Part 8 (1/2)

_Eastern methods._--The pioneers in this industry on Long Island, N. Y., have been the Messrs. Hudson & Sons, who have extensive plants at Matt.i.tuck and Riverhead, each of them as complete as mechanical skill and enterprise can make them. Each plant consists of a storehouse, 50 x 150 feet; a packing-house, 40 x 125 feet; and a can manufactory, 25 x 60 feet. A steam-engine of ten horse-power is required for hoisting, pumping, and for generating gas for the soldering-heaters, and a boiler of one hundred horse-power to generate steam for sterilizing the asparagus. A perspective view of one of the plants is seen in Fig. 36.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 36--PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF A LONG ISLAND ASPARAGUS CANNERY]

The asparagus, as it comes from the growers, is in bunches seven and one-half inches long and weighing two and one-half pounds each. These bunches are put under a cutter and cut to six and five-eighths inches; they are then untied and put in a tank four feet wide by eight feet long and two feet deep, in which they are washed as carefully as it is possible to do it. It is then hoisted up to what is called the blanching tank, which contains forty gallons. In this it is kept at a scalding heat for one-half hour, when it is ready for the cans. These are filled by women who soon become very dextrous, which is always the case when the pay is in proportion to the amount of work done. Each can contains just one and one-half pounds. Exact weight is imperative, as are details in all manufacturing establishments. Great care is exercised in packing, so that there are no bruised or broken heads, and that on opening the can the stalks may appear as well as if cut fresh from the garden. After the asparagus is in the cans they are filled with a weak brine, which not only expels the air, but adds materially to the flavor of the asparagus.

The cans are then taken to the soldering-bench for sealing up. There systematic labor is noticeable, as every detail of canning must be carried on systematically to make it profitable. The soldering-irons used are hollow and the exact size of the caps, which fit perfectly the grooves made for them. A single turn of the iron finishes the work.

Before the caps are put in their places a small hole is made in each to allow the gas, which is generated by the heat from the soldering, to escape. Without this precaution it would be impossible to hermetically seal the cans. A single drop of solder closes the small opening, and the cans are ready for the retorts for sterilizing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 37--STERILIZING TANK]

Here two methods are employed--dry steam, which is the quicker method, and boiling in a closed tank. Most of the first-cla.s.s stock is sterilized in the latter. This tank (Fig. 37) is in three sections, in all twenty feet long, each section holding five hundred cans. The cans are put in iron cribs and are pushed in and taken out with steam elevators. As soon as the cans are lowered the sections are closed tightly and the steam is turned on. The first process of sterilization lasts twenty minutes, when the tank is opened, the cans taken out, and a vent given each. This permits the acc.u.mulated gas to escape, which, if allowed to remain, would materially injure the quality of the asparagus, both in flavor and preservation. For this work a small p.r.i.c.k punch is used, which makes a hole not larger than a pin's head. This vent is almost immediately closed with a single drop of solder and the cans are again returned to the tanks, where the same operation of cooking is repeated. Another twenty minutes completes the work, when the cans are removed to the packing-room, where they are labeled, wrapped, and packed ready for s.h.i.+pment. The cans or boxes are seven inches long, four wide, and two and one-half deep. A view of the sterilizing-room is presented in Fig. 38.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 38--VIEW OF STERILIZING-ROOM]

The culls, which are put up as tips, are small-sized and crooked heads which, although of equal value as a vegetable, are not s.h.i.+pped to market, as they would detract from the value of the first quality, and are considered by both farmers and canners as by-products. These are cut to three and one-half inches in length, and then go through the same process in canning as the first quality, except that dry steam only is used in sterilization. After going through the blanching process the tips are put in round cans, four inches in diameter and five inches high. After soldering up these cans they are put in the retorts, which are three feet square, each containing five hundred cans, and treated with steam two hundred and fifty pounds to the inch. The cans remain in these retorts half an hour. Then they are taken out, vented, put back again, and remain under the same pressure another half hour, when the work is completed.

By rigid economy even in the most minute detail, and by the skill required in the knowledge of canning, asparagus can now be had at a reasonable price at all seasons of the year, which is a boon to both producer and consumer. At $14.00 per one hundred bunches for No. 1 and $7.00 per hundred bunches for No. 2, or culls, asparagus is one of the most profitable of agricultural crops, and even at one-half these prices it is a much better paying crop than potatoes at 50 cents per bushel.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 39--INTERIOR VIEW OF A CALIFORNIA ASPARAGUS CANNERY]

_Pacific Coast methods._--Canning and preserving of asparagus in California is carried on on as grand a scale as are most other undertakings. An idea of the extent and importance of this comparatively new industry may readily be conceived when it is considered that one establishment alone, The Hickmott Asparagus Canning Co., on Bouldin Island, in the San Joaquin River, has recently s.h.i.+pped an entire train-load of canned asparagus from San Francisco to New York. This train consisted of fifteen freight-cars containing 600 cases each, making a total of 9,000 cases, averaging forty-eight pounds each, thus making an actual weight of 432,000 pounds. By far the larger portion of the yearly asparagus crop in California is canned or preserved in gla.s.s, and in that shape sent to the East, exported to England and the continent of Europe, and, in fact, to every civilized country of the world. For canneries where nothing but the white product is put up the shoots are cut the instant they show their tips above the surface. The canneries are located as near the fields as possible, the effort being to get the product in gla.s.s or cans before it becomes in any way withered, the important point being that asparagus is never allowed to become dried.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 40--PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF CANNING PLANTS AT BOULDIN ISLAND]

The method employed at Bouldin Island, where a crop of 1,500 acres is canned annually, is to have troughs containing running water in shady places in the fields. The asparagus, as fast as cut, is brought to these troughs, and is thoroughly washed. These troughs are just wide enough to take in the shoots of the proper length for canning, and each piece is trimmed before being immersed. From the troughs the asparagus is taken to the sorting table, then on to the scalding vats until it reaches the fillers, where is completed the systematic handling of this product, packing it to perfection, nothing remaining except to be labeled, when it is ready to be forwarded to the markets of the world. The entire process from the time the stalks are taken from the ground to the time they are ready for the table consumes less than six hours. The process throughout is a marvel of cleanliness, particular attention and stress being laid on every detail connected with it. No bleaching agents or anything foreign or deleterious whatever is used in the packing of this plant. In Fig. 39 is seen the interior of one of these canneries, where the especially constructed solderless cans of the company are being packed. Everything connected with the growing, harvesting, and canning is done on Bouldin Island, save only the printing of the labels.

That the operators may be lodged in comfort the company has erected modern cottages for their employes who have families, besides well-equipped boarding-houses. The development and growth of this asparagus cannery is one of the marvels of California. Starting ten years ago with a rented boiler, under the arched dome of the sky for a roof, and nothing but the shade of weeping willows for a storehouse, as seen in the Frontispiece, it has developed into a superb plant, equipped with all modern appliances. During the active season 1,500 hands are employed directly and indirectly by the canning company, and the estimated output for the average season is 150,000 cases. Figs. 40 and 41 present perspective views of some of the asparagus canneries on Bouldin Island.

DRYING

Although the drying of asparagus is not much practiced in America, it is well worth the attention of those who at times have a surplus of fresh stalks. Dried asparagus is especially recommended for soups and sauces, and if properly prepared it is no less desirable as a table vegetable.

Dried asparagus keeps indefinitely, and cost of transportation is largely reduced. For the latter purpose medium-sized spears are most suitable, as they dry more evenly than larger ones. Some recommend the peeling or scalding of the stalks before drying, but this is not essential, and, if desired, may be done after steaming. On a large scale the drying may be done in any modern evaporator.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 41--CANNERY IN ASPARAGUS FIELDS]

For home use the most satisfactory way is to string the stalks with a large needle and strong thread through the b.u.t.t ends of the stalks, and hang them along buildings or fences where they are exposed to the full rays of the sun. To insure a uniform drying it is important that all the spears on the string are of the same thickness, as the thicker ones require more time to dry than those of smaller size. When the air is dry and warm one day's exposure to the sun will be sufficient to dry them.

Otherwise the strings will have to be hung up in the kitchen in the evening, or in some other dry place over night, to be brought out again the following morning, until the asparagus is perfectly dry. It is then ready to be put in boxes or loose bags and stored in a dry place. If the stalks have been peeled before drying, when desired for use they are placed in cold water for half an hour, some salt is added, and they are cooked like fresh asparagus.

For preparing dried asparagus that has not been peeled before drying, Dr. Brinckmeier recommends taking a sufficient number of the dried stalks and place them in water, which, while not boiling, is very near the boiling point, and keeping them there until they resume their succulent, smooth, fresh appearance. To keep the water just right a double boiler is best, with the stalks in the inner one. The water in the outer vessel should be kept at a steady boil. As the stalks resume the fresh appearance, take them out carefully one by one and place in cold water until cooled, after which place on a dish to dry. They should be carefully scalded to remove the hard outside skin, done up in a bundle, either by tying with strings or wrapping in a piece of netting, placed in boiling water, to which a little salt has been added, and allowed to remain there a few moments--a very few, for it cooks quickly--until done.

These methods are recommended for white asparagus only, and when properly dried and cooked asparagus so treated is by many considered to be hardly distinguishable from the freshly cut, although it looses its white color in the process. Smaller and green stalks may be dried on wire frames or wooden racks over the kitchen stove, similar to apples.

XIV

INJURIOUS INSECTS