AN IMPROVEMENT IN PREPARING PEAS AND PEARL AND SCOTCH BARLEY FOR CULINARY PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Symington, of Little Bowden, in the County
of Northampton, Coffee Roaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN PREPARING PEAS AND PEARL AND SCOTCH BARLEY FOR CULINARY PURPOSES."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Symington, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 25th April 1855, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SYMINGTON, of Little Bowden, in the County of Northampton, Coffee Roaster,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
PREPARING PEAS AND PEARL AND SCOTCH BARLEY FOR CULINARY PURPOSES," and
have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
declaration that I verily believe myself to be the first and true Inventor
thereof:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Symington, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully
describes and ascertains the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, viz. :-
The nature of my said Invention consists in a method of preparing peas and
pearl and Scotch barley for soups, puddings, and other culinary purposes. It is
well known that peas, as ordinarily used for the purpose of making soups and
puddings, require, according to the process heretofore employed, to be boiled

page_text: for several hours, and frequently after being so boiled still remain insoluble
and unfit for the purpose intended. The same is the case with pearl and
Scotch barley; whereas, by the mode of preparation about to be described, the
peas and barley may be prepared so as to be soluble and suitable for making
soup and puddings ready for table in one minute, without any subsequent
process of boiling.
The process adopted by me in preparing peas and barley is as follows:—
The peas in their natural condition are placed in a steam-tight cylinder, and
subjected to the action of steam at a pressure of from 60 to 100 pounds to the
inch, by which means the peas become thoroughly cooked, and undergo a
chemical change, which renders them more wholesome than when cooked in
the ordinary manner. The peas are then taken from the cylinder, and placed
upon a kiln and dried in any convenient manner, as by the use of any of the
dessicating processes, which are well understood, the peas so dried are passed
through a pair of stones, by which means the kernel of the peas is separated
from the husk, the latter being removed by a blower or fan, as in the ordinary
process of winnowing. The kernel of the pea is then ground to a fine
powder, and dressed through silk, lawn, or wire sieves. The powder so
obtained forms one of the best and most nutritious of light diets; it is soluble
and fit for immediate use for puddings, soup, and other culinary purposes
without boiling. The pearl or Scotch barley is prepared by a process exactly
similar to the above, with the exception that the barley may be crushed
without being subjected to the process of grinding.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would observe that
what I claim as my Invention is, the preparing peas and barley by subjecting
them to high-pressure steam, producing a powder as above described, which is
soluble and fit for use in the preparation of soup, or for other culinary
purposes, without the process of boiling.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Symington, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and fifte fire
WILLIAM SYMINGTON. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the above-named
William Symington, in the presence of
W ANDREWS, Sol.,
Harboro'.