Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-01-10
oisH. CUT A LITTLE QUEER.

Its importance Is Slightly .,eninst 1t. but
H. II .;ii Right-An interesting Trip
Tiiron:h a Fnc;ory Where 1t Is azanu-
faciurcd Funny Things in the Soup,
Haet you ever eaten macaroui. grated
up with fresh Parmesan checst and
served with gravy, Italian style? If you
have rul you have missed great treat.
In years gone by it was q fayorte dish
in restaurants in this city. but ii has
giveu place to rcwer dishes, and now ia
not to he found on any bill Of fare in
Chicago. We Eavc all wondt;,d at the
funny things we sometimes find in our
soup ~ these I.igh toned restaurants.
whe,t everything IS judged by appear
ance as wen as by smell and taste. Our
plate e mock turtle has appeared like
sort o miniature ocean, in which all
kinds Z ,Uimming things were to be
fouud 'tVre were quaint star fish,
miIa- II is true, but perfect in shape
and ""%cc There were long, strag-
Cling like thread worms that re-
quiive Il ..u1l doGl of sound reflection ON
thc1 l..e novice to get them down
witha qcaim.
There were the letters forming our
own 'itials, and oh, wonder of wonders,
the initials OF that dear fellow destined
to be our future husband How in the
world did e. X. happen to get into our
soup: There must be magic in It'll There
were shells of various descriptions
and a strip of ribbon seaweed. There
was also a 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 gooseW that we realize
that all the Shiny sea things we have
found are only limitations of the same,
made in flour 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 flour 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
flour and water ever moving and mix
ing. The dough is then transferred to
the kneading machine, which consists of
a great vat, around which a hu.. o.Nel
wheel perpendicular TO the ts, IS
ever moving round and round 49,.
cycles of eternity.
The material is now ready, and Il
that remains is to put it in shape. sr
this purpose there are several machines,
consisting Of upright steel cylinders. Of
which the bottom plate is sieve CON
tanning holes Of various sizes to suil the
various grades of macarori. ..c ...-tG
and vermicelli. Into these v........ :
stated quantity cf dough is p.. IN
a colossal weight, representa- , .es.
sure of ten tons to the square iach. is
slowly screwed down upon tie mass,
forcing it through the holes of the sieve
bottom in the desired shapes. The com
mon tube shaped macaroni and velmi.
celli, also the hairpiM and slovepipc Va
rieties are forced through in cndir.a,
length, as many strings as thera re
holes, till The dough j., cXharstc.
1t is then cat into the rlgu,-' -.....
and laid cul to dry The fancy e..uprs
are made ina horizontal cylinder. forced
throu&h plates containing holes OF the
desired shape. As the dough passes
through these holes tits ca, on short in
quarter, half or inch leityIaa L. yu lcvoly
ing knife. The dough has to tc OF If
rereut consistency for all t'r Various
varieties Great care is needed in this
respect. for if the dough is g SHADE too
light or too heavy the machinery will
not work.