remove that part of the peeling which is dry and comes off easily. The finishing machine will remove that portion of the peeling which is left.

The sweet Bermuda onions are not as good for catsup as are the stronger kind, as it takes too many of them to impart a distinct onion flavor. The onions should, of course, be washed if they are not clean when taken from the sack. Some firms use an onion washing and peeling machine and they like the machine very much. A coarse grinding of the onions is sufficient.

Some packers use garlic and some do not. Garlic is treated in exactly the same way as onions but should be ground rather fine. The cloves of the garlic should be removed from the enveloping tissue, but it is not necessary to separate the individual cloves from the hard, fibrous coating which surrounds them.

Onions and garlic should be added as soon as all of the tomato juice for the batch is boiling in the kettle. For a 100 gallon batch, two gallons of chopped onions and ½ lb. of ground garlic are about the right amounts. Ground onions and garlic should not be left standing over night, as they get black and lose their flavor. In cases where some are unavoidably left over, they should be covered with vinegar and salt.

Sugars

The sugars most commonly used in catsup are granulated cane, clarified cane, granulated beet, and raw, unrefined sugars.

The purest of these are granulated cane and granulated beet, which are equally good. There is a prejudice against beet sugar by many people in the east, who think it is not as good as cane sugar, but this is a mistaken idea. Any food chemist will tell you that they are the same, and are equally good. All granulated sugar, whether cane or beet, must contain at least 99.5% of sucrose (pure sugar) to comply with the federal standard. And remember that sucrose is sucrose, whether derived from sugar cane or sugar beet. Almost all granulated sugar will test 99.8% sucrose, which is slightly above the minimum established by the government. This leaves a negligible quantity of impurities, which in the case of beet sugar are derived from the beet, and in cane sugar from the cane. If there is any difference between the two sugars it lies in this very minute quantity of impurities and such a difference can surely not be objected to. Granulated sugar, whether cane or beet, is the purest food article in commerce.

Clarified cane sugar is not quite as pure as granulated, but when used in catsup will make equally as good a product as granulated will; however, as the percentage of sucrose is not so high, a little more of it has to be used. A considerable saving can often be made by buying clarified instead of granulated sugar, but the purchase should be made on polariscope test, so the buyer knows exactly what he is getting.

Raw sugars are slightly less pure than clarified, although there is very little difference between the best grades of raw sugar and clarified. Good centrifugal raw sugar will contain about 96.5% of sucrose. The lower grades of raw sugars should not be used, as they are dark and will darken the catsup to some extent, but there is scarcely any color to the better grades, and they give good results. The use of raw sugars often permits quite a saving on the sugar bill. They should be bought on polariscope test, and when received should be tested against the sample on which they were bought.

Sugar Syrups

“Cane sugar syrups” have for several years been offered to canners and preservers, and they are advertised to be equal pound for pound to granulated sugar and to be considerably cheaper. The samples of these heavy, colorless syrups that I have tested have contained a considerable percentage of invert sugar, and also moisture. The moisture is, of course, worthless, and as the invert sugar is less sweet than sucrose it is ridiculous to claim that such a product is equal in sweetness to granulated sugar. These syrups are said to be used by some catsup makers, however the saving that is effected by their use is probably imaginary.

The sugar can be added at any time after all the tomato juice for the batch is boiling in the kettle. Some prefer to add it at the end of the batch so as to run less danger of scorching; however, if the coils are clean, and there is a good head of steam, and the taps are working right, there need be no fear of burning, even if the sugar is added twenty minutes before the batch is done. The sugar should be put in small pails or boxes, so that it can be scattered easily over the surface of the boiling pulp. If it is put in heavy containers it is apt to be dumped in one spot, and may not all dissolve, as much of it may fall in a lump below the coil where the circulation is not good.

If the coils or traps are not working properly, or the tomatoes are a little green, and the cook is having trouble with the catsup burning on the coils badly, it is advisable to not add the sugar until a few minutes before the batch is done.

If 10½ gallons of 100 grain vinegar are used to a 100–gallon batch, about 105 pounds of granulated sugar will be required.

