Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-02-09
New Process Flour.

The Boston Herald gives an interesting
description of the Hungarian, or new pro-
cess, of grinding wheat. 1t says "It has
long been known TO flour makers that the
centre of the kernel of wheat, or germ, is of
a waxy, albuminous nature, which tends to
make the -four black and heavy rather than
white and fluffy, like the starchy portion OF
the kernel between the germ and the hull.
Millers have long made it study, since the
American people have gone dyspeptically
crazy over fine -four, TO know how to grind
wheat 80 as to leave as little of the inside or
waxy portion of the grain in the -four as
possible, and yet 10 gave all Of the stsrchy
portion, which alone makes the flour white
and light. 1t is Just here that the success
of the Hungarian, or new process, has been
achieved. Wheat ground by the old process,
between two millstones, the upper revolving
upon the lower, is, Of course, separated into
atoms, and the flour must necessarily con-
tain some of the bran or woody part and
nearly all of the germ or waxy part. The
Hungarian, or steel roller process, works
upon a principle entirely new in wheat
grinding. In fact, the wheat is not ground
at all. 1t is simply crushed between re-
volving rollers. The rollers are about thirty
two inches long and eight inches in diane
ter. 1t takes from five to ten sets of rollers
to constitute a mill. The first are made of
steel and corrugated, while, toward the last
sets, they are very accurately made and
finely polished, running very closely to-
gether, till down 10 the last set, where they
are made of porcelaine, and are so finely pol
ished and run so closely as to absolutely
crush everything to the finest powder, or
flatten it out TO the thinest film. The wheat
passes through each set of rollers and
is bolted for each set Passing the first
or corrugated set Of rollers, the wheat
is simply cracked into three or four pieces,
| and great deal of the starchy portion of the
kernel comes out in fine powder or dust.
But it does not 60 off in dust 1t passes
through the boiling cloth and makes the
high-priced new process flour, while the
coarser, uncrushed portion of the wheat
passes on over the bolt and through the next
set of rollers which crack it into from eight TO
ten pieces, and more starchy matter falls out
This starchy portion passes through the
bolt, and makes the second grade of flour
Thus the wheat passes on, being broken
finer by each set of rollers, and the starchy
portion being separated by the bolt, till af-
ter passing through the last set but little is
left except the hulls or bran, and the waxy
germs, which have not fallen into powder
but have flattened out very thin like wax
This new milling process is completely rev
olutionizipg the business Of flour making
When first tried in this country it met al
the prejudice OF millers who had been ed
ucated to the milestone, and, the new pro
cess having generally been first tried in the
southwestern regions, where the wheat growr
is white and starchy, the value of the rollerl
above the millstones did not appear 81
plainly. But when about four years ago tn
rollers came to be tried upon the hard
flinty, red Minnesota wheat, their value be
gan to appear in its true light. The Min
neapolis millers, especially, are tearing ou
their millstones and putting in rollers. The
believe that the day of the milestone is done
1t is said that mill machinery of the oil
style can be had almost for the removing il
Touring cities of the west. The Minnesot
millers find that their wheat produces a
fine and as white -four as the grain Of Mil
souri, and southern Illinois, though they b'
lieved under the old milestone rule that thei
e wheat was doomed to make darker an
heavier -four They were aware that, i
sweet, albuminous parts, their grain wa
fully equal to the southern white wheat
but they needed the Hungarian rollers
separate the waxy germs and thus raise th
grade of their Hour"