U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY ^-BULLETIN No. 20. B. T. OAlrLOWAY, Chief of Burean. MANUFACTURE SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. ROBEKT }'. SKINNER, COXSUI ( fKNKKAL AT MABSEILLEi VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. WASHINGTON: C40VERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1902. .** Qass_ TSL/s-y Book _ i£A 7- J6, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY -BULLETIN No. 20. K. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. MANUFACTURE SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. ROBERT P. SKINNER, Consul General at Marseille. VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 190 2. LiriTER OP TRANSMITTAL U. s. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Km stri . Office <>k the Cum i . Washington, />. C, Februarys, 1902. Siu: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper on the manufac- ture of semolina and macaroni, and respectfully recommend that it be published as Bulletin No. 20 of the Bureau series. The report «n- prepared by Hon. Robert P. Skinner, Consul General at Marseille, France, and was submitted by the Pathologist and Physiologist. Respectfully. 11. T. Galloway, ( '/lief of Bureau. Hon. James Wilson, S( >■/■: tary of Agriculture. MAR 31 I9C I D. or D. PR HP ACE For several years past investigations of macaroni wheats have been carried on under the auspices of this Office for the purpose of pro- moting the wheat industry in this country, the work being in charge of the cerealist, Mr. Mark Alfred Carleton. A large amount of seed of the best quality has been imported from Russia. Algeria, and Argentina, and many of the varieties have been found to be admirably adapted for cultivation in our Great Plains region. Farmers have become much interested in the subject and the acreage planted to maca- roni wheats is increasing' each year with remarkable rapidity. As the use of the true durum wheats for macaroni is entirely new in this country, there is a great desire on the part of millers and macaroni manufacturers to understand more concerning the process of grinding these wheats into semolina and of making from this the various forms of macaroni. The largest semolina factories arc in France and Italy, where the greatest amount of good macaroni is produced. We are indebted to our consuls, Mr. Robert P. Skinner, Marseille, France, author of this report, and Mr. John C. Covert, Lyon, France, for much valuable information on the subject, and considerable of this has been published in Bulletin No. 3 of the Bureau — Macaroni Wheats. The present report is of interest to the farmers in regions where the macaroni wheats can lie grown, and of special interest to the millers and manufacturers in this country, and Mr. Skinner suggests that more attention lie given to the export of semolina, as well as macaroni wheat. Albert F. Woods. Pathologist and Physiologist. Office of the Pathologist and Physiologist. Washington, I>. ('.. February 7, 1902. 3 CONTENTS. Page Introduction - ' A neglected opportunity ' Development of the industry in Franc- French Metadine' wheats 1 1 rout li of the demand for macaroni "i Need of growing the durum wheat . . * H The market for durum wheat 1- WiM Goose wheat '-' Prospective demand for American hard wheat and semolina 13 European methods and products !•• Scouring the grain Manufacture of semolina - Using w heat from different countries !■' Cleaning the wheat "» Percentage of semolina in different wheats. -° Importance of cleanliness 20 The milling process - -" ( Classification of products '-- Manufacture ■ if macaroni The process Mixing the semolina -'> Curing operations - -' Durum wheat for bread Hour -"■' Tahles of exports, imports, and prices '- -"■' \ I IONS. Page. Pi itj I. Fig. I. Flour and semolina mill of Allatini & Co. at Salonica. Fig. 2. Macaroni factory of F. Scarainelli File at Marseille 10 II. Different grades of bolting cloth for separating and classifying semolina 22 III. Sieves used in the sasseur 22 IV. Fig. 1.— Vermicelli press at thefactoryof F. Scaramelli File. Fig. 2. — Section of open-air curing department at tin- factory • f F. Scaramelli Fils 28. Y. Various forms of macaroni 28 1 1 \ i 1 1.. i Fig. I. Savit and Boutet device for washing grain is 2. Drying column n\ iili scouring device attached hi :;. Typical French 1 1 1 i 1 1 i n -_r machine with four cylinders l'I l. ( niss section of r. >I1.ts used in producing semolina l'I rhe sasseur 22 6 rhe sass r in operation 23 B. P. [—28. V. P. P. I.— MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. INTRODUCTION. A NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITY. The Secretary of Agriculture has observed that an increase of 1 bushel per acre in the average yield of American wheat would add enormously to the wealth of our country. He might have added, with equal truth, that the advantage of this increased production would be minimized unless remunerative markets could he found for the increas- ing surplus, and as it is the peculiar Held of the Department of Agri- culture to increase crops, so it is the especial duty of the consular service to seek for new markets. There is a market in Marseille that has grown from nothing within the last thirty years and is increasing by leaps and bounds, not only in this city, but throughout all Europe, its present daily requirements being 24,000 bushels of wheat. The ebb and Mow of this market within recent years has been controlled by crops and not by the consuming public. The cry of this trade is for raw material, ami. according to the last available expression of the Marseille Chamber of Commerce, the manufacturers of this city. deprived of a sufficient quantity of hard wheats from Russia, have been obliged to employ the "metadine" wheats of interior France. which, owing to their inferiority, "have affected the quality of the edible pastes, the consumption of which has therefore been dimin- ished." The raw material for this industry consists of hard or durum wheat, which is ground into semolina and then manufactured into macaroni, the latter word being here used as a generic term. The business has developed in the colonies of Algeria and Tunis a great wheat-growing industry. After satisfying domestic demands, the manufacturers of Marseille have exported a surplus amounting, in 1900, to 81,403,266 pounds of semolina and 10,811,356 pound- of manufactured macaroni. Although one of the greatest wheat-growing nations of the world, France is prevented, because of its soil and climate, from producing the grain essential to the life of this industry; and the United States, the greatest of all wheat-growing countries, has yet to send its Hist pound to this port for the purpose above described. My present 8 \l\Mi ■ \i 111:1 OF SEMOLINA AND MAI vRONI. object is, therefore, t" urge upon our wheat-growing farmer* the further specialization of their business, first, as a means of engaging in this Mediterranean trade and, second, in order that we may build tip in the United States a demand for the food products which we can have in all their excellence only after we have produced a sufficient supply of tlic durum wheal needed. 