Use of Sugar in Large Quantities

It should not be thought that extra sugar is going to increase the volume of catsup in proportion to the volume of extra sugar added. I am reminded in this connection of a conversation I had with a large catsup packer, in which we were discussing the large amount of sugar and vinegar required to insure the keeping quality of non-preservative catsup, as compared with the amounts usually used in benzoate goods. This packer made non-preservative goods altogether, and he surprised me by remarking: “What if we do have to use a hundred pounds or so more sugar to the batch; we buy the sugar at 8c a pound, and sell it for about 11c a pound in catsup. Where do we lose anything?” I was surprised at the remark because I thought he should know better than that. If catsup was bought and sold by weight that argument might hold good. However, regardless of the fact that the net weight in pounds and ounces avoirdupois is always stated on the label, the public buys catsup by volume. Your pint bottle may hold 17 oz. avoirdupois, or it may hold 18 oz; however, in the eyes of the consumer it is a pint, and it will not bring more money because its net weight is slightly greater than that in the pint size of some other brand. It is the same way with the 10 oz. and 11 oz. sizes. The public buys by volume. When we quote prices on the larger sizes, it is so many dozen No. 10 at so much per dozen, or so many dozen gallon jars at so much per gallon. Who cares what the net weight is in the No. 10 can, or the gallon jar, as long as the container is full—or as full as it should be?

Therefore, the subject of gain or loss caused by the addition of extra sugar resolves itself into the question of the additional volume produced. If I add a hundred pounds more of sugar per batch, how much will my volume be increased? That is the question. It is one which I cannot answer definitely, and I have never seen any figures on it, but I can say this much—that every pound of sugar added to catsup in excess of the minimum amount required is a very great loss to the packer. A 5–gal. pail of granulated sugar will not add anywhere near five gallons to the catsup. One gallon will come nearer to it. The reason for this is that the sugar dissolves in the tomato juice, and although it increases the specific gravity of that juice, it adds very little to its volume.

As to the extra vinegar which must be added to counteract the sweetness of this extra sugar, this is an absolute loss as far as volume is concerned. The catsup must be reduced to a definite thickness, no matter how much vinegar is used, and if more vinegar is used, more water must be boiled out to allow for the thinning down caused by this additional vinegar.

Salt

An air dried salt of a fair degree of purity (about 98 per cent on a moisture-free basis) is perfectly satisfactory for catsup. The purer salts are often desirable in the canning of vegetables where lime and magnesia are apt to have a toughening or hardening effect, but in catsup a very small quantity of lime and magnesia salts have no ill effect.

Salt should be added a few minutes before the vinegar is put in. It is desirable to add the salt toward the end of the cooking, as it acts to some extent on the copper of the coil or kettle. Great care should be used in so adding the salt that it will all dissolve. I have often seen a large mass of undissolved salt in the bottom of a cooking tank after a batch of catsup was let down, even when the salt had been thrown in a half hour before the cooking was completed. The reason for this was that the salt was thrown in without scattering it, and it fell quickly to the bottom of the tank in one mass. Owing to the fact that the circulation below the coil was poor, and that salt does not dissolve readily in boiling water or boiling tomato juice, a large proportion of it remained undissolved.

Salt is less soluble in hot water than in cold water. It should be placed in small containers, such as small pails or boxes, so that it will be light in weight and can easily be scattered over the surface of the boiling pulp. If this is done, and done slowly, there is no need of agitating devices to dissolve the salt. Agitators are also unnecessary to dissolve the sugar if it is added in this way, although sugar dissolves more readily than salt.

Thirty pounds of salt is about the right amount for a 100–gallon batch.

Vinegar

The kind of vinegar usually used in catsup is the strong distilled vinegar—about 100 grain, which contains 10 per cent of acetic acid. The stronger the vinegar, the better, as the weaker vinegars require too much volume to be handled, and dilute the catsup too much when they are added.

Most manufacturers buy their vinegar in barrels. However, some of the larger ones have it shipped in tank cars from which it is pumped at the factory into a large storage tank, and siphoned off as needed. This is the better way when it is used in large enough quantities to warrant buying it in this manner. Barreled vinegar often contains very finely divided charcoal, which is sometimes hard to strain out; the barrels are often full of nails from which the vinegar dissolves iron, and this iron, in combination with the tannic acid of spices, produces a chemical compound (iron tannate) which is as black as ink; and sometimes the barrels contain some foreign liquid, which was left in them when they were filled with vinegar. The use of barrels also requires a lot of handling, and the waste by evaporation through the wood is considerable when the vinegar is held over a long time. One might imagine that the evaporation from a large storage tank would be greater than from barrels. However, such is not the case, as there is much more surface per gallon for evaporation in the barrel than in the large tank. Vinegar shipped in tank cars is free from contamination and is easily and economically handled. Barreled vinegar should always be strained through fine cheesecloth.

