The Detroit times., 1911-04-22
MICHIGAN LEADS
FOR EP|CUREs
State Has Built Up Wide Reputation
as Good Picking for
Pickles.

san AZ III n NAeA~'' ~ aNSO~e
when IL comes to producing vegeta-
bles for pickles and table sauces.
This state is, indeed, the foremost in
the union In the production Of pickle
products. This can also be said OF
Michigan In regard to the growth Of
beans and apples. Michigan apples.
the world over, are noted for their
rich flavor and soundness. And in
regard to beans, no state produces as
big crop as Michigan. The soil OF
the state is peculiarly adapted TO the
growth OF beans, apples and vegeta-
bles for sauces and pickles. Conse-
quently the pickle and fruit preserv-
ing industry OF the state Is OF vast
proportions and Importance.
AS a matter OF fact. the consump-
ton OF pickles, table sauces and fac
tory-preserved fruits has increased In
a remarkable degree within the past
10 or 10 years. One OF Detroit's lead
ing picking concerns is now put
ting up as much table sauces.
pickles and beans in a week as 1t
did in the entire year OF 1896. One
OF the explanations given by the
pickle men for the big growth in
their business is the present tenden-
cy OF the housewives to go to the
stores for their pickles and canned
fruit, and baked beans. They find.
the pickle men say, that they can
buy these goods more cheaply than
they can put them up themselves.
Furthermore, they find that the cat
sup. for instance, which they buy
in the stores will keep much longer
than their own make, once IL Is
opened. The reason that the fac
tory brand doesn't spoil as quickly
as the homemade kind is that the
former Is preserved with benzoate
OF soda, a preparation which has
been Endorsed as a preservative by
the United States government. Ben
zoate OF soda preserves the flavor OF
the tomato as we'll as keeping the
catsup fresh. The pickle men adopt
ed the use OF benzoate OF soda for
their own protection. having found
that Il was necessary to incorporate
something of preserving nature in
their catsup. IF housewife found
that her store-brand of catsup went
stale on her day or so after opening
the bottle, she Immediately con-
cluded that the catsup was bad" is
the way the pickle makers explain
their adoption OF a preservative.
For the making of catsup in the
Michigan pickle factories, most Of
the tomatoes como from this state,
which. by the way. produces the best
quality of tomato grown anywhere.
Housewives are also leaving the
cooking Of beans largely to the
pickle factories. with the result that
the output OF this product from the
factories has increased in leaps and
bounds. For instance. a Detroit fac
tory which produced 5000 cans OF
pork and beans two years ago, is
now turning out 10000 cans a day.
The beans for the Michigan factories
are all grown in this state, which
produces more beans than all the
other states in the union combined.
In the manufacture OF vinegar.
also a product OF pickle factories, is
seen one little reason why the cost
of living is high. Nowadays the
pickle men are turning out bottles Of
vinegar, containing less than a pint.
A bottle costs 10 cents. The pickle
men admit that the purchaser pays
more for the glass bottle than he
does for the vinegar. but they point
out that they produce the article in
the bottle form, because there is a
for II. The housewife living
in a small fat Is usually the person
who buys the bottled variety, they
explain. They admit that while the
store keeper is getting 10 cents for
the small bottle a whole gallon of
can be bought for 20 cents
In bulk measure.