The Southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1895-1909, 1902-06-15
New Food Discovered.

DR.. A. T. Anderson. a gradu-
ate of the University of Minneso-
Ia, has made a discovery which
promises to revolutionlze many
branches of industry having. to
do with staple foods, according
10 the Minneapolis Journal. lie
left Minneapolis recently with
check for $4,000 advanced by
Minneapolis capitalist who have
formed a quarter OF million
dollar stock company to develop
and handle the process.
The starting point of the doc
tor was the to phenomenal action
of pop corn under the influence
of heat. Already he has succeed
ed in adding something like
sixty distinct new foods to The
list of starch products. The
process is based upon the fact
that all starch bearing food can
be made to pop" just as corn
pops when subjected to heat.
He experimental with the be-
lief that this was true and dis
covered that he could pop not
only rice, but potatoes and other
food products as well. More
over, the resultant foods were
found to EN- body rcany advanta-
ges lacking in the natural pro-
duct. For instance potatoes
can be popped and compressed
into solid cakes by hydraulic
pressure. These cakes are east
ly preserved and are easily car
ried. In order to transform
them into mashed potatoes, for
instance, all that is necessary is
a little water or milk. Rice when
popped swells up to several times
its own bulk and makes a deli,
cate food that actually mclts
away when placed on the tongue.
With other products similar en-
cellent results we're secured.
The process of popping is not
in the least complicated. 1t has
been generally supposed that
corn popped because OF the mos
ture contained in each individual
starch cell. That theory DR..
Anderson discards. He has, af
ter long investigation, come to
the conclusion that popping was
due to the expansion of the mois-
ture inside the corn, the covering
he believed to be air tight.
This is his theory: Instead of
the explosion of the kernal being
caused by the bursting of the in
dividual starch cells, thephenom-
enon is caused by the bursting of
the outer envelope of the kernel,
thus suddenly relieving the
pressure generated by the heat
acting upon the moisture cor
tanned in the grain. This called
for the factors in a denonstra-
tion-heat, pressure and a sudden
relief of pressure. The next
step was the construction of
steel cylinder which, on large
scale, should represent the
envelope of the pop corn kernel.
In this cylinder.was placed pieces
of raw potato and the recep-
ticle was closed and submitted to
a pressure of three or four at
mosheres. Heat above 22O de-
grees Fahrenheight was applied
for time and then the pressure
was suddenly released. The re-
suit proved beyond peraventure
the truth of the theory. for there
gushed up from the cylinder a
snow white toothsome mass of
popped" potato, as light as plth,
but containing all the nutrition of
the criminal huber. This is the
product that can be compressed
for transportation and restored
by soaking to prepare it for con-
sumption.
Similar tests were applied to
small balls of flour and water.
Upon release of the pressure
they popped out into full-fledged
hIScuifS 40 lirht nc fo,thars md