A young German chemist, Kirchoff, was
engaged in an industrial research which re¬
quired the use of gum arabic. Dextrin, a
carbohydrate very similar to gum arabic in
physical properties, had been prepared from
starch as early as 1804 by the action of dry
heat. Kirchoff made an attempt to prepare
dextrin as a substitute for the gum arabic
needed in his experiments. In order to pre¬
vent the discoloration which inevitably oc¬
curs in the preparation of dextrin from starch
by the use of dry heat, he tried to prepare it
by the use of moist heat in the presence of
acid. The change was allowed to proceed
too far; after neutralization of the acid, fil¬
tration and concentration of the resulting
liquid, a sweetish sirup resulted instead of the
gummy one expected. This accidental dis¬
covery of glucose was of great importance to
the warring European countries. They had
little sugar but an abundance of potato
starch from which glucose could be prepared.
This same process, modernized and very
much improved, is the basis of an extensive
industry in this country which puts these
sirups on the market in various forms. Glu¬
cose sirup, which commonly goes under the
name of "corn sirup,” is less sweet than the
sirups which contain sucrose and levulose.
Corn sirup in the consumer package usually
has added sucrose.
Sweetose is the trade name of a corn sirup
prepared by using an enzyme instead of the
usual acid digestion to break down the starch
to the simple sugars. Sweetose contains more
dextrose than corn sirup, is sweeter, less vis¬
cous, and more suitable for certain uses in
food preparation than ordinary corn sirup.
Mixed table sirups are prepared with com¬
mercial glucose as a base. Other sirups are
added to commercial glucose for flavor. In
some cases, only enough sucrose or cane sirup
is used to sweeten the product. The sirups
may be colored with caramel, and synthetic
flavors may be added. When glucose is used
as a base for, or is added to, other sirups, they
must be labeled "mixed table sirups.” These
mixed sirups do not contain the minerals
present in some natural sirups.
Honey is the sirup which bees make from
the nectar of flowers and deposit for winter
use in the familar wax comb. At first, the
honey was available only from the storage
places of wild bees. Now bees have been
domesticated, and beekeeping is an im¬
portant industry. Honey is defined as "the
nectar and saccharine exudations of plants,
gathered, modified, and stored by the honey
bee.”
Honey is available on the market in three
forms: comb honey, extracted honey, and
strained honey. There was formerly a prej¬
udice in favor of comb honey because it was
less likely to be adulterated. The operation
of the pure-food laws has made the adultera¬
tion of honey more difficult than formerly,
and has restored confidence in the extracted
form. This is the economical form in which
to buy honey because of the greater ease of
transportation, and the extra yield of honey
which results when artificial combs are sup¬
plied to the hive. This saves the bees the
work of making the wax. Wax is made and
secreted from special glands in the abdomen
of the worker bee. Several pounds of honey
are used by the bee in the production of a
pound of wax.
Page 28
Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A young German chemist, Kirchoff, was engaged in an industrial research which re¬ quired the use of gum arabic. Dextrin, a carbohydrate very similar to gum arabic in physical properties, had been prepared from starch as early as 1804 by the action of dry heat. Kirchoff made an attempt to prepare dextrin as a substitute for the gum arabic needed in his experiments. In order to pre¬ vent the discoloration which inevitably oc¬ curs in the preparation of dextrin from starch
by the use of dry heat, he tried to prepare it by the use of moist heat in the presence of acid. The change was allowed to proceed too far; after neutralization of the acid, fil¬ tration and concentration of the resulting liquid, a sweetish sirup resulted instead of the gummy one expected. This accidental dis¬ covery of glucose was of great importance to the warring European countries. They had little sugar but an abundance of potato starch from which glucose could be prepared.
This same process, modernized and very much improved, is the basis of an extensive industry in this country which puts these sirups on the market in various forms. Glu¬ cose sirup, which commonly goes under the name of "corn sirup,” is less sweet than the sirups which contain sucrose and levulose. Corn sirup in the consumer package usually has added sucrose.
Sweetose is the trade name of a corn sirup prepared by using an enzyme instead of the usual acid digestion to break down the starch to the simple sugars. Sweetose contains more dextrose than corn sirup, is sweeter, less vis¬ cous, and more suitable for certain uses in food preparation than ordinary corn sirup.
Mixed table sirups are prepared with com¬ mercial glucose as a base. Other sirups are added to commercial glucose for flavor. In some cases, only enough sucrose or cane sirup is used to sweeten the product. The sirups may be colored with caramel, and synthetic flavors may be added. When glucose is used as a base for, or is added to, other sirups, they must be labeled "mixed table sirups.” These mixed sirups do not contain the minerals present in some natural sirups.
Honey is the sirup which bees make from the nectar of flowers and deposit for winter use in the familar wax comb. At first, the honey was available only from the storage places of wild bees. Now bees have been domesticated, and beekeeping is an im¬ portant industry. Honey is defined as "the
nectar and saccharine exudations of plants, gathered, modified, and stored by the honey bee.”
Honey is available on the market in three forms: comb honey, extracted honey, and strained honey. There was formerly a prej¬ udice in favor of comb honey because it was less likely to be adulterated. The operation of the pure-food laws has made the adultera¬ tion of honey more difficult than formerly, and has restored confidence in the extracted form. This is the economical form in which to buy honey because of the greater ease of transportation, and the extra yield of honey which results when artificial combs are sup¬ plied to the hive. This saves the bees the work of making the wax. Wax is made and secreted from special glands in the abdomen of the worker bee. Several pounds of honey are used by the bee in the production of a pound of wax.