The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-11
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.


make their own supply and hang it out in
the yard or on the roof 70 airy, while the
children and the family pets romp about.
over and among it. Contrast this crude
system with that in a modern American
factory.
There most Of the work is done by ma
chinery- The raw material IS received in
bulk and mixed with water in huge watts
by an ingenious mechanism There IS
also a mechanical kneading apparatus.
with teeth TO turn and keep the dough ia
place. The kneading process lasts from
l5 to 50 minutes, according 10 the quality
Of the wheat and the finencss Of the
macaroni to be produced The dough IS
next placed in mechanical presses in the
bottoms Of which are holes through which
IL is forced IN tubes. strings or shreds.
according TO the form desired. Short
lengths and fancy shapes are produced
in horizontal presses. with a knife work
ing automatically to cut them as required
Experienced Italians are frequently en-
plOyed to superntend these operations.
MacarOni is cut off as ID comes from the
presses in any length desired. There are
two methods of drying one by hanging
on racks and the other by spreading out
on trays. The drying and curing takes
week or more. great care being used to
prevent the product from Warping AMI
cracking. Before packing the defective
pieces are thrown away or sold at lower
prices.
The ideal wheat for making macaroHi is
durum. sometimes called macarOni wheat.
number OF varieties Of this wheat were
introduced into the United States I'm 1900
by the department Of agriculture. They
came principally from southern Russia
and other countries bordering on the Med
iterranean sea. They were brought to this
country TO fill a demand for hardy.
drouth-resisting spring cereal that could
be grown in the dry regions Of the west
Last year about 65.00000O bushels of the
grain were produced in America the crop
covering from 100000 to 4.0G0C0o acres.
L
| average yield per acre is higher than that
| OF other varieties of wheat. The farmers
/ received about 50 or % cents a bushel for
| their crop Ten million bushels were eX-
/ ported in 1907 to the Mediterranean re-
gion. the very home Of the dUTums. be
| cause the American crop is most desir-
! able and is needed by foreign macaroni
/ makers.
! Macaroni Is a generic name used to
! cover hundred varieties and forms Of ed
/ IDLE paste. Some Of the most common are
| vermicelli. which is cut into thin strips
! spaghetti and noodles. which may be in
/ chunks or other form. In Europe the
/ possibilities of mscarOni as an article OF
/ food are thoroughly understood, and odi-
4 bic paste is served as stellette, escargots,
| stars, rings. twists. Shells flowers.
! chains. lozenges and scores Of other forms.
/ Noodles have lately appeared in q new
/ form. in so-called alphabet soup"
/ The origin Of mscarOHi is clouded in
/ mystery. It is popularity believed that this
/ delectable and palatable dish was Orlgi-
0aIIv q product Of Italian cookery. but
| some historians claim that il was intro
duced into Italy by the early Greek colo
! nists. while others insist that a similar
| dish formed a staple article Of diet among
| the Chinese and japanese in the earliest
| times.
/ According to tradition. there lived in
/ italy in the year 1230. during the reign Of
/ King Frederick Of Suabia. a savant named
| Chico who was Teputed to be a sOrcerer-
/ Having lost fortune and friends. he con-
| ceived the idea Of unselfishly comforting
| a lasting benefit upon mankind BY invent
/ ing something good TO eat. After ne had
/ carried On experiments for many years,
| one JOvanella. wife Of the helper to the
/ kings cook stole his secret BY peering
| through his window She claimed an an
! gel had revealed dish to her in q dream.
| and she prepared IL for the king by COM
[ bining meat. cheese. tomatoes and garlic
/ The king gave her 100 pieces Of gold and
/ called the dish macarOni. after the word
/ ''macarus.'' meaning divine dish
! Jovanella grew rich selling her lll-gOtten
! reciDe to the mobiles. merchants and peas
/ ants Of Naples. After a time Chico. hav-
/ ing perfected his dish, left his retreat TO
| spread the news throughout the land. The
I first thing he noticed was a familiar smell
/ which he found proceeded from a pot OF
mscaroni. The housewife told him how
| the angel had revealed the secret to Jo-
/ vanella Chico. convinced OF the woman s
| treacherv, destroyed his apparatus and
4 left home. never to return. Some said the
devil carried him off. The legend con
/ cludes BY saving that JOvanella Tepputed
on her deathbed and confessed her fault.
Thus tardy justice was done to Chico.
/ Copyright. 1909. by Frederic J. Haskin-)
/ -rornorrour-T-bp American Egg Trade.