path: root/63007-0.txt

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63007 ***

                                 SPICES
                        THEIR NATURE AND GROWTH
                            THE VANILLA-BEAN
                             A TALK ON TEA


                            McCORMICK & CO.
                    Importers and Grinders of Spices
               Manufacturing Chemists    Importers of Tea
                          BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

                          Copyright, 1915, by
                    McCormick & Co., Baltimore, Md.

    [Illustration: MUNDER THOMSEN PRESS, BALTIMORE]


Dedicated to Domestic Science and to those who are devoting their
energy, talent and time to the dissemination of that knowledge which
makes for purer and better foods—to the Domestic Science Teachers of
America.


In response to hundreds of requests from schools, colleges and
individuals for information regarding the different varieties of Spices
we have prepared this booklet, and have endeavored to give as concisely
as possible the facts necessary to a thorough understanding of the
subject.

As there has hitherto been no complete compilation along this line, it
has been necessary to obtain from foreign sources much of the material,
while some of the illustrations represent weeks of patient research by
our art department.

To the U. S. Department of Agriculture we are indebted for much valuable
information, and for this we wish to make due acknowledgment.

    [Illustration: (Capsicums)]

  Chillie or Guinea Pepper
  Japan
  Bombay
  Spanish
  Paprika Pod
  (Chillies) Mombassa      Japan
  (White) Muntok      Singapore
  Pod Pepper
  Black Pepper
  Tellicherry
  Long Pepper
  Aleppy
  Lampong
    ½ Natural size




                          Pepper and Capsicums


Pepper is the dried berry of the pepper-plant (_Piper nigrum_), a
climbing vine ten to twelve feet high, indigenous to the East Indies,
but cultivated in many tropical countries.

    [Illustration: A Group of Pepper Mills]

The berries are harvested when they begin to turn red, and the process
of drying out blackens and shrivels them. They are not picked
separately, but in spikes or bunches, and are then placed on mats to
dry. At night the berries are placed under cover.

The average yield per vine is eight to ten pounds each year.

The different varieties of Black Pepper derive their name from the
localities in which they are grown or the ports whence they are shipped,
as Singapore, Lampong, Sumatra, Tellicherry, Acheen, Malabar, Trang,
etc.


                              White Pepper

This is obtained by decorticating or removing the skin from the fully
ripened black peppercorns—accomplished by maceration.

White Whole Pepper grains are grayish white. They are more nearly
spherical in shape than the Black Pepper berries, and have light-colored
lines running from top to bottom. The more common varieties are known as
Siam, Singapore and Penang.


                               Red Pepper

The U. S. Standards describe Red Pepper as the dried ripe fruit of any
species of capsicum, a genus of the _nightshade family_ indigenous to
the American tropics. It is now cultivated in nearly all warm and
temperate countries, both commercially and in the kitchen-garden. The
leading commercial varieties are Zanzibar, Africa, Indias, and Japan.


                                Paprika

Paprika is botanically described as _Capsicum annuum_. The pods are
large and brilliant to dark red. It grows in the temperate and torrid
zones. It is cultivated principally in Spain (_Pimiinton_) and Hungary.
The Spanish-grown product is sweet and mild, the Hungarian usually of a
mildly pungent flavor. Paprika is used in cooking for its color as well
as flavor. It is rapidly finding favor among American housewives.

    [Illustration: (Cinnamon or Cassia)]

  Ceylon Cinnamon
  Batavia Cinnamon
  Chinese Cassia (Cinnamon)
  Saigon Rolls
  China Cassia Rolls
  Cassia Buds
    Buds Natural size, all others ½ Natural size




                          Cassia and Cinnamon


The terms Cassia and Cinnamon, although they represent two separate
species of the genus _Cinnamomum_ belonging to the Laurel family, in
commerce are interchangeable.

