H op-drying in the Saaz and Hallertau d istricts.
A. H. Bu r g e s s (J. Inst. Brew., 1930, 36, 97—98).—
The kilns, which are of the “ Linhart ” type, have three floors superimposed above a bottom floor, which is in the form of a drawer with a perforated iron bottom, and which is furnished with small wheels to perm it its withdrawal from the kiln. The hops are loaded to a depth of 4 in. and dried for 1 hr. on the top floor. They are then dropped to the under floor for a similar interval, and the top floor is reloaded with fresh hops. A t the end of the second hour the hops gravitate a step lower, and are eventually removed from the kiln in the bottom floor, the whole process, from loading to removal, having taken about 4 hrs. The temperature of the drying air is in the region of 38° between the top and second floors. The hot air may either pass directly from the heater through the hops, or may be led into flues and adm itted beneath any, or all, of the four layers of hops'.
A “ L in lia rt” kiln with-a floor area of 162 sq. ft. will dry about 1000 imperial bushels of green hops in
24 hrs. C. Ra n k e n.
Com parative brew ing trials w ith new and co m m ercial varieties of hops. W. T. Sm i t h and A. J.
Co s b i e (J. Inst. Brew., 1930, 36, 91—96 ; cf. B., 1928, 941).—The hybridisation of Continental and Oregon hops with English male hops has produced hops of very high preservative power, bu t has not eliminated entirely the flavours peculiar to the foreign female parent.
Such hops are therefore of value as substitutes for foreign hops. The limitations of judging hops by hand examination cannot be overlooked as certain hops, the appearance of which has been unfavourable during the past three years, have consistently shown superior analytical and brewing results. C. Ra n k e n.
E xtra-com pression of hops. T. K . Wa l k e r,
J. J. H . Ha s t i n g s, and A. G. Aldous (J. Inst. Brew., 1930, 36, 99—104).—The hops were re-pressed 10 weeks after the original packing, and could be compressed to about half the normal -volume without mechanical damage. Compressed hops deteriorated more slowly than normally pressed hops, and retained their preserva
tive powers and appearance up to a period of 18 months as well as did normal hops kept in cold store. Extra- compression was also of advantage during cold storage, and the advantage was greater according to the extent of compression. The advisability of extra-compression a t the time of packing requires further investigation.
C. Ra n k e n.
Effect of varyin g the steeping period of barley.
C. H. Jo y c e ( J . Inst. Brew., 1930, 36, 131).—The steeped barleys were malted, and the extract of the m alt was determined and referred to the original barley.
Steeping periods of 65 hrs. in the case of Scotch barley and of 60 hrs. in the case of Danubian barley were too long, and resulted in a decrease in the am ount of extract
per quarter of barley, whereas a period of 50 hrs. with the Karachi, and more especially with the very dry Cali
fornian Mariout, barley was insufficient, and also resulted in a loss of extract. The malting loss with the Danubian barley was abnormally high. C. Ra n k e n.
D eterm ination of relative diastatic powers of m alt. E. C. Si l b e r n a g e l (Ind. Eng. Chem. [Anal.], 1930, 2, 31-—32).—A “ p a s te ” of ordinary potato starch is stated to give more consistent results than soluble starch in Ling’s method (B., 1900, 1029).
F. E. Da y.
D eterm ination of liquefying power of m alt d iastase. S . Jó z s a and H . C. Go r e (Ind. Eng. Chem.
[Anal.], 1930, 2, 26—28).—The substrate is potato starch paste containing 84-22 g. of dry starch in 2000 g., buffered with acetate (pn 4-6), the reaction of the mixture being 5-0—5-2. The “ p a s te ” is broken down by stirring with a high-speed mixer.
A 100-c.c. pipette, water-jacketed, is used for determin
ing the relative viscosities, and should have outflow times of 55—57 sec. for water and 210—250 sec. for glycerin of 1-2138. The time of outflow of the stirred starch paste after straining through a 100-mesh sieve should agree within 10—15 sec. a t 21° with th a t of the glycerin. A curve is constructed by mixing portions of the paste with various proportions of the same paste which has been completely liquefied by the action of m alt, and in which the enzyme has been then destroyed by heat, and plotting the outflow times of the mixtures as percentages of the original (diluted with water to equalise starch concentration) against mg. of starch liquefied. In the test 15 c.c. of 2% m alt infusion are allowed to act on 150 c.c. of the substrate for 1 hr. a t 21°, and the time of outflow is determined. The number of mg. of starch liquefied is read off from the graph, and this, divided by mg. qf.m alt in the extract, gives liquefying power. F. E. Da y.
