Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-02-04
STRIKING PROOF OF THE VALUE OF
MAIZE AS \ FOODSTUFF.
MERITS OF "BLENDED" FLOUR.
MAKES THE FINEST BREAD. PIES,
wAFF'LES AND MUFFINS.
Addition of Corn Flour to Wheat
Flour Chcapens Ii and Improves
Rather Than Deteriorntes
It-HOw Corn Flour
Is Made.

ar hour were made. given away and eaten
to-day at the Farmers institute, besides
bread, waffIes, pies and mullins almost
without limit. All were made of the blend
ed corn and wheat -four that certain inter-
csts are saying should be taxed out of eX-
istence. Every biscuit and every loaf of
bread was as light and delicate as tn"
prize articles at cooking school, and all
were pronounced the equal of any all
wheat biscuit or bread they had eaten.
Many declared that the taste and favor
We're better
The blending of the flour and the making
of the bread and the biscuit was done in
the presence of the crowd. Those in charge
OF the work stood by and showed the peo-
pie that, with the blended article, better
and cheaper foods could be made than
with all wheat flour. The total capacity of
the mills of this city is 1900 bushels of
corn a day, and they are running full all
of the time. Taking the average yield of
corn as fifty bushels TO the acre this is 4
utilization every day of the product of 26O
acres.
Part of the corn used by these mills is
made into the corn flour. now just coming
into general notice. although it has been
made in small way for twenty or thirty
years. This corn flour is sold all over the
world. Every week several cars of il leave
product of one of the mills here is export
ed. The rest of it is sold principally in the
South. where it is mixed with wheat flour
and sold for just what it is. blended -four
that is cheaper than the all wheat -four
None of it is mixed in this city with wheat
flour.
Although corn -four has been made for
many years it has been made profitable
and successfully only the last four years.
fected so that it can be made economical
ly. This has made it possible to use mil
lions of bushels of corn for human food
that otherwise would not have been used
that way.
Corn flour has no resemblance whatever
to cornmeal. 1t looks like the finest wheat
flour. 1t is made from the best white corn.
after the corn has the germ and hull re-
moved, been thoroughly cleaned, kiln dried
and then made into what is known in the
trade as ordinary white hominy. From
hominy to flour the treatment is about the
same as in grinding wheat, but it takes
several times as much power to grind corn
us it does wheat. In its granular nature
the flour resembles the spring wheat flour.
Corn flour keeps sweet longer than any
other ground cereal. 1t has not been known
to mould.
Germ flour can be used alone in pam
cakes. but in all other ways IL must he
mixed with wheat Hour. At the farmers
institute the per cent of corn flour to the
total amount of flour used was, for bis
cunt and pie crust. p: for bread. 10 to ~.
and for wafties. - TO 80. Containing no
gluten, the corn flour requires less short
ening. and for that reason less lard
In the piecrust made at the institute half
much shortening was used as would
have been necessary If all wheat flour
had been used. yet the crust was as short
and flaky as the most experienced pastry
cooks desired.
Bread made with 20 per cent of corn
flour is sweeter and has a more nutty
flavor than all wheat bread. 1t is not
darker. as some have claimed. but is. on
the contrary. likely to be whittier. 1t is
fully as nutritious as all wheat flour.
blended flour has been tried in one of
the biggest cracker factories in the coun-
try, and has been found to make as good
crackers as the all wheat -four, and at Il
much less cost.
Economy is the great argument in favor
of corn flour. The use of corn and wheat
together reduces the price of flour to the
consumer 30 cents in a retail way, when 20
! per cent of corn flour Is blended with the
wheat flour, on every hundred pounds OF
the quality in the least. but rather improv-
ing it in many instances. As a rule ten
while it takes 50 cents to get ten pounds
of wheat flour.
Corn flour is already in use all over the
/ world. In parts of Europe il has been used
much more extensively than in this coun-
| try. In several Australian cities siTe the
price of wheat began to rise IN tfe last
year or SO the mayors of the city haze ad-
vised the use of corn flour with the wheat
| flour and it is said that one mayor COM
PEELED its use in large bakeries uner his
| control.
| So far as known. all of the corr flour
| miIlers are willing to have enacteda n law
| compelling them TO mark blended every
sack of flour containing corn and wheat
| flour. They are not trying to sli
adulterated flour. but a flour made corn
and wheat. This fact was distinctly
| shown by the protest presented the visit
| ors at the Farmers institute and signed
| by nearly all who tried the biscu and
| bread made there.
| The protest is addressed to congrss and
| demonstrates against the passage ora bill
| placing n tax blended flour mde by
| mixing corn and wheat flour 1t dclareS
| that such n measure would be agaist the
| interests of the great body of conumerS
| of the country. detrimental to the -eifare
| of the producers of the great cor belt.
| and of benefit to no one except the nllerS
| combine of the northwest.
| One of the measures that IL ha! been
| proposed to pass does not positive pro
| hibit the blending of corn andwheat
| flour but II imposes on blended Dur a
| tax of 40 cents on the 100 pounds. This
| would prevent its sale y prohibit'y law
| cannot he enacted against this flour hut u
| tax can be imposed under the CUR OF Il
| measure for the purpose of raistt reve-
| nue., and such tax would prohit the