Milford chronicle., 1925-06-05
Short Crop Of Strawberries
Offset Partly By Advanced Prices
Rain Comes Late Berries Will Produce More Abundan Hun
dreds Employed In Gaping Berries For Cold Pact Output Fol
Use During Winter Months.

them to come to the plant and WOrl
until it's time to go to school in the
morning, and also after school il
the afternoon. Some children who
wanted to make some extra money
were able to make many dollars be-
fore and after school by Gaping and
also on Saturdays. That the job is
attractive is evidenced by the fact
that there are usually more persons
applying for the work than there
are places for. The plant as it stands
will accommodate 295 cappers.
Berries From Virginia
These berries so far have come
from Virginia in refrigerator cars
and are smaller than most of the
Delaware strawberries picked this
year. But they are just as good as
the large ones for the cold pack. If
the berries are sandy they are wash
ed after being capped, but the Vir-
ginia fruit has apparently come from
soil that was pretty clean, because
it was not found necessary to wash
them at times.
AS fast as the berries are capped
they are packed away in barrels, a
layer of berries and a layer, of gran
ulated sugar. The barrels are new
and air tight and as soon as they are
filled are stored in cold storage un-
til trucks arrive to carry them to
Philadelphia where they are immed-
lately placed in cold storage. There
oil cold An
that during the snow and ice of next
winter will use them to make
strawberry ice cream and serve on
sundaes at soda water fountains.
Recipe A Secret
According to those who make a
business of cold packing strawber-
ries, the berries keep splendidly if
retained in cold storage. They have
the same flavor and freshness when
the barrels are opened as though
they had just been picked and sug-
ared down. A peculiar feature is that
if there is any sand or grit in the
fruit when it is packed in the bar
rels, the sand gradually works its
way to the bottom of the barrel be-
cause it is heavier than either the
fruit or juice. And for the same rea-
son if any of the strawberries have
been carelessly capped and some of
the feathers" remain about the ber-
ries, these gradually work them
selves to the top of the barrel. So, |
that when the barrel is opened the
refuse tops can be scooped off and |
the sand if any about the berries re-
mains at the bottom.
The Ross Company has been able |
to obtain Strawberries for half the
price paid the Delaware growers in
the city markets, but this week the
firm expects to begin cold packing
Delaware Strawberries.
Each packer of cold pack straw
berries has his own particularly rec
ipe and if any one asks about the
method and formula, he receives as
much encouragement as a publicly
advertised gold brick swindler. Each
recipe is carefully guarded and only
trusted employees are let into the
secret. But the general plan is the
same, which is air-tight new barrels,
granulated sugar and fruit. Brown
sugar has been tried but doesn't do.
Necessary sanitary conditions
about the cold pack plants are re-
Iuirements which state officials look
after in the regular course of their
luties and the public is thus insur-
ID clean fruit.