    [Illustration: A Corner of One of the Warerooms]


                                Cinnamon

Is the thin, inner bark of the tree, of a pale yellowish brown color,
and is found on the market in long, quill-like rolls, the smaller rolls
being incased in the larger. The small dark spots on the outer surface
correspond to points where the leaves were attached to the stem.

True Cinnamon is native to the Island of Ceylon, but is cultivated in
tropical Asia, Sumatra and Java. The yield of Ceylon Cinnamon is
relatively small. Its use in the United States is limited.


                                 Cassia

The ordinary commercial Cassia is the bark of the _Cinnamomum Cassia_,
which comes from China, Japan, Indo-China and India. It is usually
darker in color than true Cinnamon, rougher, and about four times as
thick.

Cinnamon and Cassia range in value according to type and quality,
although much depends on actual flavoring strength. They are chiefly
valued in the order named—Saigon, Batavia or Java and China.

Those desiring a pure Ceylon Cinnamon can secure it from McCormick &
Company of Baltimore, Importers and Grinders of Spices. Choicest Cassia,
in rolls or ground, is put up under their Bee Brand and Banquet Brand
Trade Marks.

    [Illustration: Bee Brand Select Stick Cinnamon]

    [Illustration: (Mace or Nutmeg)]

  Mace
  Nutmeg Plant
  Green Fruit
  Macassar
  Nutmeg
  Cross section of Fruit
  Ripe Fruit in act of bursting
  Nutmeg, in shell
  Shell partly removed
  Cross section of Nutmeg
  Penang Nutmegs
    ½ Natural size




                            Nutmegs and Mace


The Nutmeg-tree, genus _Myristica_ (natural order _Myristicaceæ_),
native of the Malay Archipelago, usually grows to a height of twenty to
thirty feet. While the greater part of the world’s supply of both
Nutmegs and Mace comes from the Banda Islands, the West Indies are by no
means to be overlooked.

The Nutmeg fruit is about three inches long and about two inches in
diameter. It includes, first, the outer or fleshy membranous part;
second, the substance covering the outer shell of the Nutmeg, known as
Mace, next the shell, and finally the kernel or commercial Nutmeg.

After harvesting, which in some places is done with long forked sticks
or bamboo poles, the red colored network (Mace) is removed and the nuts
are placed over a fire in mesh bottom receptacles, where they remain for
perhaps a month, being kept about ten feet away from the flames. They
are next exposed to the sun for two or three hours daily for several
days, or until the kernels rattle within the shell. They are then
removed from the shell and assorted into three general grades.

Among the many varieties of Nutmegs the Singapore, Penang, West Indian
and Macassars are most esteemed, the price being regulated by the type,
size and quality of the nut.

During the past few years ground Nutmeg has been placed on the market
and is steadily finding favor with American housewives.

    [Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Pepper]


                                  Mace

Mace is carefully removed from the shell surrounding the kernel of the
Nutmeg by hand, although a knife is sometimes employed. It is then
placed on mats or trays to dry in the sunshine. Of late years, however,
artificial drying has proven so successful that it is rapidly
supplanting the old method in which the sunshine dissipated some of the
virtues of the Mace. Several months are required to cure it. During this
time it changes from a crimson to a blood red and later to the yellowish
or golden brown color, in which state it is found on the market here.

The Penang or Banda Mace is probably the most desirable, with the Siauw
and Batavia following in the order named.

Great care must be exercised in the grinding of Mace, as it is very rich
in volatile oil. Bee Brand Ground Mace is prepared in mills especially
designed for the purpose. Nutmegs and Mace imported by McCormick &
Company are marketed as Bee and Banquet Brands.

    [Illustration: (Ginger)]

  Ginger Plant, Flower and Root
  African Ginger Root
  Jamaica
  Japan
    ⅔ Natural size




                                 Ginger


Unlike the Spices treated in this series, Ginger is the root-stock of a
plant known botanically as _Zingiber officinale_, an annual herb, three
or four feet high. It is a native of India and China, but is grown
extensively in tropical America, Africa and Australia.