Acid substances entering into the com position of w in es. L. Se m ic h o n and M. Fl a n z y (Ann. Falsif., 1930,23, 5—19).—The total acidity of a wine is regarded as the quantity of carbon dioxide th a t 1 vol. of wine sets free from an excess of calcium carbonate, and may be expressed as c.c. of normal liquid, or by the amount of sulphuric or tartaric acid liberating the same quantity of carbon dioxide. The value is found by covering 250 mg. of very finely-ground calcium carbonate with boiling water, adding 20 c.c. of the wine drop by drop and shaking, and finally boiling the mixture for 5 min.
The amount of carbon dioxide not attacked is deter
mined, and the quantity liberated by the wine calcu
lated from the value. The method may be regarded as indicating exactly the saturation of all the carboxyl groups of the organic compounds present. Free organic acids are determined as above, salts of organic acids by finding the alkalinity of the ash, and an ester determina
tion would give the esters of the organic acids ; the sum of the three values gives the content of total organic acids. The sum of free and combined organic acids is regarded as a new value, giving a picture of the syn
thesis of organic acids taking place during maturation, physiologically comparable with the synthesis of sugar.
D. G . He w e r.
B r it is h C h e m ic a l A b s tr a c ts —B .
390 Cl. X I X . — Fo o d s.
A special m ethod of w ine m ak ing. F . Ob r e
(Ann. Falsif., 1929, 22, 595—597).—A method is described by which three grades of wine (grey or rose, red, and press wine) can be obtained from one batch of grapes. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are stated and analyses of three wines made by the method are given. A. Sh o r e.
Currant w ine. J. Pin x o w (Z. Unters. Lebensm., 1929, 58, 331—342 : cf. B ., 1923, 902 a).—Increase in temperature promotes fermentation of the dextrose in the must to a greater degree than th a t of the lsevulose.
Variations in the proportions of alcohol, glycerin, and succinic acid are ascribed neither to variations in sugar content of the must nor to changes in the temperature of fermentation, but are due to alterations in the charac
ter of the yeast on berries of different location and vintage. The ratio of neutral esters of low volatility to total esters of low volatility also varies with the vintage. E thyl hydrogen succinate and ethyl hydrogen citrate were identified in currant wine. In a 6-year-old wine the former amounted to 16% of the total succinic acid, whereas the neutral ester amounted only to 1%
of the total succinic acid. Evidence of the presence of an acid which forms a lactone, probably y-hydroxy- valeric acid, was obtained. W . J. Bo y d.
D etection of added m ineral acid in w ines b y m eans of the potentiom eter. V. Mo r a x i (Annali Cliim.
Appl., 1930, 20 , 30—48).—The p a of normal wines varies from 2-65 to 3-78 or, with wine of low acidity and high extract, even more. Values below 2-65 are to be attributed to the presence of strong mineral acid.
Gradual addition of sulphuric or hydrochloric acid to wine causes rapid lowering of the pu, this being at first approximately proportional to the am ount of acid added. The presence or absence of added mineral acid in the wine may be shown definitely by means of the buffering powers. To five 50-c.c. portions of the filtered wine are added 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 c.c., respec
tively, of 0-lAr-potassium hydroxide, the p a of each portion and of the untreated wine being then determined.
The buffering powers of the successive intervals of the neutralisation curve are obtained by dividing 4 (the number of c.c. of iV-alkali added per litre) by the succes
sive increments of ;>H. Adjacent numbers in the series of values thus obtained should vary (usually increase) a t most by one or two units. Any marked difference, such as four units, renders certain the presence of strong
mineral acid. T. H . Po p e.
Lactic acid in the determ ination of the volatile acids of w ines. (Mm e.) La m b e r t i (Ann. Falsif., 1929, 22, 592—595).—The various methods of deter
mining the volatile acids of wines are compared, parti
cularly with regard to the behaviour of lactic acid, which may be present in wine in very variable amounts. The proportion of the lactic acid present which was included in the volatile acids was found to vary according to the method of determination adopted, and the conclusion is drawn th a t this may be one cause of the fact th a t the quantity of volatile acids found in any particular wine differs according to the method of procedure used for
their determination. A. Sh o r e.
D eterm ination of alcohol by pyknom eter. A. F.
Fu e r s t (Ind. Eng. Chem. [Anal.], 1930, 2 , 30—31).—
The alcohol content of aqueous distillates containing not more than 5% of alcohol may be determined within an accuracy of 0-01%. Details of procedure are given.
S. I . Le v y.
p H control. .Ma g n u s.—See I. Sugar from wood.
