If the tomato juice is delivered to the catsup cooking kettle from a “breaking tank,” as it is in the hot pulping method, the volume of tomatoes to be used per batch of catsup is measured on the “breaking tank,” and the cycloned juice is delivered from this tank to the catsup cooking kettle as the condensation gradually allows more and more of it to be taken care of.

If the cold pulping process is used some other method of measuring the tomatoes for each batch must be used. One way is to have the catsup cooking kettle built high enough so that it can hold the entire volume of cycloned juice required for the batch without boiling over when the steam is turned on. The juice is then pumped over to a certain measure on the kettle before the cooking is begun. This requires very high cooking tanks. Another way is to take over as much juice as the kettle will hold and concentrate it, and then shut off the steam and take over another measured volume according to a gauge on the inside of the tank which reaches from top to bottom, and is marked off in gallons. If this method is used the cooking kettles need not be so high. Another way is to use a meter on the pipe line between the cyclone and the cooking kettles, which will register, within twenty-five gallons, the volume of tomato juice being pumped over.

It is, of course, an advantage to start the cooking as soon as the coil or jacket is covered, so as to kill growing micro-organisms as quickly as possible, and it is also an advantage to keep the contents of the kettle vigorously boiling from the time the coil or jacket is covered with the fresh juice until the batch of catsup is finished.

None of the ingredients should be added until all of the tomato juice for the batch is in the kettle, with the exception of the bag of spices.

It is usually not considered advisable to cook batches of catsup of over 300 gallons when finished. I have cooked as much as 400 gallons at a time, but it requires quite a long cook to complete the condensation unless the tank has a large surface for evaporation and a coil with a very large cooking capacity, and a high steam pressure is available.

Amount of Tomatoes

In discussing the proper amounts of the various ingredients to use, a batch of finished catsup of 100 gallons in volume, when measured hot, will be taken as the basis throughout this chapter.

The amount of tomatoes required to make 100 gallons of finished catsup varies according to the season of the year and the quality of the stock. If the tomatoes are watery, or contain so much rot that 25% or more must be cut away, that of course makes a big difference. If, on the other hand, the tomatoes are large and meaty, and contain scarcely any rot, a comparatively small amount of them are required. Taking tomatoes of average size, containing an average amount of solid matter, and from which 10% by weight of rotten material is sorted out, it is safe to figure on 37 bushels of tomatoes or 59⅝th bushel baskets for 100 gallons of finished catsup.

Keeping Batches Uniform

If the catsup batches are to be kept uniform in size throughout the season, as they should be, the quantity of tomatoes per batch will have to be changed slightly from time to time according to the amount of water they contain. The only safe way is to put a gauge on each cooking tank which marks the desired volume of catsup when cooked, and to vary the volume of tomato juice per batch to the extent which is indicated by the gauge. If the batches are running two inches low, the cook will know by a little experimenting just how much extra juice will be required per batch to make it right.