Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-02-08
TESTING THE FLOUR
PROCESSES THROUGH WHICH IT IS
PUT m THE MILL.

rh~ Care with which the nanufac-
turer Analyses Hi- Product Before
Ia II Placed Upon the Mnrket-Tbe
Expert Dread TasterS.
The mysteries OF bread manufacture
belong to the domain of the housewife.
The rise or fall of the biscuit. while IL
affects the digestion OF the male frac-
ton OF the household. strikes n deeper.
II not more responsive. chord OF the
feminine nature. for, after all. Every
woman must regard herself. potentially
at least, as n good cook. gust as mascu-
line character piques itself on the pow
/ CT TO elucidate a railroad time table
OF course I'm cooking. as in card play
ing, the quality OF the material is im-
pOrtant. What the player ascribes 10
bad cards the cook equally certainly
lays to poor -four. Hence the manufac-
! turers Of -four In self defense have
fallen back upon scientific methods for
| determining the quality of their flour.
When Mrs. Brown. Indignant at the
| failure Of her biscuits % three success
| sive mornings. exhausts her temper in
an indignant epi>tle 10 the manufac-
/ turer whose name appears ON the head
! Of the flour barrel, she is. after an. un-
/ consciously rendering him "a valuable
| service. for the manufacture is ,eck-
/ ing 10 provide what Mrs Brown i- iu-
/ sistcnt on receiving namely cool and
pure -four. The process OF accomplish
/ ing this is exhaustive. and it would
/ doubtless surprise Mrs Brown % learn
| that when she sifted her flour size was
| putting It through the one hundred ana
| hfty-first repetition OF this process
! When Mrs. Brown sends Lor complaint
with her own little theory Of the cause.
her letter, If properly writrcu. viii iG-
/ dicate the number Of her package. aul.
/ with this as n clew. the manufacturer
| will investigate.
To be able u fix upon the exact De
cation Of the difficulty In sd min turn
ing out thousands and thousands ~
barrels Of flour each year requires
! system which can cope with tile MAJ
nitude Of the problem. which is greatly
/ complicated by the fact that the wheat
is gathered from half dozen states.
! To do this the great mills an employ
q regular staff Of chemists Every
hour there comes 10 these chemists
samples Of the -four that is being man
ufactured. This they test and label
and file away I'm little bottles properly
| indeXcd. When Mrs Browns conn
plant comes in the chemist goes back
in his index Co the sample taken tire
hour Mrs. Browns flour was ground
and is able 10 tell AT once just what
kind OF -four the irate woman received.
where IL came from and what IT'S qu. g.
/ ity was. lie keeps these samples year.
then they give way Oh Now ones
But this IS merely tile reference
phase. To determine the purity ~
their product before Sc goes ON the
market the manufacturers have au
elaborate and comprehensive system.
which would doubtless convince Mrs
Brown OF their good faith could Size
visit one Of the great mills. The
/ process begins when the wheat comes
in. Samples Of every lot are sent
through q tiny mill which is an exact
model Of the great mill. sort OF sci.
entidc toy as wei as a valuable and
practical machine. Here tie samples
are ground. Then comes the first
test. which is denominated the gluten
test The flour is made into dough
balls. which resemble the biscuits with
which Mrs. Brown had such an Uuhap-
py experience. These are weighed and
then washed with pure water until the
raising qualities are eliminated. Ills
takes the starch out Of the dough. q
somewhat complicated result The
gluten that remains thus indicates tho
amount Of this property IN the wheat
Then there is a "doughinS test" which
consists IL making little dough pat
ties. such rs children delight in. Thes,
are placed on glass plates. and the cx
. pert determines the quality Of IL,
wheat by the color Of the variods pat
ties, while twice a day the wheat !.
critically analysed by the regular chem
lists.
But the most interesting Of all Tie
tests is the bread baking. This process
would be NJ once the admiration and
despair Of any Cood housekeeper
, / Doubtless even the masculine mind
would find charm in the resulting
bread. From samples Of 1our the loaveS
are made and then consigned to raising
ovens, where the temperature IS kept
. even. Before they are put I'm these Ov
, | ems The lOaves are measured Next they
so 10 other ovens. heated by electricity
and are baked. once baked 10 an ever
> brown. they are ruthleSsly cut In halt
and turned over 10 the expert taStins
. committee. which decides upon thcii
= I relative merit. labels them and indi
Gates the mill from which the -four Il
them came and the wheat growing dis
trict which produced them. Not infre
, I Quently the tasting committee decide
that two brands of -four must he blend
, ed 10 produce a harmonious loaf. an,
, this is done and the baking experiment
, ! repeated. Out of all this tasting an,
blending. weighing and testing. Mrs
, Browns flour is finally evolved. cata
lOSued and placed on the shelves Of th
, reference library of hour 10 be One
! more tested by the librarian chemiS
. when Mrs Browns complaint. induce,
i, 10y q steady drop i'm her biscuits. come
=, 10 him.-New York Tribune
, The Brides Pie.