Transference of Vinegar

The use of steam pumps and ejectors, in fact any kind of steam appliance for hoisting vinegar, should not be used, as the steam passes into the vinegar, dissolves in it, and dilutes it. If you pump 100–grain vinegar into a storage tank with a steam pump you may find that you have 90–grain when you get it up there. If it is necessary to pump the vinegar, and it usually is, a small electric pump should be used. Either enamel lined or wooden pipe should be used for vinegar. All iron pipe and fittings should be eliminated.

Adding the Vinegar

Vinegar should be added about three minutes before the batch is done. To do this it is usually necessary to cook the catsup just a shade heavier before the vinegar is added than it will be when it is done. If a hydrometer is used, about two degrees is enough. Five minutes should be the outside limit for cooking the vinegar. Vinegar is a volatile liquid and vaporizes rapidly. It should therefore only be cooked long enough to insure its being thoroughly incorporated in the catsup, and three minutes boiling is ample for this purpose. For a 100–gallon batch, 10½ gallons of 100 grain vinegar is about the right amount, and when properly added will give an average total acidity of about 1.25 per cent calculated as acetic acid.

Acidity

It should be understood that this total acidity will by no means be constant, as there is such a great variation in the natural acidity of tomatoes. Tomato pulp made from tomatoes all grown in the same locality, and condensed to a specific gravity of 1.035, will run as low as 0.40 per cent in natural acidity, and as high as 0.70 per cent. This will cause the total acidity of the catsup to vary accordingly. When in doubt as to whether you are getting the proper acidity, send samples to a chemist and have the acetic acidity determined. This is the acidity of the vinegar alone. It should not run below 0.60 per cent. This figure should be taken as the absolute minimum for acetic acidity.

Testing the Finishing Point

For testing the finishing point of catsup I recommend either testing by the eye or the hydrometer method as described under the testing of pulp. The eye cannot often be relied upon, although some experienced cooks are very good at judging by the eye, and they do not need a mechanical device of any kind. The specific gravity determination by weight, and cooking to a certain gauge, or for a certain length of time, will not do at all for catsup. I have used the hydrometer method on catsup for a number of years, and it is entirely satisfactory. A little experimenting will indicate the number of degrees on the hydrometer, when immersed in the hot catsup, at which the catsup is heavy enough so that it will be of the right thickness when cold. After this point has been determined every batch should be almost exactly alike if it is cooked to this point.

Holding Batches

Catsup should not be held in the cooking kettle very long, as the sugar is apt to caramelize where the catsup is in contact with the hot surface of the kettle or coil. Also, the air darkens it somewhat. Of course, if the jacket or coil is completely exhausted, and the valves are absolutely tight, there should not be this burning or caramelization while holding a batch. However, there is often a very slight leak in the valve, and the coil or jacket is thus kept hot constantly. The quicker the cooked batch is let out of the kettle, the better.

Making Catsup From Pulp

Many catsup makers make their catsup from pulp altogether. They feel that during the season they have their hands full packing pulp, and they can work this pulp up into catsup during the winter months when there would otherwise be little or nothing to do. When pulp is used, about 29 5–gal. cans of specific gravity 1.035 is sufficient for a batch of catsup of 100 gallons. Do not add water to the pulp, even if it is a little heavy. The only danger from not getting a very long cook is that there will not be a very complete extraction of the spices, when whole spices are used in a sack. If, however, each spice bag is cooked in two batches, this danger is greatly minimized.

The question now arises—if I am making catsup from pulp which has been put through a catsup finisher I am working with material which is screened fine, whereas my hydrometer test is based on tomato juice from my cyclone, which is coarser than this, and this finely screened stuff will give me a different hydrometer reading. If you cook your catsup to, say, 32 degrees, when making it direct from cycloned tomato juice, you will probably find that 28 degrees is enough when making it from pulp which has been put through a catsup finisher. The finisher makes this much difference.

Use of Benzoate of Soda

The use of benzoate of soda in catsup permits of the use of a much smaller quantity of vinegar and sugar than is used in non-preservative goods. About 3 gallons of 100 grain vinegar to a 100–gallon batch is all that is usually used, and this only makes it necessary to use about 50 lbs. of sugar.

The benzoate of soda is added just about a minute before the batch is done.

It should be remembered that if ⅒th of 1% of benzoate of soda is being used, this percentage is by weight, and that a gallon of cold catsup weighs 9 or 9½ lbs., depending upon the amount of sugar that is used.