'I'd the la\ reader I may say thai tin- so-called "hard wheat" of the United Stair- is nut at all tlir hard wheal <>t' Europe, and the semolina now being manufactured in a small wa\ in the United States from our native wheats, while a worthy product, is not acceptable in this mar- krt as a competitor with the semolina of first quality of I oral manufac- ture. Yri there is greal encouragement to further effort and closer stud} mm the part of our manufacturers in the success already attained: for. if the American product of tin' present is unavailable in France, the doors already swing inward for it elsewhere. In proof of this I have been shown by a Marseille exporter a letter written from Russia, in which it i- stated that the Russian manufacturers ""ran not to-day pay thr prici' demanded | for semolina] in Marseille, because the American granulated flours are offered cheaper; that is to say, $4.25 per LOO kilos (220 pounds), or 50 cents less than French quotations." It i- insufficient, however, to have made merely a good beginning. Every student of the situation, every importer of wheat, recognizes that we are lacking in the prime essential to complete success, that i-. a wheat ranking with thr macaroni wheats of Sicily, Russia, and Algeria. DEVELOPMENT OF MM [NDUSTR1 in FRANCE. If thr average person should be asked whence macaroni comes, hr would answer immediately ••from Italy." At ■ time this was t rue. and it arose from the fact that the native wheat of Sicily and that southern portion of 1 1 ; 1 1 \ known a- La Pouille possessed all the attri- butes deemed desirable in the typical macaroni grain. The industry had its birth in Naples, and the reputation of the Neapolitan manu- facturers rest- to day mainly upon the fad that they hail thi- wheat with which to work. In the course of years the Italians have neglected the cultivation of the grain, man} wheat fields having been planted over with vine-, so thai now. conunercialh speaking, the hard wheat of Sicily and La l'ouille is unimportant: nevertheless, it- quality is as highly appreciated today a- ever, and modern farming in Algeria owe- much to the lessons learned from Sicily. With the growth in their business and the decrease in their supph of home-grown grain, the Italian manufacturers looked elsewhere for their supply of raw material, and they turned naturally to Marseille, a city where capital and business enterprise abounded. The Marseillais, always greal manufacturers and exporters of Sour, rapidly grasped the situation, INTRODUCTION. 9 began to import durum wheat from Russia and Algeria, ground it into Coarse flour — which we call ••granulated flour" or ••semolina." or in French " semoule" — and sold it to the Italians. The exports of this product from Marseille to Italy last year amounted to 3,510,111 pounds. It was but a step from this starting point to the manufacture of the macaroni itself; and one improvement following another, and, the pub- lic demand for macaroni and other edible pastes rapidly increasing, they established large factories alongside their mills, and exportation began to all parts of the world, even to Italy itself. With the intro- duction of the Budapest roller process of grinding flour, the business expanded upon modern lines; and, whereas years ago every Italian family made its own macaroni and hung it out on the racks to dry, the manufacture has now become an industry of first-rate importance, requiring capital and enterprise. As this is an elementary discussion of the matter. I venture to observe that our own homely dish of "noodles" could be traced back to the Italian macaroni. The difference between the two is that the mac- aroni is manufactured from coarse hard-wheat Hour, or semolina, in making which the manufacturer attempts to remove the outer husk and break up the grains so as to secure granules rounded and glazed, instead of the impalpable powder of which ordinary flour consists. Macaroni (which I shall frequently use as a generic term covering all the manufactured products of semolina) is, strictly speaking, appli- cable only to the long, hollow tubes of dry food paste. This paste consists merely of semolina and water kneaded together; and it is converted into hundreds of forms, sometimes inelegantly referred to in English as "edible pastes," or in French as "pates alimentaires." FKENCII METAPINF. WHEATS. Until something like ten years ago, when the present French tariff upon wheat was imposed, all of the French macaroni was manufactured from semolina made from hard durum wheat. At that time consider- able quantities of mixed wheat, or metadine. were grown in France, but were manufactured into common flour, and were highly regarded. During the last ten years a steady increase has been noted in the amount of this wheat grown in France from durum seed, and more and more of it has been used for the manufacture of macaroni pastes. It is recognized that the semolina manufactured from these wheats is inferior to the standard Marseille type of semolina, but the difference in price on account of the tariff makes it advantageous to use the domestic wheat. The extension of the manufacturing business has slowly progressed from the city of Marseille to a very considerable portion of France, in which these mixed wheats are grown. The Marseille manufacturers have been slow to recognize that the growth of this branch of the semolina business has been such as to constitute H' MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. it a very respectable competitive force. The macaroni manufacturer never uses the metadin£ semolina without an admixture <>!' more or less durum wheal semolina, and the product, which is much cheaper in the market, is consumed almosl entirely in France. The product of this mixed semolina is never macaroni, properly speaking, which {•an only be manufactured successfully from a strictly hard \\ heat, but the mctacliiir semolina makes a satisfactory macaroni paste, sold in the form of vermicelli, escargots, stars, and other arbitrary shapes used for soups and various dishes very popular in France. The metadine' w heal of France, peculiar to the I department of < hard and that of Vaucluse, is a half-hard wheat, resulting from the sowing of a genuine durum which deteriorates. The wheal produced can not be planted for a second crop. The durum requires less care than sofl wheat in the regions where it is grown, and the yield is larger. This wheat also resists climatic changes much more readily than the native French wheat, and can better stand a dry season, GROWTH OF THE DEMAND FOR MACARONI. More interesting than the development of the manufacture of semo- lina is the history of the increase in the consumption of the edible product. The broad lines of this development have been thus described by Mr. Francois Scaraiuelli. one of the most important manufacturers of edible pastes in the world, ami an exporter of large quantities to the United Mate- (Plate I. lie-. 1 1. Mr. Scaramelli -aw 't'ln- manufacture of macaroni pastes has doubled in Marseille within ten and the d stii isumption of the product lias also increased and continues to increase enor usly. In 1866, when ] first traveled about the country selling the output of our then small factory, 1 once reached the village of the Grande Combe, where I found that th ily dealer in macaroni was the local druggist, who said that lie bought 25 pounds per annum, which was sold exclusively for consumption by invalids. At the present time, the same village takes 25,000 pounds of macaroni per month, which i- sold practically to every family in tin- place. It lias her., me a staple article of diet, replacing to a large extent the peasant soups, formerly made ! and vegetables. In the city of Marseille, the consumption has tripled in twenty-five years. In 1872 there were ten macaroni factories in Marseille, producing 220 pounds per day each. I ei ire now 55 local factories, turning out a total ol 35,000 pounds per daj . The industry requires the labor of from 400 to 500 men, and from 500 to 600 women, according to the season. With two or three exceptions, these macaroni factories are very small affairs, catering to a local demand, but the aggregate of their business is lari',-. I naturall) leek for the gradual extinguishment of these smaller concerns, and the absorption of their businesses by the larger. When the consumption of edible pastes began m move forward with giant strides the manu- facture of the article seemed to promise large returns t" persons of limited means, 1'iit the improvements in tin' mechanical prt icesses and the necessitj for heavy invest- ment m order t" keep abreast of the times is bound t" force weak competition from Id. lam speaking of the manufacture of macaroni exclusively; There are 127 mills for grinding grain in Marseille, of which 50 make more or less semolina, Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. ot Agriculture. Plate I. Fig. 1.— Macaroni Factory of F. Scaramelu Fils at Marseille. jmrnri * iWilia Fig. 2.— Flour and Semolina Mill of Allatini & Co. at Salonica. INTRODUCTION. 