As to cloves, it is again not necessary to use a fancy article, although all varieties will not impart exactly the same flavor, just as in the case of cassia a different flavor is obtained from Saigon and China cassia. Some packers like the flavor of the Zanzibar cloves, while others give another variety slight preference, chief among which are the Penang, Amboyna, and Pemba.
Penang and Banda are the fanciest varieties of mace, but some of the other varieties are all right for catsup, with the exception of Bombay mace, which has no flavor, and is considered an adulterant.
Use of Essential Oils
In many cases spices are not used at all, but their essential oils are used instead. In other cases both spices and oils are used. Some packers object to the use of cloves on account of the large amount of tannic acid they contain (usually from 16 to 20%), which it is thought has a darkening tendency, especially if any iron is present, and it is also thought that other darkening substances are extracted from the cloves. If the essential oil is used, this is avoided.
Essential oils, when added properly, produce a catsup of good flavor, and the product is in every way acceptable. A better flavor, however, can be obtained by the use of whole spices. A water extract obtained from whole spices is different from the essential oil of the spice. It contains the essential oil, part of it at least, but it also contains other substances which impart flavor. The flavor produced by whole spices is not quite as harsh as that produced by essential oils. “Harsh” is not exactly the word, but it comes about as close to it as anything I can think of. The whole spices impart a wealth of flavor, but there is freedom from “strongness,” or any faint suggestion of a “drugstore taste.” I have tasted catsups made with oils in which this “drugstore taste”—I use the term for lack of a better one—was apparent, and it may have been due to the quality of the essential oils used, but more than likely was due to the fact that they were not properly administered. It is necessary to get the oils thoroughly and evenly incorporated into the catsup without volatilizing too much of them.
How to Add Essential Oils
The best way I know of to do this is as follows: Add the oil from a small lipped container, like an 8 oz. glass graduate, after the catsup is cooked, that is, just as soon as the steam is shut off of the batch, spreading it slowly over the entire surface of the catsup, not dumping it in one spot; then turn the steam on full, and leave it on five seconds; then shut it off immediately, and open the exhaust. This will not make an absolutely perfect mixture of the oil in the catsup, but it will do the job better than agitators, and by only leaving the steam on five seconds very little of the oil is lost by volatilization. The brushing of the catsup through the finishing machine also helps in more thoroughly mixing in the oil, and if the catsup is then pumped from the finisher to a receiving tank over the filling machine, as is often done, the mixing is made still more complete by the pumping process. If a number of different essential oils are used they are mixed together before adding. One large manufacturer whose catsup is well liked uses no whole spices at all, even using oleo resin capsicum instead of ground cayenne pepper. Oleo resin capsicum is much hotter than the ground cayenne, and, of course, a very small quantity of it is required.
Paprika
Paprika is used to a very large extent in catsup, chiefly because of its bright red color, which assists to some extent in toning up the color of a catsup that would otherwise be rather unattractive because of its brownish cast. If any appreciable help is to be obtained from paprika, it must be used in large quantity, and it must be of the most brilliant red variety. Much paprika has a dull brick or brownish color, and it might as well be left out. The use of only a pound of paprika to 100 gallons of catsup scarcely produces any effect on the color. If paprika is used, at least two pounds should be used for this quantity of catsup, otherwise it might almost as well be omitted. Of course, paprika is a spice as well as a color, and on that account it can be used in catsup without any statement on the label to the effect that the product is colored artificially. It does impart some flavor, but the flavor isn’t particularly desirable in catsup. If paprika was yellow or brown, instead of red, it is doubtful if it would be used at all in catsup; certainly it would not be used extensively.
Most of the best catsups on the market are made without paprika, and these catsups are as a rule the most brilliant in color, as they are made almost entirely from fresh tomatoes. The color is not killed by a long succession of cooking processes, and therefore the use of paprika is unnecessary and would add absolutely nothing to the color.