The Manufacture of Tomato Products / Including whole tomato pulp or puree, tomato catsup, chili sauce, tomato soup, trimming pulp

by W. G. Hier

As soon as the steam valve is closed the exhaust should be opened to discharge the steam from the coil or jacket and allow it to cool as quickly as possible.

It is often necessary to hold batches in the cooking kettles for some time after the cooking is finished. This darkens the pulp some, both because of contact with the air, while hot, and from long contact with the sides of the kettle or coil, which remain hot. Cooked pulp should therefore be discharged from the kettle just as soon as possible. If held over 30 minutes in the kettle it should be given a momentary boil before letting it down. Be careful to avoid contamination in the kettle after the steam is shut off, such as cold dirty water dripping in from rafters overhead, and leaks from pipes over the kettles through which cold tomato juice is flowing. Such material will not become sterilized merely by contact with the hot pulp, and may cause swells in the canned product if there is very much of it.

CHAPTER V
CONVEYING THE CONDENSED, STRAINED, OR CRUSHED TOMATOES TO THE FINISHING MACHINE AND FINISHING SAME

Conveying to Finisher

The fewer pipes and receiving tanks the condensed pulp passes through before being filled in the cans, the better. All of this conveying and finishing equipment offers possibilities of contamination, and allows the cooked pulp to cool to some extent before it is filled. Eliminate as much equipment as possible between the cooking kettle and the filler, and have the pulp enter the cans at at least 170 degrees F., and if possible, at 180 degrees or above. A receiving tank between the cooking kettles and the filler should be dispensed with if possible, and the finishing machine draw the cooked pulp direct from the kettle by means of a short line of enamel lined pipe.

Receiving Tanks

Unfortunately the arrangement of many plants is such that it is almost necessary to use a receiving tank; at least in such cases it would be a disadvantage not to have one. Where a tank must be used here it should be in such a position that it is easily accessible, so that it will not be necessary for a man to be an acrobat to get into it, inspect it, and see that it is kept clean, and that an inch of pulp is not allowed to lie in it and get cold while waiting for another batch to come down.

The best kind of a tank for this purpose is an enamel or glass-lined tank with a rounded, tapering bottom so that it will almost drain itself completely, and what little adheres to the sides can be scraped down in a few seconds if it is necessary to wait five or ten minutes for a fresh, hot batch to come down. Even if it isn’t scraped at all it will probably not cause any trouble in a tank like this. Wooden tanks will do, of course, but it would pay a packer who must use a tank here to throw out his wooden one and put in a tank such as is recommended above. It is hard to construct a wooden tank so that it will drain well; in fact, nine out of ten scarcely drain themselves at all; they are never kept as clean as they should be, and wet wood seems to be a favorite spot for molds to grow, so that frequent scrubbing is necessary if it is kept sanitary. It is most important to inspect the receiving tank carefully before it is first used in the morning, as they sometimes mold slightly over night, or dirt falls into them from overhead. A steam hose should be kept close to a wooden tank to sterilize it at night after it is scrubbed out.

Finishing

Whether or not a receiving tank is used, the finishing machine should be as close to the cooking kettles as possible, and should receive constant attention from a careful operator who can comprehend to some degree the importance of keeping it clean. If the filling department gets ahead of the cooking department and is obliged to wait fifteen minutes or a half hour for a fresh batch of pulp to come down, the man who tends to the finisher should take it apart at once, wash it off, steam it off thoroughly with the steam hose, and put it together again so that it will be clean and practically sterile when it receives the next batch. Otherwise the screen and the brushes will be clogged up with cold pulp when the fresh batch comes down, which is a bad condition, especially if the pulp is not to be sterilized after it is filled, which is usually the case with 5–gal. pulp. Even though the finisher is operated continuously through the day, it should be taken apart and cleaned at least twice during the morning and twice during the afternoon.