CHAPTER XI

THE MANUFACTURE OF CHILI SAUCE AND THE PULPING OF TOMATO TRIMMINGS

Chili sauce is the finest tomato product manufactured. It differs from catsup in that it is made from whole peeled tomatoes with the seeds and fiber left in, and in that it usually contains more onion than catsup, and is usually a little “hotter.”

Grading the Tomatoes

For chili sauce the tomatoes are peeled as they are for canning. As a rule they are run over a grader and only the large ones are used for peeling, the small ones being pulped or made into catsup. It does not pay to peel the small tomatoes, as it requires too much labor, and the women who do the peeling at so much per bucket try to fight shy of them, and often mash them up in their buckets to avoid having to peel them. They will make just as good pulp or catsup as the large tomatoes will, and much more can be got out of them in this way than if an attempt is made to get them peeled.

Sometimes the small tomatoes and the peelings of the large tomatoes are pulped together. If this is done the whole small tomatoes tone up the flavor of the peelings, and also help to keep the final product within safe limits as to microscopical count.

Some packers throw away the peelings, either because they are so busy with the whole tomatoes that they can’t bother with them, or because they are afraid the pulp which they are worked up into will run high in micro-organisms, and they don’t want to have such pulp on their hands.

Method of Handling Tomatoes

The usual method of handling the tomatoes is to run them first over a sorting belt, where they are inspected by several women, then over a grader, which lets the small tomatoes fall through on to a belt which conveys them to a washing arrangement, and thence to the “breaking tanks,” or to the pulp machine, or the crusher, depending upon which pulping method is used. The small tomatoes may or may not be given a second sorting.

If the trimmings are to be thrown away, the large tomatoes don’t need to be sorted, as the peelers will take care of that, and in this case a good way is to put all the tomatoes through a rotary washer first, then over a grader, and have the small tomatoes carefully sorted after the grading is done. The large tomatoes pass from the grader to the scalder, and thence to the peeling table or “merry-go-round,” where they are peeled.

The best method to use if the trimmings are to be pulped will be discussed later in the chapter.

The peeled tomatoes are thrown into a cutting machine which cuts them into good-sized chunks, and drops them on a bucket conveyor which takes them to the cooking kettles. The cutter should be so adjusted that it will not make the tomatoes mushy. A few fair-sized pieces of tomato in a bottle of chili sauce is nearly always pleasing to the consumer.

It is important that the peeling be thorough. Each bucket should be inspected before the tomatoes are thrown into the chopper. Pieces of peeling in chili sauce are very noticeable when the product is used, and make an unfavorable impression.

Amount of Tomatoes and Onions

It takes just about 72 fourteen-quart buckets of peeled tomatoes of average firmness to make 100 gallons of finished chili sauce. For this same amount about 100 lbs. of chopped onions should be used. The onions should be very carefully peeled, and very finely chopped. If this chopping is not done fine enough the pieces of onion will stop up the tubes of the filling machine. It is best to use only large onions for chili sauce, as it takes a great many women to peel the required amount if small ones are used, and the waste on the small ones is considerable when the peeling must be done so thoroughly.

The cooking is carried out the same as in catsup, and the same ingredients are used, with the possible exception of garlic, which, so far as I know, is not often used in chili sauce.

Spices

The spicing is very similar to catsup. In some brands about twice as much cayenne is used as was suggested for catsup, while other brands are spiced mildly. One of the best liked brands on the market is quite mild, and another brand which is equally popular is quite hot.

Salt, Sugar and Vinegar

The same amounts of salt and vinegar are used as in catsup, and they are added in exactly the same manner. About 10 lbs. more of sugar is needed for a 100–gallon batch than is used in catsup. This is probably necessitated by the large amount of onions used.

Testing Finishing Point

Testing the point at which the cooking is completed must be done by the eye. The hydrometer can not be used, as chili sauce is too lumpy. A hydrometer can only be used when the product is smooth and homogeneous. By a little experience the cook will soon learn to judge the finishing point. It is that point at which very little water runs from the lumps of tomatoes when the chili sauce is hot, and practically no free water shows when a little of it is cooled in a saucepan. In my opinion the finishing point of chili sauce is easier to judge by the eye than it is on catsup.

Filling, Sealing, and Sterilizing

As to filling, sealing, sterilizing or not sterilizing, labeling, stacking, etc., the same remarks apply to chili sauce as to catsup. The filling is somewhat more difficult, as the product is lumpy, and a special filling tube must be used. As to whether an automatic rotary filler similar to that used for catsup is ever used for chili sauce I do not know. I have always filled it with one of the old style catsup fillers, using a special filling tube.

On account of the fact that a wide-mouthed bottle is used, there is even more danger of air leakage in the neck of the bottle, causing “black neck,” than there is in catsup. It is a common sight to see chili sauce with an inch, or even two inches, of blackening at the top of the bottle. Sometimes the very finest quality of cork is used, and then paraffin is put over that, but even then we find that this darkening is not avoided. I recommend the same procedure here as was given when discussing this subject on catsup.

If a crown seal, either plain or of the self-opening type, is used as the closure, a pure cork insert should be used. As mentioned in a previous chapter, the composition cork insert does not work as well on wide-mouthed bottles as it does on those with a narrow mouth.

The remarks which were made on the packing of No. 10 and gallon catsup also apply to the packing of chili sauce in these sizes.

Microscopical Counts

The counts of molds, yeasts and spores, and bacteria in chili sauce usually run very low. I have never seen a sample that ran high in molds, and very few that ran high in the other counts. The molds seldom run higher than 10, and counts of zero are often obtained. This is because practically all of the mold in tomatoes is on the outside and clings to the peeling. When the peeling is removed the mold is removed. As the peeled tomatoes are usually cut and cooked immediately after they are peeled, there is very little opportunity for the multiplication of yeasts and bacteria.

Pulping the Trimmings

Trimming pulp, or “skin and core,” as it is sometimes called, is made from that part of the tomato which is removed when the tomatoes are peeled. This consists of the peeling, with the tomato substance which clings to it, and the hard core at the stem end of the tomato.

In as much as practically all of the mold in or on the tomatoes is retained in the trimmings, it is not an easy matter to work these trimmings up into a product which will mark up to the government requirements, and do it economically. If the tomatoes are firm and largely free from cracks around the stem end it is not so bad, but when they come in badly cracked, with tufts of mold growing in all the cracks, as is often the case late in the season, the amount of labor required to properly sort them makes the working up of trimmings unprofitable.

When the trimmings show up fairly well, and the labor to handle them is available, there is no reason why the chili sauce packer or tomato canner should not utilize what would otherwise be a waste by turning it into pulp or “trimming catsup.”

Government Attitude on Trimming Pulp

The government does not object to the manufacture of tomato products from trimmings, but they demand that the product comply with the regulations as to micro-organisms, and that it be sold for exactly what it is, and if put up for sale to the consuming public, that it be labeled—“made from pieces of tomatoes,” or, “made from tomato trimmings,” or, if small tomatoes are worked up with the trimmings, “made from small tomatoes and tomato trimmings,” or, “made from small tomatoes and pieces of tomatoes.”

Method of Handling Tomatoes When Trimmings Are Pulped

If the trimmings are to be pulped the tomatoes must be very carefully sorted, and thoroughly washed, preferably in a rotary washer. As it is practically impossible to sort or wash the trimmings, the tomatoes must be in almost perfect condition when they enter the scalder. Washing the trimmings carries away too much of the tomato substance which clings to them, and sorting is not practicable, as the soft rot and mold becomes incorporated in the entire mass and it is impossible to separate it. The peelers can not be depended upon to sort out any substantial amount of rot when they do the peeling. Therefore the only thing that can be done toward keeping down the micro-organisms is _painstaking sorting of the whole tomatoes and thorough washing_ to keep out the mold, having the conveying equipment and tanks clean, and bringing the trimmings to a boil quickly to prevent multiplication of yeasts and bacteria. It is wise to steam out the peeling buckets and bucket conveyors at noon, as well as at quitting time, as the juice which lies in them is constantly undergoing fermentation.

When the trimmings are pulped, either alone or with the small tomatoes, the tomatoes are all washed and sorted before they are graded. The trimmings should be cooked before they are run through the pulp finisher, so as to get all of the clinging tomato substance cooked away from the skin. The density to which to cook the trimmings can be judged fairly well by the eye, or the specific gravity test by weighing can be used.

The pulp is canned the same as whole pulp.