The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-11-04
ADuLrERArED SPICES.
Pepper, Gloves, Ginger, and Mustard nh
Doctorcd for Gain.

10 be sure Of adulteration, one needs
only TO look at the price lists issued by
firms which sell spices. The price OF
ground spice is often less than that of the
unground article, which is absurd on its
face. Unground pepper cannot be sold for
less than fourteen cents pound, and yet
we find ground pepper offered for five and
six cents pound. Ground ginger is offered
at five cents a pound, while the unground
is eight cents. This means that the ground
spice has been heavily adulterated with
some cheap material Some firms go SO far
as to advertise adulterated goods, and evade
the law by calling them compounds.
Black pepper is adulterated with sub.
stance colled pepper dust, made from cocoa
nut shells, and also with buckwheat hulls
charcoal, white meal and mustard bran.
Cocoanut shells, when ground up very fine,
are used very generally as an adulterant
of spices, as there is no Taste to interfere
with the flavor of the spice. Buckwheat
bulls, otherwise worthless, are source of
profit to millers, as they are worth two and
half cents pound for adulterating pur-
poses. The charcoal gives black appear
ance to the pepper"
Cayenne pepper is adulterated with white
meal, Venetian red, and salt, the three be-
ing ground together The salt gives a
brighter color to the red, which is itself a
poisonous article. This doctoring is prac-
tised on African pepper, dull red pepper
worth only eight cents pound in order to
bring it up to the brilliant color of Natal
pepper, worth thirty cents pound. The
fraudulent article can be detected by plac-
ing small quantity on sheet of white pa.
per and rubbing it with the finger. The
venetian red will make red marks on the
paper
Ginger is adulterated with meal, rice
hour, starch, cayenne pepper, and manila
rope. Ginger root has very fine hair-like
fibre running through it, and this is found
in the ground article. Country people will
not buy it unless they see the fibres, and
bits of manila rope are used to take thei
place in the false article. The cayenne pep.
per makes the taste sharper. drop OF
ammonia will expose this compound by
turning it red. Chrome yellow, poisonous
substance, is sometimes used for coloring.
Gloves, worth twenty cents o pound,
are adulterated with Glove stems worth two
cents pound. These Glove stems are the
little green twigs from which the cloves are
plucked. Gloves are also adulterated with
pepper dust, and allspice is also treated in
tho same way.
Considerable ingenuity is shown in
adulterating cinnamon and nutmeg. OLD
crackers or flour are baked brown in m
oven and ground up fine, and this is mixed
with the ground cinnamon and nutmeg. In
adulterating mace, Venetian red ia mixed
with the cracker dust.
Mustard is adulterated with sago flour,
starch, rice flour, and wheat flour, and col
ored with aniline colorings. The fraud can
readily be detected, as the compound be.
comes blue when treated with solution of
iodine. The common German and French
mustard is made up of compound of mus
lard, cracker dust, and cayenne pepper, and
is favored with sugar, oil, and vinegar to
ait tho taste.
Another method of abusing cloves is by
extracting their essential oils. This is done
in Europe by boiling them, and in this
country by pressing out the OIL"