Na p h t a lI.—See XVII.
See also A., M a r ., 372, M alt pectinase ( Wil l a m a n).
A n alysis of proteins ( Hu n t e r and Da u p h i n e e).
374, S elective ferm entation of dextrose and lsevul
ose b y b rew er’s yeast ( Iv e k o v ic h). Decreasing rate of ferm entation ( Ra h n). Phosphoric esters of alcoholic ferm entation ( Ro b is o n and Mo r g a n). 3S4, N ew en zym e in jack bean ( Kit a g a w a and To m iy a m a).
E nzym ic substance in koji m ade from rice ( It o).
Pa t e n t.
A ctivation of proteases. J . Y. Jo h n s o n. From I. G. Fa r b e n i n d. A.-G. (B:P. 324,651, 19.10.28).—The proteases are activated by the addition of thio-acids or the salts thereof. Thus papain with added sodium thiosulphate coagulates rubber latex more rapidly than does untreated papain, and completely degums raw silk by degrading the sericin covering, w hich is not attacked by the inactivated enzyme. C. Ra n k e n.
XIX.— F0 0 D¿.
N utritive value of cereal breakfast foods. I.
C om position and calorific value. J. R. Mu r l ix, W . R. Li n e, H . A. Pi p e r, a n d II. B. Pi e r c e. II.
D ig estib ility in v itr o . M ethods. J. S . Ca r m a n, H . G. Sm i t h, G. C. Ha v e n s, a n d J. R. Mu r l i n (J.
Nutrition, 1929, 2, 83—90, 9 1 —110).—A n a ly tic a l v a lu e s f o r s ix p r e p a r e d f o o d s a r e r e c o r d e d . C o e ffic ie n ts o f u t i l i s a t i o n w e r e : p r o t e i n 84% (r o lle d o a ts ) , 94%
( w h e a t e n d o s p e r m ) : f a t 90% ; c a r b o h y d r a t e s 96—97%.
Cooking ( b o ilin g ) in c r e a s e s t h e d i g e s t i b i l i t y o f t h e s t a r c h le s s t h a n t h a t o f t h e p r o t e i n . The s i m u lt a n e o u s a c tio n o f a p r o t e o l y t i c e n z y m e ( t r y p s i n ) a n d a d i a s t a s e p r o d u c e d m u c h m o r e r a p i d d i g e s ti o n o f s t a r c h a n d p r o t e i n t h a n e i t h e r e n z y m e a lo n e . Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Disinfection of grain and flour w ith chloropicrin and other volatile substances. P . Y. Sa l d a u, V. I.
Po s p e l o v, A. D. Pe t r o v, and V. B. Is a c h e n k o (Trans.
State Inst. Appl. Chem., Moscow, 1928, No. 10, 90—107).
—Experiments with Calandra granaría, Paeliymerus ckinensis, and Aleurobius farince showed th a t chloro
picrin is 8—10 times as toxic as carbon disulphide, although the latter in a container on the top of the grain or flour may penetrate faster than the former. Chloro
picrin depresses the germination of wheat, stimulates th a t of oats, and has no effect on th a t of lentils.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Addition of ch em icals to flour in order to increase the volum e on baking. H. Ka l n i n g (Chem.-Ztg., 1930, 54, 161).—Amongst additions to flour which without generation of carbon dioxide appear to improve the “ rising ” qualities are calcium chloride, calcium phosphate, potassium brómate, ammonium p e r s u l p h a t e ,
chlorine, benzoyl peroxide, sodium perborate, and manganese sulphate. Most of these substances arc
B r itis h C h e m ic a l A b s tr a c ts — B .
C l . X IX .— Fo o d s. 301
used in very minute quantities, and any excess reverses the effect. They are of little benefit to good-quality flour, but improve th a t of poorer qualities. Ammonium persulphate can be detected by benzidine solution (blue coloration) ; benzoyl peroxide by alcoholic guaiacol solution (green coloration). No chlorine is present in flour treated with chlorine. C. Ir w i n.
Baking powders and “ m ineral raisin g a g en ts.”
L. We i l (Ann. Falsif., 1929, 22, 601—604).—Chemical yeasts (“ levures chimiques ” ) is the official and com
mercial name under which baking powders are sold in France. The paper is a short review of-the acid con
stituents available for t h e . manufacture of baking powders, and of the chemical changes which take place in them during baking.. The suggestion is made th a t a baking powder containing neither alum nor cream of ta rta r (the price of which is prohibitive) could be made from sodium pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, and calcium tartrate, and th a t calcium pyrophosphate could be used as a diluent and would prevent deteriora
tion of the powder in view of the fact th a t it is able to fix a considerable quantity (35% of its weight) of water.