1 1 and 20 are devoted exclusively to this trade. It will thus be seen that the industry is a very important one from every point of view. The extension of this business in Marseille is in les.s degree observ- able throughout the Mediterranean country. Semolina mills have been erected or are in course of construction in all the important wheat markets, and in the Levant, where the manufacture of this article dates from very recent years, the increase is especially note- worthy. Perhaps the largest semolina mill in the world (Plate I, tig. 2) is that owned by the great Italian firm of Allatini & Co.. recently completed at Salonica, and having a consumption of 2,000 quintals (1 quintal = 220.46 pounds) daily of hard wheat. The reason for this rapid extension of the business is that macaroni in its numerous forms is a palatable, nutritious article which satisfies the desire for food :it a very moderate cost, Iargily replacing meat dishes, which are steadily becoming more expensive throughout the world. There is no pretense that macaroni is a •"health food" or a "breakfast dish."' or that it con- tains a high percentage of nutrients or heat units. It is simply a fond which appeases hunger and satisfies a healthy appetite. The excel- lence of this food is not generally known throughout the United States. The value of the declared exports of macaroni from Marseille to the United States for the fiscal year ended June. 30. 1901, was only ^44..">o4; and, while this was hut a fraction of the total amount imported, it is reasonable to suppose that the grand total was not large. With the exception of a few especially well-served markets, the average macaroni sold in the United States has passed its prime before it reaches the consumer. Most of us have seen a few brittle lengths of stale vermicelli or still staler macaroni exposed for sale in glass jars, like old-fashioned stick candy, in the country grocery stoic. Few of our housewives have studied the possibilities of fresh macaroni as an article of diet. In Europe, on the other hand, it is sold when in its best state, and after passing through the hands of a competent cook can hold its own in a hundred different forms with any compet- ing product which may be served, from soup to dessert. NEED OF GROWING THE DURUM WHEAT. The recipe for making a good dish of macaroni is like the famous rule for making a rabbit pie, ; * First catch your rabbit;" and the sur- prising fact in this connection is that, at this time, the United States has yet to grow the quality of wheat essential to the macaroni indus- try. 1 ' Before I saw the immense importance of the macaroni trade as "The total import for the year ending June 30, 1901 was 18,186,399.83 pounds, valued at $735,239.49— M. A. Cable ox. b About one million bushels of the durum wheat will probably be produced in 1902 — M. A. C. 1 ■_' MANUFACTURE < >K SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. a means of augmenting our exports of wheat, and being confidenl that in grain we could supply anything thai the world miylit demand, I sent reports on the subjecl to the Department of State, written in L899, advising exporters of il d of this market foragood hard wheat. To my astonishment it was promptly developed that we had no wheat of the quality required, and that the so-called hard \\ In -at of the United States contained grains differing in degree of hardne'ss, which speedily clogged the milling machinery, and was entirely untitled for the pur- pose. The Department of Agriculture has since — * - r 1 1 experts to Europe to study the question. I have no doubt that their researches will add much more t<> the stuck of useful information than m\ pres- ent effort to describe the business as seen by a layman, and as it is conducted to-day. THE MARKET FOR DURUM WHEAT. WILD Gl ii ISE WHEAT. Before proceeding to a inure technical account of this matter, it may be useful to report the results of a number of interviews with Mr. (■. P. Bottazzo. Mr. Bottazzo has created a very large business for himself in this city as a broker of semolina, and hi> views of the possibility of Berious American competition arc entitled to high respect. It is fair to mention that hi- opinion of the Canadian Goose wheat «hieh he describes is not shared by all <>t' the experts in this city.* Mr. Edniond Bendit, a very extensive importer of grain, to whom a a sample of the wheat in question was submitted, declared that, while appearing to be of excellent quality, and of a hardness sufficient for the semolina trade, it could not be claimed for it that it equaled the best Russian wheat. Substantially the sai ipinion \\a- given to me by the firm of Allatini & < '". These are manufacturers of semo- lina at Salonica, and one of the most important houses in Marseille. Both Mr. Allatini and Mr. Fernandez of the same firm commended the appearance of the wheat and of the semolina it produced, but seei I t<> think that it was deficient in gluten, and could not be relied upon to produce a satisfactory macaroni without the admixture id' a stronger product. Mr. Bottazzo's less measured statement is as follows; the 1st of May, 1901, we have received at Marseille about lee. eon tons of ■■v lieni, shipped bj New York firms, and supposed to have been grown in Manitoba. 1 am satisfied that it has been grown from Russian seed, and it i- per- haps three or four crops removed from the original see. I. In past years, other Goose wheal has been offered for sale, but the quality until this year has never been such liable 'i- to use it for the manufacture of semolina. This < loose « heal of w hich I speak is as g 1 as any macaroni « heal ever sold in this market. Ii is all being reus 1 iii the se Una mills at Marseille, t" the entire satisfaction of the pur- It should be observed that Canadian (ioose wheal is already known t" be inferior to that grown in North and South Dakota M \ • THE MARKET FOR DURUM WHEAT. 13 chaser?. It sell? at from 3 to 5 cents Irs- than superior Taganrog, and it ought to command as high a price, but being less well known it lias that disadvantage to overcome. It contains from 12 to 14 per cent of dry gluten. PROSPECTIVE DEMAND FOR AMERICAN HARD WHEAT AM) SEMOLINA. Continuing in response to queries, Air. Bottazzo said: I am not interested in the development of American nmerce, but 1 consider that the laws of trade are higher than those of governments; that business should be developed under circumstances most favorably adapted for such development, and that the transfer of an industry from one point to another is generally compensated for by some advantage accruing to the locality thus temporarily affected. It is for this reason that I believe America to he capable not only of supplying the hard wheat requisite for the macaroni trade, but the semolina as well. I call your special attention to the fact that, up to this time, you have only concerned yourself with the production of a hard wheat for our market. I ask that you go a step further, and convert that wheat into semolina. You tell me that semolina is a perishable product, but I answer you out of my experience that this is largely a matter of assumption. If semolina is thoroughly well made in the first instance, there is no question that it will stand transportation, and retain all of its good qualities for any reasonable length of time. I have personally known semolina properly manufac- tured that was found to he in a perfect state after eighteen months. Our difficulty in Marseille is this: We receive wheats from all parts of the world, varying in degree of hardness, differing in the size of the kernels, and in their component parts. The mills themselves are i Iparatively small. Considerable quantities of semolina are manufactured to order for commission houses. Thus the manufacturer is obliged to change his process to suit rapidly varying conditions, and is never enabled to keep his machinery geared to any average standard of wheat, and for that matter never acquires an absolute knowledge of any one wheat, such as your millers in the United States are able to acquire. You will have no difficulty, if you pay proper attention to the matter, in growing macaroni wheat in the United States in unlimited quanti- ties, and. having done that, your manufacturers