Rotary fillers are being used quite commonly for catsup now, and they do the work rapidly, with little waste, and with a small labor outlay per gross for bottling. The more simple types of fillers, operated either with a foot or hand lever, are less expensive, and also do the work quite well, although not as rapidly as the rotary fillers.
The empty bottles should be washed in hot water on a rotary bottle washing machine, and filled directly after washing if an after-sterilization is to be used. If the catsup is not to be processed after bottling, the empty bottles should be given a hot air sterilization after they are washed, and the bottles conducted to the filling machine from the sterilizer.
If an automatic rotary filler is used, the bottle capping machine is usually regulated to operate at the same speed as the filler, and the whole line becomes automatic. The type of closure most commonly used now is the crown style, either plain or of the self-opening type. The cork is getting to be a thing of the past for catsup. These closures come either with a composition cork insert or with a solid cork insert, the former being a little cheaper, and for catsup it is just as good. For chili sauce, or any bottle having a wide mouth, I do not like the composition cork insert, as the vacuum produced in a wide-mouthed bottle on cooling is too great a strain on the composition, and is apt to cause it to crack. For narrow-mouthed bottles such as catsup, the composition cork is all right.
Washing the Filled Bottles
Whether or not an after-sterilization is used, the filled bottles should be run through a warm water bath immediately after sealing to wash off any catsup which adheres to the outside of the bottle before it has a chance to bake on. If this water bath has a couple of jets of compressed air entering it to keep the water vigorously agitated, the bottles will come out nice and clean. Of course, a continuous flow of clean water must be allowed to pass into the bath, with an overflow at the opposite end. If bottles of catsup are put into processing tanks with catsup adhering to the outside of the bottle, the soluble part of the catsup will be dissolved in the process water but there will be flakes of insoluble tomato fiber floating in the process water everywhere, and these will bake on the bottles so hard that it is very hard to remove. After a few days this condition in the process tanks becomes very bad, and the bottles become increasingly hard to clean. If the bottles are clean when they are put into the tanks, and the tanks are clean, they will come out of the tanks clean and ready to be labeled.
Processing
The process method is probably used by the majority of catsup packers, first, because they feel that an after-sterilization is an insurance which is well worth paying for, and they can have more peace of mind knowing that they have processed their goods; second, because by processing carefully and intelligently the color and flavor of their goods will be scarcely effected, except when made from pulp which is a little overcooked; third, because they don’t know much about packing catsup so that it will keep without processing, and they don’t care to experiment, as they feel that in the end the experimenting may prove disastrous to their business.
In this attitude no one can blame them. There is nothing more trying on a manufacturer than having complaints on fermentation coming in from every corner of the country. The natural inclination is to let well enough alone, and take no chances.
At the same time it must be admitted that thousands of cases of catsup are being manufactured every day without processing, and it is giving little or no trouble. Those who use this system say it is a waste of time and money to process, and that years of experience have shown that processing is unnecessary.