A. Sh o r e.
O xidation-reduction in m ilk . I. O xidation- reduction potentials and the m ech anism of reduc
tion. II. Choice of an indicator for the reduction test. Reduction of Janus-green-B in m ilk . H. R.
Th o r n t o n and É. G. Ha s t in g s (J. Bact., 1929, 1 8 ,
293—318, 319-—332).—The positive limits of the differ
ence in potential between the normal hydrogen electrode and milk lay between + 0 - 2 and 0-3 volt, and the nega
tive limits approximated to —0 • 2 volt. The “ poising ” effect of methylene-blue in milk is negligible. Methylene- blue reduces over a satisfactory range of potential and is the most suitable indicator. I t is suggested th a t the
“ poising ” action of Janus-green-B is due to molecular rearrangement or the formation of an intermediate reducing (probably hydrazo-) compound.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Com parison of the m odified Babcock and the M ojonnier m ethods for determ ination of butter fat in ice-cream . E. S. Ch a s e and F. G. Ki n g (J.
Dairy Sci., 1929,1 2 , 473—480).—In 86% of 754 tests the results agreed within 0-2% . The modified Babcock method is described. Ch e m i c a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Separation of m a ize starch introduced fraudu
len tly into e g g powder. Co m t e (Ann. Falsif., 1 9 2 9 ,
22, 600).—The high sp. gr. of starches is used as the basis of a method of separating them from other powdered materials. A weighed quantity of the powder is shaken vigoroilsly in a centrifuge tube with a mixture of carbon tetrachloride and ether (3 : 1 pts. by vol.). The mixture is centrifuged a t a slow rate, whereby the starch settles to the bottom, and after washing and air-drying is weighed. The method, with suitable modifications, can be applied to the separation of other powders.
A. Sh o r e.
Chicory “ a g g lo m érés ” and their adulteration.
L . Go b e r t (Ann. Falsif., 1929,22, 580—591.—“ Agglo
mérés ” is the name given in France to powdered chicory which is transformed into artificial granules by the addition of various adulterants and of some agglutinant
such as sodium silicate. Such granules are added to those obtained by roasting and crushing the chicory root. Approximate macroscopic and microscopic methods of analyses of admixtures so produced are given.
Comparative analyses of the ash con,tent also accompany the paper. The necessity for revising the analytical standards to which these products must conform in France is emphasised. A. Sh o r e.
Source of d iastase in honey. G. H. Va n s e l l and
S . B . Fr e e b o r n (J. Econ. Entomol., 1929,2 2 , 922—926).
—The amount of pollen in honey is correlated with the diastatic activity, but artificial pollen cultures do not show as high diastatic values as those of normal honeys.
The digestive tract of the bee, when free from pollen, contains no diastase. The pollen count should be used as an adjunct to the official diastase test.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
D iastase in honey. G. II. Va n s e l l (J. Econ.
Entomol., 1929, 2 2 , 926—929).—For the determination of diastatic activity the proteins in 1 g. of honey are precipitated with alcohol, the solution then being diluted and acidified with acetic acid to pa 4-4. After addition of soluble-starch solution (0-5 c.c.) the mixture is kept a t 36° and the time required for conversion of the starch into sugar is determined. The diastase contents of raw honeys differ widely ; excessive heating destroys the diastase. Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Detection and determ ination of [hydr]oxy- m ethylfurfuraldehyde in honey and artificial honey. F. We i s s. (Z. IJnters. Lebensm., 1929, 5 8 ,
320—331).—The honey (10 g.) is rubbed in a mortar thrice with 5 c.c. of ethyl acetate each time, and the solvent is poured off and evaporated while gently warmed in a glass basin, using a hand bellows to remove last traces. The residue is stirred twice with 0-5 c.c.
of water and the solution filtered. To the filtrate 5 c.c.
of the reagent (a saturated, freshly filtered solution of p-nitrophenylhydraziue in 30% acetic acid) are added, the basin and filter being mixed with portions of this.
After several hours the crystals are filtered into a tared Gooch crucible dried a t 105°, washed with water, and dried for 2—3 hrs. a t 105°. The weight of precipitate
X 0-435 gives the weight of hydroxymethylfurfuralde- hyde. Qualitatively the reagent can be used to detect less than 0-001 g. of the aldehyde. With larger quan
tities of honey the various quantities are proportionately increased. E ther is unsuitable as solvent for the extraction. In artificial honey 0-03—0-23% of hydroxy- methylfurfuraldehyde was found, in pure honey nort.e, and in honey heated to 90—100° small quantities were
detected. W . J. Bo y d.