will have- no excuse for not operating their mills year in and year out with the same kind of wheat, thus permitting them to study and correct every delect and place upon the market a semolina equal to the best of which we now know. It is believed that a market could be built up in Europe for from 10,000 to 15,000 bushels of semolina a day. Let your manufacturers describe to me their system, tell me whether they wash or do not wash their wheat, the time they devote to the scour- ing process, the exact interval of time between the sci airing process and the beginning of the grinding; lot them describe their means of purification of the semolina after grinding, and if they will semi to me every detail, 1 will return to them all the supple- mentary in formal ion they require to achieve a satisfactory result. Let them send sam- ples of their actual production. The semolina now manufactured in the United States and of which I have seen samples, although produced from comparatively soft wheat, is yet a marketable product. [ am satisfied that firms now in this business in a tenta- tive way could very readily equip themselves for the production of a superior grade of semolina. The first thing for us to have in Marseille is samples. EUROPEAN' METHODS AND PRODUCTS. Speaking of the European macaroni wheats and semolina, and the methods employed in the manufacture of the latter. Mr. Bottazzo said: When different qualities ..f wheat are mixed before the grinding process begins, the product is inferior. The miller has need of but one particular quality of wheat 11 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA ami MACARONI. i" I luce semolina. After the semolina is manufactured, a mixture is sometimes effected, in order to secure a certain standard. No hard wheat has less gluten than the h heal of Salonica, and the « heal of Salonica has alwaj - stood at the head, because it is always handsome « hen purified. < me of the principal manufacturers of edible pastes in Marseille purchases semolina from each of the fifteen millers and the semolina of the same size, is mixed together indifferently for the manufacture of the product. Of course, when a particularly fine macaroni is required for a special pur- pose, there is a special effort made t" procure semolina corresponding t" the high grade of macaroni required. The greal point concerning semolina is it- purity. rhe territory northwest and northeast of the Azov furnishes the hard wheal most appreciated at present, and containing the greatest quantity of gluten. An. r Russia, and in order of importance as countries grow ing hard grain, come Algeria and Tunis, India, and Chile. The Chilean wheat has a rubbery quality, and is neither regular nor hard. h 1-1 — ible to arrange a mill for the manufacture of either semolina or flour by tii" change of cylinders, but the product is necessaril) inferior, To produce semolina of the first quality the mill should be constructed exclusively for that purpose. Here it is necessary to wash the wheat, for the simple reas d that it is very dirty, and contains much earth and other impurities. But in America a thorough dry cleaning would suffice, and it will be necessarj to follow this plan in order that the product may be preserved. It is perfectly possible t>> dry-clean the wheat, and brush it, by employing what we call "desagregeurs." Lfter passing through this machine, if the process is well carried out, the wheat is absolutely pure, and the semolina resulting from the manufacture of wheat thus cleaned may bi preserved for a long time. The semolina manufactured at Marseilles is never dried after manufacture, for the greal reason that it is consumed in this market promptly, and the process is unnecessary. The production of semolina involves the production also of a certain percentage of an inferior Hour. Semolina has been manufactured here for sixty or eight) years. The business has been materially extended within the last twenty-five years. Marseille is the center of the industry The extension dates mure particularly from the introduction of the purifiers in mills. At present the industry is extending rapidly throughout Italj : in France, in the cities of Valence, Lyon, Montelimar, and Toulouse; in Germany at Mannheim and Konigsberg; in Russia, in Greece, and in Tunis and Algiers. We receive at Marseille annually 100,000 barrels of two hundredweight of semolina from Constantine, Algeria. \t Salonica 1 .nun sacks are made per day, and sold very gen- illy. At Smyrna also then' are mills, which, however, are verj bad, and the sem- olina is used for the manufacture of " pates alimentaires," although a certain quantity is also used in the manufacture of various kind- of bread. SCOURING lilt GRAIN. Before leaving Mr. Bottazzo's statement, it should be added thai his contention in favor of eliminating the washing process in American semolina mills opens a field of contro\ ersy which only actual experience can settle. While Mr. Bottazzo assumes the washing process to be necessary in Marseille because of the foreign matter generally found in <>M World wheat, and while I have found other practical men \\li>> charge that the scouring process is to some extent adopted in order t<> give the producl additional weight, 1 have equally strong expert opin- ion i" the etleet that the iii< >i si rii i ii^ of tin- grain enables the removal of the bran in less broken particles, while dry grinding cause- it to MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. 15 crack and enter into the semolina itself, from which it can no< be entirely removed. Mr. Bottazzo's statement was shown to Mr. Jean Baptiste Lautier, a practical miller, who said: Mr. Bottazzo is not entirely correct in his assumption that satisfactory results can be obtained in the manufacture of semolina without the scouring of the grain. ( )ur expe- rience in Marseille is that the moistening of the grain causes the bran to Make off in large particles 'luring the milling process, enabling us to secure not only a first-class quality of semolina, but also a merchantable quality of Hour. When the wheat is dry-cleaned the bran, being more brittle, enters into the various products the more readily, and while the semolina thus produced is of good quality, the flour is of inferior quality and very unattractive in appearance. The proportion of tine semo- lina obtained by the dry-milling process is about the same; but the relative propor- tion of large semolina, which is the most desired, is from 3 per cent to 4 per cent less. The practice of semiring the wheat is subject to no exceptions in Marseille, and the matter of moistening it is so important, especially in its effect upon the appearance of the semolina, that if the scouring process is insufficient in any respect the manu- facturer is sure to bring reproach upon himself. Absolutely the only dry-milling undertaken in Marseille is for the account of Jewish clients, who require the flour for the production of their unleavened bread once a year. If the only question con- fronting the manufacturer was to preserve his product for a considerable length of time, doubtless an attempt to avoid the washing of the grain would lie advisable. I might suggest one method of securing the advantages of both wet and dry clean- ing sometimes followed in this city. If instead of permitting the wheat to repose for from 10 to 40 hours, as is usually the case, alter passing through the water, it should be carried immediately to the machinery, the outer husk only being damp- ened would be removable in large flakes, and the speed with which the operation would be carried out would at the same time prevent the humidity from penetrating the kernel. I should be inclined to recommend this system in the United States, where the preservation of the semolina for a number of months would be important. In this manner the bran would be prevented from entering into the flour and semolina, and, while the flour itself might be perhaps a little less attractive in appearance, the net difference to the miller would be small. MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. USING WHEAT FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. The statistics relating to the importation of wheat at Marseille appear elsewhere. There are 20 mills requiring from 7,000 to 8,000 quintals (1 quintal = 220.46 pounds) of raw material per day. There are also 10 mills which grind alternately the hard wheat for the maca- roni trade and soft wheat Hour for general purposes, according to the market. Mills of this class require about 3,000 quintals per day. There are 60 mills in this city grinding soft wheat into flour to the extent of from 12,000 to 15,000 quintals per day. The most impor- tant Hour mill in this city requires 800 quintals per day of wheat, and the average requirement is from 200 to Moo. In addition to the mills mentioned there are 5 other mills which grind beans into Hour, requir- ing an aggregate of 1,000 quintals per day. The durum wheats of Algeria, although containing less gluten than 16 MANUFACTl KK <>k SEMOLINA \M> MAI SiR( Nl. the semolina wheats of Russia, constitute ;i standard type for the man- ufacture of semolina, as the product is shiny and clear. As these hard wheats are very often insufficient in quantity for local purposes, and furthermore lack the necessar} proporti t' gluten, the resultant product of the wheat is \er\ frequently mixed by the millers accord- ing i" their special interests and the market prices. < Ordinarily Alge- rian or Tunisian wheat is mixed with Russian or Turkish wheat, and sometimes with Indian. One authority was asked to supply formulae for the composition of a theoretically perfect semolina, but he replied that, while millers and others might be disposed to discuss chemical composition in pedantic fashion, in practice there was very little attempt to realize elaborately spun theories, Millers and macaroni manufacturers by long experience were familiar with the appearance of semolina that would yield a certain quality of macaroni, and when they went into the market thej smoothed down a sample on a sheet of paper, held it up to the light, looked horizontally across it. and if it was bright and clear, they bought. Wheats are always ground separately. Sometimes the manufacturer mixes the semolina himself, and sometimes the manufacturer of the macaroni does thi~. CLEANING THE WHEAT. The manufacture of the semolina begins with the cleaning of the wheat, including washing by water. The Russian wheats contain more moisture than the Algerian, and should be dampened more Lightly .and allowed to repose during a shorter period between th< scouring and the beginning of the grinding. The length of the repose after the scouring is a very delicate question for the Marseille miller to deter- mine, as the moisture must penetrate to the heart of the grain in order that the bran and the cells of the wheat may be less broken up into flour, which of course the semolina manufacturer wishes t<> avoid. In the <>ld days of grinding with millstones the wheat was not allowed t<> rest between the scouring and the grinding, but it was found by this means that the outer husk absorbed all the moisture and the by-prod- ucts of the manufacture of se lina could not be secured. Since the application of the roller process in L881 a uniform >\ stem of procedure lias been followed in all of the French semolina mills, ami distincl progress has been made in the intrinsic value of the product and in the amount of semolina per quintal of grain. This washing process is so important that I give a description of a typical French scouring system written by M. Charles Daritin. In the manufacture of semolina in France, the wheat is first scoured with water, then dried, and then a second time moistened. It reposes, as previouslj explained, after the second application of moisture, for ten to fortj hours before going to the cylinders. The first scouring MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. IT I venture to describe in some detail, using for the purpose the words of Mr. Dantin: An excess of humidity in the wheat exercises a dangerous effect upon the flour, involving the alteration of the gluten, development of organisms, disagreeable odor, and gray color. The maximum proportion of water should be I s percent, as milling becomes very difficult after the proportion reaches 20 per cent, the cylinders bo ant- ing clogged. As hard wheats art- uniformly drier by nature, the washing pr 'SS is easier than in the case of soft wheat. The washing operation leaves from 1 to 5 per cent of water incorporated in the wheat, the cause of this variation depending mainly upon the quality of the wheat. It is desirable of course that tin- grain conserve a certain degr i humidity, which benefits more or less a subsequent dampening, and facilitates dec< irtication. The advantages of the application of moisture, either in connection with the scouring process about to lie described or as a succeeding operation, are thus set forth by Messrs. Millon & Mourin, of Algiers: The water, spreading readily upon the surface of the kernels, does not immedi- ately penetrate into the interior. Wherever the surface is dampened, tin- adherence of the external pellicle is destroyed: the external tegument of the tjrain separated by decortication then forms bran of a remarkable lightness. Above all, the milling of decorticated wheat proceeds with regularity unknown in the case of the dry- cleaned wheat. Water is therefore considered not only the most useful agent for cleaning wheat, even of such impurities as may lodge in the crevices of tbe kernels, but as one which facilitates the decortication itself. These are the considerations which have brought about the general adoption of some scouring device in France. The description below covers the essential points of the Savit & Boutet system for the puri- fying operation: In the basin of the device the water is taken at a temperature varying with the season. Now. when upon still water one drop- with care a grain of wheat with dry lingers, the grain floats a long time. If a pebble of the same size a- the grain of wheat is dropped similarly, it may float also, lint for a very short time, since the wheat has a density but little higher than that of water, and the pebble a density much higher. Upon this principle- the Savit & Boutet machine is con- structed. If. in place of depositing a grain with the fingers, it is dropped upon a curved surface with which the surface of the water forms a tangent, the wheat will still float. As to the pebbles, as they float but a short time, if the whole he permitted to continue in move- ment, the wheat will float to the end. while the pebbles will -ink quickly. Thus we may extract bodies of greater density than wheat without immersing the latter. The apparatus (fig. L) is composed of a flat receptacle J\ which turns upon an axis forming a basin covered with water regulated from 0. This basin possesses a flange around the edge, tending to prevent foreign bodies very slightly more dense than wheat from being swept along with it. The tube /'receives the 27479 Xo. 20—02 2 18 \1\MI 'CTUKE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. grain, which ma\ be cul off b) shutter at V. This tube feeds the wheat upon cone E, the inclination of which is such thatthe grain may fall upon the water with nicely adjusted speed, the grain being dis- tributed upon the cone bj the distributor (babillard) B, which i- fixed nn the vertical tree .1. The basin P turns within and above a circular canal ' . composed of two portions, one receiving the wheat and com- pletely surrounding the basin; the other. < . embracing the arc Fig. 1.— Savil & Boutel device for washing snun. \ nder. nittcr cutting oft wheat. is, distributor. ■ no ' ' le for sand, i movable collar. inducting ": d, first stream of water. ol water to 'lr:> <.. I; i >, passage tor h etfor wheat. P, tin R, sin. aducting whi V. . -:■ between the two jets of water d' and d" and receiving the particles of sand, etc. A cast-iron frame, G, supports the whole. The water arriving by the tube /' tills the basin, and playing with more or less pressure from the circular orifice spreads over tin- shallow basin and drains over the flange /.'. The depth of the water passing over the flange should be sufficient to allow the passage of a era in of w heat. The wheat distributed from the orifice drops first MANUFACTURE < <¥ SEMOLINA. 19 upon the cone l r .. then to the water, whence it floats, and is swept over I! and falls into the canal ('. the inclination of which is such that the grain goes quickly to the diving- column, where it is immediately dried. The distance across the surface of the basin is such that pebbles and other foreign particles have sufficient time to sink. As the basin rotates continually, the foreign matter remaining is brought under the jet of water d' which is so regulated that any heavy Fig. 2.— Drying column, with scouring device i c washing grain. grains of wheat remaining, and which might otherwise remain witli the stones, are swept over the flange also between two jets of water; there remain then only bodies of greater density than wheat, which are forced below the flange 12 and thence fall into the canal C and are cared for in a special receptacle. Thus it will he seen that the operation is performed without the immersion of the wheat, since the latter floats and is not much dampened. The operation of dampening 20 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. begins after the wheal falls int<> the canal, and lasts until it enters the drying column. Tlii> operation continues about three seconds. The drying column designed originally by Pierre Cardilhac is shown in fig. -J. and consists of a perforated cylinder through which the grain rapidlj r , and is frequently so dry tha( ii must be redampened before the milling begins. The entire device is capable of treating 30 hectoliters (67 bushels) per hour. PERCENTAGE OF SEMOLINA IN DIFFERENT WHEATS. The manufacturers of the best quality of semolina, known as "S. S. S.," expect the resultant product to be 60 to 65 per cent semo- lina, from 1l' to Lo percent flour, and from 18 to 20 per cent bran. Tliis proportion is quite different when the native metadine, or mixed wheats, are employed, in which event a smaller proportion id' semolina is expected, varying from 30 to W per cent, inferior in quality and containing impurities which reduce its value. The proportionate amount of flour is greater \\ ith these wheats, and the quality of the flour is better than that resulting from the grinding of the strictly macaroni wheats. The grinding of the pure macaroni wheat into flour is veiy rarely attempted, although in Algeria a good deal of flour is thus made, and the bread is of good flavor and \ erj nourishing. The tnanu fact u re of flour from macaroni wheat, in addition to other disadvantages, requires the expenditure of additional mechanical force. IMPORTANCE OF CLEANLINESS. The average hard wheat is said to contain from 8 to 12 per cent of moisture, which is considerably increased by the washing, as the pro- cess is now followed in Marseille. It naturally follow- that the semo- lina and flour of hard wheat retain their virtues for a length of time dependent upon the season in which they are manufactured. In winter thc\ will retain their original qualities for five or -ix month-, while in summer one or two u ths is perhaps the life of the product in mer- chantable condition, after which worms are very likely to he found in it, in which case the semolina must he resifted and iv I lolled. The increase of these worms i- prevented to a large extent in the French mill- by attention to cleanliness. In those mills which are cleaned twice a year, where w hitewash i- used with liberality, very few are ever -ecu. while in others, where less attention i- paid to detail- such a- these, the tim her- are covered with them. Ill E Mill ING 1'la M l 3S The American miller will probably add little in France to hi- know 1 edge of mereh mechanical processes. I-Vh , if any, machines of French invention are employed in the French mill-, the Budapest process hav- ing been adopted and adapted to the peculiar local necessities. Ameri- can winnowing machines are in general use. Neverthless, illustrations MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. 21 with proper explanation arc submitted of several of the devices essen- tial to the production of semolina. In the milling of the semolina wheat, the arrangement of the machin- Fig. :i. — Typical French milling machine with four cylinders. cry is not radically different from that required for the grinding of soft wheat into Hour. (See figs. .". and 4.) Thescouring process is identical. hut as the hard wheats used here contain a very much larger proportion Cross section of rollers used in producing semolina. of foreign matter than the soft wheats, the scouring is much more ener- getic, and is followed by a much more active winnowing process. The wheat, having been first dry-scoured in separators, winnowing machines. 22 MWil 'CTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. and culling machines, goes to the washing machine, and after the wash- ing is received in sacksor in bushel measures, where it reposes during the necessarj time. After the period of repose (varying from ten to furt\ hours), it is beaten and blown and brushed, and is then ready for the firsl crushing. The miller's object is to obtain the highest possible proportion of semolina, and the least possible proportion of flour. To do this, the cylinders work with no more pressure than is absolutely necessary in order thai the moistened bra ay detach itself from the w heal in large flakes and the grains of semolina be secured without be'ng unneces- sarily bruised. To facilitate this work there arc ordinarily two crush- ing operations in addition to those to which sofl wheal is subjected, during which the coarsesl semolina, passing through No. L6 bolting cloth, is \\ ithdrawn. After the crushing all the products are classified Fig. 5 on " planchettes " according to their size, and are then transmitted to the bolters, which dean them. The most important operation is the final winnowing for the refinement of the semolina, and in order that this may be done under satisfactory conditions, it is essential that the semolina -hall first be classified according to size, well dried, and relieved of fine particles. Each class of the semolina thus obtained is then sifted separately, upon ventilated sifters, the dust and foreign matter being blown away, and tl lean semolina dropping through the sieves, from which it is delivered into sacks ready for the market. ( 1 ISSI] [CATION OF PRODI I I S. The final operation in the production of semolina is performed in a machine known a~ a "sasseur" (fig. 5), the manner of operation ( fig. •'>! being as follow s: Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept- of Agriculture. Plate II. Mii'ilkiiattii.iviaifaiHaaiiiMaMiI Jwt! mb uaaaaa* ana aBBaaaaaaa)aa> cut aal F^..v-...aaaa« j- v > ,-iMii«*«tii««a>l >:"»(va«»aaftu.nxA4,aNB«aH»a»nfl laaaawaaaana- uauaaaaaaaaaBai:^ 3 ■ B»fjaaaai:aaB*a«aaaaa»a«xa*ana£: J » a mm a o an a m m a a a oca »a as.a «««■ a* a a * d ~ a * ■(>»■> a «*!•»■■■ «« :ii»i'<3*BBBjB«ftamaaB8(BiiBaa*>ajwa«3 Sa*»aa*ftaa»«aua»*>*B*caaaM*aaaKia3 laaaiaaakaiiiiaaaaitiitiaiiaaad aaaaBaaaafa»«aaaaavaaaaaai>aaaal aaaaaaBaaaaaaaaBataaaaaaaaaaiBBBal a a an a «• mm a* a aa an bbb ana atmaaaaa kiaaaaaitaapaiaaanaiaaaaaaiaaaai ■liaaaaaaiaaalaaaaacuiaiaataaai aaaaaaaaaaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaataaaai ;iataia*aaaaiaiiaitt2iiis*aaaaai 25 Sk? ■■*! .jr»: ■■■•■■*■' I;:: I3!££_£lIZ25££*Iiaaa5SBa*»*a »iiaia ■•»•••■ ::j«b !:::":::::;::h::::sh:::::::::i: e;:::::::::::.":. , ::::::::::::::::::::::| 30 35 !£::•: 40 60 Different Grades of Bolting Cloth for Separating and Classifying Semolina. Bui. 20. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept of Agr.culture. Plate III. '•.•••. >. ••••• r.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.. • •••••' . •• • • •••••••••••••••• VA , >.v.\\v.vav.v:ayayav; , . • • • ••• ••••• •••••• J • •*... •••••••••••• VA*A A , ■ A • • ••••••••••••••••• • • • ' Y>>>.VAY.V.V.Y.YAY.V.V ••.V.V./ a VAVAVA VAVA3 • ••••••• • • • - »,...•••••••••••••••••••■ ...... ••••• • •••• V. . . . • . v.. Ay. . . ••••••• • .• • • vay. . . . . • • •••••••••••••• • •/ ...... ••••••: :;:! i r .V. . . . . • . • •••• ....... •••••••••••••••••••• '.V. • V, WWW\ , ,v. ..... v. v. • • •••• .V. ... ••••••••••••••••••••A .V.V.V.% . . . . . VA V.V.VAV.V •AV : : 8 ;•:• ••:•• ••!•• ••!•• ••:•• ••••• ••!•• ••!•• ••••• ••••• ••!•• ••!•• ••••• a ■ m w a • ••' • ••' • ••' : ; :?: i ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• i iiii : : ® Sieves used in the Sasseur. MANUFACTURE "F SEMOLINA. 23 The unpurified and unclassified semolina is delivered upon the separator or sieve of waxed paper I rL r . <>, A-A i, upon which it is continually shaken while a current of air passes upward from below. The rounded, polished grains of semolina which are too large to pass through the sieve are carried forward in the direction shown by the arrows pointing toward the left, and is finally delivered int.. r-aeks. The smaller grains fall through the sieve, in the direction indicated by the arrow - point- r» nward, and are afterwards reclassified. The lighter portions l Sour, etc. i are carried upward by the current of air. the heavier particles dropping backward onto the smaller sieves. B B, and the flour dust being expelled in the direction of the arrows pointing upward. 11,1 sassi ur in i iperation. The French semolina is classified according to size, the trade terms being - as follows: Semolina silted, passing through sievi — No. 20 to No. 25 "G. G." X... 25 t.. No. 30 "M. G." No. 30 to X... 40 "S. S. S. G." No. 40 to No. oil "S. S. F." No. 50 to No. (10 "S. S. s. V." No. 60 to No. 70 >_ ",S. F. S." No. 70 to No. 80 "S. B." All the products passing through numbers 80 to 90 French silk, are classed as Hour. (See Plates II and III.) Of the flours that are produced during the manufacture of semolina from 10 to 12 per cent are known as "Gruau hard." and from 3 to 5 per cent as "Minot hard." The hard Gruaus are produced from the operations of crushing and classification, and arc of fair quality. Minot hards are of inferior quality. All the other flours and products of the grinding, except those already enumerated, are classified as brans, and receive the following designations: (1) Flour. "F. B. D.;" (2) "Repasse hard:"' (3) Coarse hard bran. 24 MAM FACT! RE OF SEMOLINA \M> M.\< VRONI. Under average conditions 50,000 kilos of hard African wheat wil j ield the follow ing products: Fication. - - - - Quantity. 1,800 Percent- o\ v.. 14 00 41,000 1,500 F. B. D ' 102. 00 . eed eeeds, etc. Excess ol 2 pi i eenl accounted roi by admixture of water. The average price of semolina is from 30 to 33 francs per LOO kilos (§5.79 to $6. 36 per 220 pounds). As much as I" francs ($7.72) and even 18 francs ($9.26) has been paid under exceptional market condi- tions, the lowest price recorded being 23 francs ($4.43) per 1"" kilos. The wholesale price of macaroni, which contains practically no raw material other than semolina, averages from I s to 50 francs ($9.26 to $9.65 1 per 220 pounds. MANUFACTURE OF MACARONI. While Marseille at the present time leads the world in the manufac- ture of semolina, this is not yet true of the edible pastes manufactured from semolina. There arc in this city some 10 small manufacturers of macaroni, each averaging from 300 to 100 kilos per working day, and depending upon a local and restricted trade. There ai'e 5 or 6 important concerns producing from 1,000 to L,500 kilos each per day. The firm of Rivoire <§ (arret, for example, manufacture from 15,000 tn I'n. kil< >~ per day, and have two factories in different parts of the city. Another house, that of 1-'. Scaramelli Fils, which exports very heavily t<> the United State-, turns out from .">. to •'>.' kilos per \ the production of Lyon. In Switzerland there are also \ en important concerns, and, as I said before, the business is steadily increasing everj h here. manufacture of macaroni. 25 the process. The generic term for edible pastes in France is " pates alimentaires." We are accustomed in the United State- to speak of these artii les as "macaroni," but in point of fact macaroni is merely one of a hundred different forms in which edible pastes are produced. The composition is much the same in all cases, the different designations referring to form and size. The method of manufacture is comparatively simple, as modern mechanical methods are simply enlargements of the old famity process by which the housewife mixed flour and water, kneaded the batch, rolled it into sheets, cut it into strips, and hung it out to dry. In the modern factory the semolina is measured into a steel pan about 8 feet in diameter, within which travels a stone wheel. Water is added, the machine is put in motion, the wheel moves slowly around the pan, thus kneading the batch until it attains proper con- sistency, .lust ahead of the wheel is set a small steel plow, to gather and turn over the mass so that it falls under the rim of the approach- ing wheel, thus guaranteeing an even kneading of the whole amount of semolina measured out. From the kneading machine the dough passes to steel presses (Plate IV. tig. 1). by which it i> converted into marketable form. From the presses the product goes to the drying rooms, where it is seasoned, after which it is packed and placed on the market. All of the foregoing is apparently easy and few pitfalls are observ- able. Nevertheless, before the batch is prepared for the petrin or kneading machine, a practical test is made with each lot of semolina to determine the amount of gluten it contain-. A kilo of semolina is put into a basin of water and kneaded by hand until the starch and other matters disappear in the washing and the gluten remains in the hand. The loss of gluten by this method amounts to 60 grains in a kilo of semolina. The gluten remaining after the starch is kneaded out is weighed and the batch for the petrin is prepared with refer- ence to the amount of gluten found in the raw material. Here is where skill and experience begin to count. If, for example, an attempt should be made to manufacture a given quantity of macaroni from a certain amount of high-grade semolina and the same quantity from the same amount of tine flour produced by grinding the same wheat, the macaroni produced from the semolina would be very unlike and very superior to that produced from the flour. The flour having been crushed into powder is so separated that what the macaroni man- ufacturer calls its ••force" is completely lost, and the macaroni is brittle and dull of appearance. On the other hand, the macaroni made from the semolina would be translucent and elastic, and. after having been cooked, the lengths of the macaroni still retain their form. These •Ji\ MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA VND MACARONI. are the qualities sough! by the manufacturer of macaroni: A bright, clear appearance, elasticity before cooking, and sufficient " force" t" retain the original form after having been cooked. MIXING MM SEMOLINA. There is more g uten in the Russian wheal than in the Algerian, and the semolina manufactured into macaroni without an admixture would in >i i.nU be dark and dull, l>ut would be very hard upon the machinery of the factory. Algerian semolina, on tl thar hand, if manufac- tured into macaroni, would be too brittle to satisfy the requirements of the trade. A mixture must therefore be made in which there will be from 15 to 50 per ceni of moisl gluten. The important matter of mixing the different kind- of semolina together having been attended to, the water is next introduced into the steel pan, the quantity vai-ying from 20 to 27 kilograms per LOO kilo- grams of semolina, depending somen hat upon the nature of the edible paste to be manufactured and the humidity of the semolina itself. This proportion is determined by the experienced judgment of the manu- facturer. Very slighl differences in the a unt of water are necessary for the production of various kinds of pastes, the vermicelli requiring a shade less than an\ of the others. The mixture of semolina and water properly kneaded supplies the true macaroni, but with the increase in competition and changes in j > 1 1 1 > 1 "n • taste, a demand has arisen for an edible paste in which eggs are kneaded, and manufac- turer- also introduce rice Hour, corn Hour, and potato flour. To sat- isfy an entirely local clientele, garlic is occasionally introduced. The same is true of edible pastes into which the juice of carrots, turnip-. cauliflower, and cabbage is mixed. These varieties of the article are quite unknown in the United State-. The rice. corn. and. potato flours are onl\ employed to affect the color of the finished product and the cost of the same, these adulteration- are only used in the case of the cheaper macaronis. The paste of the highest grade is translucent and of the -hade of very light amber. Pure white macaroni ma\ seem more attractive. but it- color i- often due to the admixture of rice flour. The cheaper hard w heat- alwa\ - produce a dark semolina, and their color musl be toned up in order to make them marketable. In the case of macaroni of the first quality the whitening i- brought about bj the kneading process, which is continued from thirty-five minute- to fifty minute-. < >rdinarv paste is kneaded thirty ti\ e minute-, and the extension to fifty minute- i- onlj in exceptional cases and for the production of a super- fine article. 'The difference between an ordinary white macaroni and that of an equally white cheaper macaroni can be distinguished by holding lengths of them up to the light. The rice-flour macaroni will be found to be dull white like a sheef of paper, while the thoroughly kneaded and better nualitj of macaroni will be translucent. MANUFACTURE OV MACARONI. 27 CURING OPERATIONS. After the kneading of the paste and its manufacture into forms, the skill of the expert is again called into play while the curing process takes place. In discussing the matter with me, Mr. Francois Scaramelli said: This is the most delicate feature of the business. I believe that it takes about twenty years to get a factory into thorough running order. Fm- fifteen years I myself have given instructions to one of my most competent men on the subject of 'Irving, in order to give to myself more personal leisure. Yet to-day if that man is left entirely alone, difficulty is likely to occur. To know exactly when the macaroni is "ripe," so to speak, and ready for the market, amounts to an intuition. It is absolutely Impossi- ble to establish cut-and-dried methods. Personal experience must be the only guide. It is right at this point, in my opinion, that the first efforts to manufacture macaroni in the United States have not succeeded. The promoters have not had sufficient patience in going about their work. They have expected to accomplish in a few years that for which we have required a lifetime of labor. I have seen some Ameri- can macaroni, and my main criticism on it is that it is not solid, though in every otherrespect it leaves something to be desired. If a macaroni is permitted to "take cold," as I may express it. during the drying process, in spite of its condition as respects the quantity of gluten and the duration of the kneading process, it lacks the elasticity which a perfect macaroni should have. When the product is properlj cured, one should be able to take a section a meter long, and, holding it up by the end, it should bend readily, like a whip, without breaking. The same macaroni improperly cured will break; it will break before cooking and it will be still more brittle after having been cooked. This elastic quality causes the macaroni after cooking to retain its original form, desired by all lovers of the food, while the inferior article melts together and becomes more like paste. Iii all of the large factories the macaroni is dried in rooms in which the temperature is kept at about TO F., except in summer, when the weather alone regulates this matter. Vermicelli and macaroni are hung on racks, and the edible pastes molded into forms are placed in drawers. This is the so-called "French system," and any variation in the temperature causes the macaroni to warp. The small manufactu- rers have great difficulty in curing their product, and it must be con- sumed within a week or so. or the deterioration in the quality is so rapid that customers protest. 'More carefully prepared macaroni. especially if it is packed in tight boxes, retains its excellence from six months to a year in ordinary climates, although every •■gourmet" who cares much for this food insists that the sooner it is eaten after coming from the factory the better. I am satisfied that there is some truth in this claim, as I have frequently observed very marked difference in the quality of macaroni served upon my own table, when bought at tlie same shop and tit the same price. This deterioration is what most strongly confirms my opinion that edible pastes will not become a staple article of diet in the United States until we have domestic manu- factories so organized that the consumer may be always assured of fresh merchandise. 28 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. While the drying process in rooms seems to be best adapted to the manufacture of macaroni on a large scale, it i- -till claimed that the merchandise cured in the open air is better than thai cured by artifi cial heat. Mr. Scaramelli attributes the success of a number of Nea- politan manufacturers who secure their semolina from Marseille to the fact of their adherence to this old fashioned method. Many trav- elers \ gravity to a mechanical sifter, after w hich thej are placed in boxes. Most of the mechanical operations in the factories are carried on by men: the majority of the labor is undertaken by women and girls. Men arc paid from 3.50 to L50 franc- (67 to 86 cents) per day: women from 1 to 2.25 franc- (ill to 13 cents), and boys from 1 to L.65 francs t L9 to 3] cents) per day. Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept. of Agriculture, Plate IV. ^*Si n^Sf Tin ' m K L -. tap ^Sl—-^^^% K. JWr M WT * mm' M r ^J ft J *. J Fiq. 1.— Vermicelli Press at the Factory of F. Scaramelli Fils. Fiq. 2.— Section of Open-air Curing Department at the Factory of F. Scaramelli Fils. Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Plate V. 7,9.9 ,S4. 629 i,7- 630 1,993,307 lis v-.; 279, 453 10,671,287 347, 117 II 675 1,595 505 I I 12.919 102, 172 II:, 101 774, 5: 16 175, 1126 2. 125, ',169 11,715,560 03,44 28, 186 .".II MANUFACTUR1 OF SEMOLINA ami MACARONI. irk England — Ml rland . fal . Spain Austri; Italy . mia . . Kuliraria Malta Egypt Mauri Hi India. Dutch I China . Japan . Cruguay . . - . Canada Haiti Central ' ■ Madagascar French In > French ' Martinique Otherc 11.726 • [ncludii i Turkey in Europe, and Danube principalities 19 Turkeyin Asia 51,288 Australia '.'7. 875 t'nited States i Argentina 275, 125 eria Tunis . I TABLES OF EXPORTS, IMPORTS, AND PRICES. 31 Quintals. 1900. Naples 89 French ports 8, 839 T< ital 5, 676, 189 1 899 7, 255, 985 1898 9,886,243 1897 6,808,727 1896 7, 735, 1 N is Rangt of prices of semolina pt r WO kilos at Marst Hit during the years 1885 to inno." Year. Highi st. Lowest. 1885 . 1886 . 1887 . 1888 . 1889 . 1890 . 1891 . 1892 . L893 . 1894 . 1895 . 1896 . 1S97 . 1898 . l?-99 . 1900 - ancs. Prancs. 32.00 27.00 31.50 28.00 i fl 26.00 26.50 24.50 25.50 24.00 27.00 23.50 31.00 24.00 30 50 23.511 27.00 22.00 22.00 14.00 16.50 16.00 _'.; 00 14.80 28.50 18.00 13.00 26.50 27.00 22.00 27.50 23. 50 - Supplied bj (J. P. Botti Values of declared exports of macaroni and vermicelli to the United States for the year moo. < tountry. For quarter ended — For the March 31. June 30. September 30. December 31. year. France: 54,346.55 1,314.81 17,096.00 6,921.36 '.170. 90 8834.92 825,012.66 7 176 7.1 10,326.45 9,679.91 S1U, 324. 29 ■7. 228. 7,4 21,203.75 18,903 57 593 18 840,518.42 5,919.66 Marseille 7,96 i ii ■j'.<7.7i; 1 :, 169.95 Total 29,949.62 9,097 79 47, 397,. 33 53, 253. 63 139,696.37 Italy: Castellamare di Stabia 118,046 69 6,491.45 -77 60 2,518.36 19. 643. 00 4.VJ. 30 130.1>:;.:;'.i 10. 618. 27 103,041.63 0. 856. 48 svl. 40 576. 99 4,518.00 125. 16 149,742.25 13, 543. 77 2,822. Hi 1,788.36 ■1 1.004. 00 1.041.10 501,013.96 37,509.97 1. >92. Ml 6, 228. is 54,900.00 1,803.10 1,344.77 6. 7:15. 00 1-1 M Tot.il , 148,029.40 149,065.97 116,010.66 192,941.01 mill, hit. c,7 Spain: 1. 163.60 Austria; 602 >'.:■ o ' -X-. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 534 261 A U- ( r**J. q* ■^ x m* : > V -r