Canned Fruits.
The industry devoted to canning fruits is of less importance in the United States than that identified with canned vegetables. Practically, nevertheless, every fruit which has been produced in this country has become a commercial article in the form of canned goods. With the exception of the method of preparation, the process of canning and other treatments are essentially the same as that of vegetables and therefore does not warrant any further description.
In the following data are found a brief description and the composition of the leading varieties of canned fruit:
Canned Cherries.
—Cherries are one of the fruits which are valued for canning purposes. The pits may or may not be removed, according to the desire of the manufacturer and the demand of the consumer. The galvanic action which the cherry juice sets up on the tin plate tends to bleach the natural color of the cherry, and this action can be avoided by coating the interior of the can with a gum or some similar substance which entirely protects the metallic surface from contact with the juice of the fruit. When treated in this way the natural color of the cherry is preserved for a reasonable length of time.
Adulteration of Canned Cherries.
—The only adulteration of canned cherries which is of any consequence is that which relates to artificial coloring. By reason of the tendency to bleach the color, mentioned above, it has been quite customary to add an artificial color to the cherry so that the red color may be preserved. Coal tar dyes, under various names, and an animal dye, cochineal, have been used for this purpose. The practice of artificial coloring is reprehensible and may, in the case of some colors, be harmful to health. By observing the precautions already mentioned, the natural color of the cherry may be preserved without artificial color, and in general this is desirable. The consumer should at all times demand canned cherries which have not been artificially colored.
Maraschino Cherries.
—A very common method of treating cherries is to bleach them in a brine of common salt and sulfurous acid until all the natural color has disappeared. The cherries are then thoroughly washed for the removal of the salt and sulfurous acid and at the same time the juice and soluble portions of the cherry are removed, so that at the end of the washing there is little left but the cellular structure. The cherries are then saturated with sugar or sugar and glucose and colored a deep artificial red by coal tar dye or cochineal. If the natural flavor of cherries has been destroyed by the bleaching an artificial flavor is often added. The product is a cherry of an even deep red tint, more or less sweet, according to the use of greater or less quantities of sugar or glucose, and having a flavor of almond oil. When cherries of this kind are preserved in a solution of alcohol, flavored or unflavored, they are called maraschino cherries. The name is taken from a kind of cherry first used in making the product. They are used to a very large extent with certain beverages such as cocktails, soda water, mint juleps, etc., and also in ice cream and other preparations for the table. Little can be said in praise either of the taste or wholesomeness of these preparations and they are valuable chiefly for their supposed attractive appearance. The offense which is committed against the æsthetic taste of the individual in the preparation of such a product probably offsets any good effect which comes from attractiveness or ornamentation. The product cannot be regarded in any sense as resembling even in color the natural fruit, since practically the whole of the natural fruit, except its cellular structure, has been withdrawn and artificial substances substituted in place thereof.