A pplication of the form ol titration to honey.
H. A. Sc h u e t t e a n d V. Te m p l i n (J. Assoc. Off. Agric.
Chem., 1930,13,136—142).—T h e f o r m o l t i t r a t i o n v a lu e o f h o n e y is s l i g h t l y lo w e r e d b y t h e a d d i t i o n o f s y r u p s , b u t t h e a m o u n t s in v o lv e d a r e t o o s m a ll, a n d t h e e r r o r o f t h e m e t h o d to o g r e a t , f o r t h e p r o c e d u r e t o b e of a n a l y t i c a l V a lu e. The t i t r a t i o n c a i m o t b e c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t o f t h e h o n e y .
K. V. Th i m a n n.
E xam ination of honey and honey cakes. C. I.
Kr u i s h e e r (Z . Unters. Lebensm., 1 9 2 9 , 5 8 , 282—3 0 0 ) .
B r it is h C h e m ic a l A b s tr a c ts—3 .
392 Cl. X IX .—Fo o d s.
—The author’s method for determining various sugars in presence of one another (B., 1930, 388) is useful in part for the examination of honey and honey cakes.
For genuine honey the minimum value of the ratio {lsevulose before inversion (Ft) X 100}/{dextrose before inversion ((?])} is 90 and th a t of the ratio (Fx X 100)/
extract is 43 (cf. Mees, B., 1929, 109). In baking, the am ount of dextrin increases, and if leevulose (before inversion) is absent, i.e., if starch syrup, starch sugar, or artificial honey from glucose has been substituted for genuine honey, then considerable lcevulose is formed during baking probably owing to the action of alkali on the dextrose. In cakes prepared with honey, invert- sugar, or sucrose, little change in the sugars occurs apart from dextrin formation. Owing to these changes it is not possible to determine the quantity of starch sugar added by the author’s method. By the aid of Fiehe’s reaction it is possible to determine the nature of the saccharine material added. For this purpose it is necessary to determine the dry weight of the crumb, the content of water-soluble extract, the reducing power (Rj) and lsevulose content (F x) of the extract before inversion, and the reducing power (R 2) after weak inversion with 3% hydrochloric acid for 10 mill, at 68—70°. If the sucrose content, 0-95 (R z—i?x), is above 5%, sucrose has been added. When the ratio 100FJG 1 is less than 90 a starch product has been added. A positive Fiehe reaction indicates th a t invert- sugar has been used if 100F1/G1 5 90, otherwise it may be due to hydroxymetliylfurfuraldehyde present in the starch sugar or syrup added. If the p ^ of the extract is above 5, as it usually is, hydroxymethylfurfuralde- hyde has not been produced during the baking process.
Under these conditions it tends to be destroyed.
W. J . Bo y d.
Iron, copper, and m anganese content of som e com m on vegetable foods. R . E. Re m in g t o n and H. E. Sh i v e r (J. Assoc. Ofi. Agric. Chem., 1930, 13, 129—132).—The iron, manganese, and copper content of a number of vegetables has been determined. The metals are present in considerably larger quantities in the leaves than in the roots and fruits. The figures for iron and manganese are more variable than those for copper, the amount of which does not exceed 20 pts.
per million of dry weight. K. Y. Th i m a n n.
V itam ins. S. Ma t h e w s and C. Ne w t o n (Ga.
Agric. Exp. Sta. Ann. Rep., 1928, 33—34).—Cooking in an open kettle reduced the vitamin-C content of turnip greens by 85%, but did not affect the vitamin-.4 content. Collards contain 33% and Hearts of Gold cantaloupe 10% as much vitam in-0 as do turnip greens.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
Is prohibition of addition of foam -form ing saponin-containing substances to sugar w ares (e .g ., “ halw a ” ) justified ? A. Lo d e (Z. Unters.
Lebensm., 1 9 2 9 , 58, 3 1 1—3 1 9 ; cf. Heiduschka and Zywnev, ibid., 1 9 2 3 , 45, 6 1 ).—Samples of “ lialwa ” (sesame meal) were found to contain 0 - 0 2—0 - 0 9 % of saponin in terms of Saponinum purum albissimum (Merck). Excessive addition is unlikely owing to the unpleasant taste and effect on the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, which are pronounced in
con-centrations of saponin otherwise harmless. I t is suggested th a t up to 0-2% should be permitted. Methods are given for the detection and determination of saponin
con-centrations of saponin otherwise harmless. I t is suggested th a t up to 0-2% should be permitted. Methods are given for the detection and determination of saponin