Fig. 44.—View of Indian Corn Canning Factory, Showing Accumulation of Husks and Cobs.
As soon as the manufacturer restores absolute confidence in the purity of his products by completely excluding all adulterations the trade in these articles will be greatly increased and immensely greater quantities thereof consumed.
Canned Indian Corn.
—In the United States a dish which is very 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: