The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-11-20
SPICES.
Pepper, Gloves, Ginger, and Mustard All Doc
tored for Gain.

knowledge of science and the ingenu-
ity of trade are freely exercised. Pure
spices are debased for p%ecuniary profit
by adding to them interior or spurious
articles, or by taking from them u
or more of their constituents. The OBJ
iects of adulleration are to increase the
bulk or weight Of the article TO im-
prove its appearance, to give it q
false strength, and to rob 1t of its most
valuable constituents. The practice
las grown with the competition of
trade, and in spite of severe laws pro.
hibiting it.
People know so little about spice
that it can be adultcrated with very
slight chance of discovery. An ey-
pert, however, can tell it ut once.
The head of the spice department OF
a grocery firm in tins city, says The
NeW York. Sun. said:
10 be sure of aduiteratlon, one
needs only to look at the price-lists IS
sued by firms which sell spices. The
pr.ce Il ground spice is often less
than that of the uuground articles
which is absurd on its face. I'm
GROUND pepper can not be sold for less
nan ii cents 4 pound, and vet we find
ground pepper offered for ) and 8
cents a pound. Ground ginger is OF.
tered at . ent5 n pound, while the uu-
ground IS 5 cents. This means that
the ground spice has been heavily
aduiteratcd with some cheap material.
Some firms go SO far US to advertise
adulterated goods, and cvade the law
By calling them compounds.
"biack pepper is adultered with a
substance called pepper dust, made
from cocoanut shells, and also with
buckwheat bulls. charcoal. white
meal, and mustard bran. Cocoanut
shells, when ground up very fine,
are used very generally as an adulter-
ant OF spices, as there is no taste to in
teriere with the flavor of the spice.
buck"heat hulis. otherwise worthless.
are q source Of profit to millers. as
they are worth Il cents a pound for
adulterating purposes. The charcoal
gives a black appearance to the pep
per-"
The informant put a sample of the
best Malaga pepper beside a poor
quality of black pepper. The Malaga
pepper could readily be distinguished
because of its lighter color. MIR. Mil
Ter mixed some white meal with the
common pepper and it became so like
the best pepper that it could hardly
be told apart.
You see." he said, "that / have not
only adulterated the pepper. but /
have, to all appearances, Improved its
quality"
'Nhite pepper is a~duiterated with
white meal, terra alba, and rice flour.
Terra alba Is fine marble dust. and
enormous quaint les are exported from
Italy for purposes of ad~ultcration.
Gypsum, sand, starch, mustard, husks,
and various kinds of meal are used for
aduiterating pepper. but not to so
" al lC lllJOS i nave
mentioned. Cayenne pepper is adult
teratcd with white meal, Tenitian red,
and salt, the three being ground to-
gether. The salt gives 4 brighter
color to the red, which is itself 4
poisonous article. This ~doctoring is
practiced on African pepper, a dull
red pepper, worth only s cents a
pound, in order to bring it up to the
brilliant color of Natal pepper, worth
30 cents a pound. The fraudulent
article can be detected by placing a
small quantity on a sheet of white
paper and rubbing it with the finger.
The Venetian red will make red
marks on the paper.
Ginger is adultera,ed with meal,
rice flour, starch, cayenne pepper,
and manila rope. Ginger root has a
very fine, hair-like fiber running
through it. and this is found in the
ground article. Country people will
not buy it unless they see the tibers,
and bits of manila rope are used to
onS z paw j VIC IdlSt arLlclo,
The cayenne pepper makes the taste
sharper. A drop of ammonia will ex-
pose this compound by turning it red.
Chrome yellow. poisonous substance,
is sometimes used for coloring.
Gloves, worth 30 cents a pound.
are adulterated with clove-stems
worth 2 cents a pound. These Glove
stems are the little green twigs from
which the cloves are plucked. Cloves
are also adulterated with pepper-dust
and allspice is also treated in the same
way.
considerable ingenuity is shown IN
adulterating cinnamon and nutmeg.
Old crackers or -four are baked brown
in an oven and ground up fine, and
this is mixed with the ground CHINA
mon and nutmeg. In adultering mace
Venetian red is mixed with the crack
or dust.
Mustard is adultoratcd with sapo
flour. starch, rice flour, and wheat
flour, and colored with aniline color
ings. The fraud can readily be de-
tected, as the compound becomes blue
when treated with a solution of iodine.
The common German and French
mustard is made up of a compound of
mustard. cracker dust, and CAYENNE
pepper, and is favored with sugar, oil,
and vinegar to suit the 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"