The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-01-14
THE PRESS.
TUESDAY MORNING. JAN. IA.
THE MAKING OF MAccARoNi.
italian1 Artists who Mould tho
Queer Looking Food.
rChicago Herald.

Queer Looking Food.
rChicago Herald
Have you ever eaten macaroni, gra6ed
up with fresh Parmesan cheese and
served with gravy, italian style? If you
have not you have missed great treat.
In years gone by it was favorite dish
in restaurants in this city, but it has
given place to newer dishes, and now is
not to be found on any bill of fare in
Chicago. We have all wondered 1T the
funny things we sometimes find IN our
soup at these high toned restaurants,
where everything is judged by sqpear-
ance as well as by smell and tote. Our
plate of mock turtle has "ppeared like
sort of miniature ocesn, in which all
kinds of swimming trings were to be
found. There were quaint star fish,
miniature, it is true, put perfect in shape
and appearance. There were long, stray
Cling things like thread worms that re-
Guired a good deal of sound reflection on
the part of the novice 70 get them down
without a qualm.
There were the letters forming our
own initials, and oh, wonder of wonders,
the initials of that dear fellow destined
to be our future husbard: How in the
world did G.. Z. happen to get into our
soupT There must be magic i'll It'll There
weae shells of various descriptions
and a strip of ribbon seaweed. There
was also hairpin, which must have
been dropped out of some fair ones head
as she leaned over the side of vessel.
But our soup is getting cold as we lose
ourselves in the study of its wonderful
possibilities, and it is not till our more
experienced friend to the left whispers,
"Macaroni, you goose!" that we realize
that all the Shiny sea things we have
found are only limitations of the same,
made in -four and water.
How is it done anyway? You want to
know. Well, come with me to the north
side, and there, at 101 Indiana street.
you shall find the largest factory of the
kind on the continent, where macaroni
in thick strips and macaroni in thin
strips, and vermicelli in true love knots,
and noodles that are not human, and
condensed -four and water in the shape
OF worms that do everything but crawl,
and neck frills that look as if they only
needed to be put round your neck and
fastened with pin, and pockethandker-
chiefs half unfolded, and imitation pump
kin seed and rice, and wedding rings and
nutshells and various parts of machinery,
such as cogwheels and nuts, are all dis
played in neat boxes, with glass lids, so
that you may see exactly what you want
before you purchase.
The obliging proprietor, Signor Canepa,
is waiting TO show us over, and we will
descend with him into the basement
where all the machinery is at work and
see how it is done. First, there is the
steam flour sitter, that sits it out so fine
that hardly grain of dust can get
through with the flour. The latter is
then mixed with water to the consistency
of very thick dough. This is also done
by steam in pan where two curved
scythes in perpetual motion keep the
-four and water ever moving and mix
ing. The dough is then transferred to
the kneading machine, which consists Of
great vat, around which huge steel
wheel perpendicular to the trough is
ever moving round and round like the
cycles of eternity.
The material is now ready, and all
that remains is to put it in shape. For
this purpose there are several machines,
consisting of upright steel cylinders, Of
which the bottom plate is a sieve con-
tanning holes of various sizes to suit the
various grades of macaroni, spaghetti
and vermicelli. Into these cylinders
stated quantity of dough is placed, when
colossal weight, representing a pres
sure of ten tons to the square inch, is
slowly screwed down upon the mass,
forcing it through the holes of the sieve
bottom in the desired shapes. The COM
mon tube shaped macaroni and vermi-
cell, also the hairpin and stovepipe va
rieties, are forced through in endless
length, as many strings as there are
holes, till the dough is exhausted.
1t is then cut into the required sizes
and laid out to dry. The fancy shapes
are made in a horizontal cylinder, forced
through plates containing holes of the
desired shape. As the dough passes
through these holes it is cut off short in
quarter, half or inch lengths by revolv-
ing knife. The dough has to be of diff
ferent consistency for all the various
varieties. Great care is needed in this
respect, for if the dough is shade too
light or too heavy the machinery will
not work.
Once through the cylinders, the per-
fected comestible falls into the metal
trays provided for it, and all that is now
necessary is to dry it. 1t is now taken
by young girls and laid out in even rows
upon canvas trays, which are sent up on
the great elevators to the floors above.
Three stories are required for this pro-
cess. Great experience is needed in the
drying, for the whole success of the
"brew" depends upon whether or not
this is done successfully. Macaroni which
appears drier than Saratoga chips to the
novice is known by the experienced OBJ
orator to be quite damp, and if it is put
away in this condition mold and destruc-
ton will surely follow. The three floors
hold about $500 trays, each three feet
square. An exception to this process is
the hairpin variety, which is hung upon
poles till about half dry, and then laid
on the trays The drying process in fine
weather takes about seven days. In
"mean, damp weather" twice that time.
The establishment was beautifully
clean throughout, as indeed place de-
voted to the manufacture of food always
should be. The operators are all Italians,
the machines being operated by men, the
drying arrangements by young girls.
The latter earn from 81 to S. week.
This is not magnificent, but unskilled
labor is rarely remunerative. The men,
of course earn mechanics WAGES
Whether there is trust among them or
not did not learn. They all seem very
happy and satisfied with their work