The plant endures a wide range of climate. It may be grown at sea level
or in mountainous regions, provided the rainfall be abundant or
irrigation adopted.

It is found cultivated from the Himalaya Mountains, 5000 feet above sea
level, to Cape Comarin.

The root is dug when the plant is a year old and after the stalk has
withered.

Black Ginger, of which Calcutta and African are the common varieties, is
produced by scalding the freshly dug roots. This prevents sprouting.

White Ginger is the decorticated product, the chief varieties being
Jamaica, Cochin and Japan. Jamaica is the most esteemed. Jamaica Ginger
is best known and most used here, although both Cochin and African
Ginger are imported in a large way.

The different varieties of Ginger are imported by McCormick & Company,
who distribute them under the Bee Brand and Banquet Brand guarantee.
Green Ginger is the undried root. That received in the United States is
the Jamaica variety.

    [Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Ground Ginger]


                   Mrs. King’s Bee Brand Ginger Bread

  1 cup brown sugar
  1 cup Porto Rico molasses
  1 cup sour milk
  1 (rounded) teaspoon soda in 2 tablespoons boiling water
  1 cup boiling water
  2 teaspoons Bee Brand Powdered Ginger
  2 eggs and 3 cups flour
  1 teaspoon Bee Brand Powdered Cinnamon
  ½ teaspoon Bee Brand Nutmeg
  2 tablespoons lard
  2 tablespoons butter
  ⅛ teaspoon salt
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1 tablespoon baking powder

Mix and sift dry ingredients. Beat eggs without separating, add sugar,
molasses and milk, shortening, and gradually beat in dry ingredients,
reserving soda, which is stirred in boiling water, and beaten in last.
Pour in pan or muffin rings. Add a cup of currants if desired.—_From Bee
Brand Manual of Cookery._

The mixture should be the consistency of Muffin Batter, add a little
more flour, if necessary.

    [Illustration: (Pimento or Allspice)]

  Jamaica Fruit
  Mexican
  Flower
    ⅔ Natural size




                          Pimento, or Allspice


The Pimento (_Pimenta officinalis_), an evergreen tree belonging to the
Myrtle family, is a native of the West Indies, but is found in Mexico,
Costa Rica and Venezuela as well. The highest quality Pimento comes from
the Island of Jamaica. The Mexican berry, while handsome in appearance,
is inferior in flavoring quality.

    [Illustration: Packeting Spices]

The trees usually grow in groups of from five to twenty, but are
sometimes found in forests. After the tree has attained a certain
growth, the underbrush and other Pimentos are cut away, leaving the
trees about twenty-five feet apart.

The Pimento flowers twice each year, but bears only one crop of berries.

The problem of harvesting is the most serious with which the planter has
to contend. It is difficult to secure help among the indolent natives,
and as the harvest season is short—because the berries must be picked
just before they ripen—the loss from over-ripening is very great. After
harvesting, the berries are exposed daily to the sun for a period of
from seven to twelve days, being placed under cover each night.

Pimento, or Allspice, as it is generally known, is exported principally
from Kingston, Jamaica, in 120 to 130 lb. bags, about one-third of the
crop coming to the United States, while the remainder finds its way to
England, whence it is exported to other countries.

As its common name implies, Allspice has a flavor which is suggestive of
the combined flavors of many spices.

McCormick & Company import only the choicest Allspice grown and market
it under their Bee Brand and Banquet Brand trade marks. It may be had
either ground or whole.


                             Waldorf Salad

  2 cups diced tart apples
  2 cups diced celery
  1 cup English walnuts, chopped

Mix and pour over all mayonnaise dressing. Serve cold on crisp lettuce
leaves.—_From Bee Brand Manual of Cookery._

    [Illustration: (Cloves)]

  Penang
  Zanzibar
  Branch of Clove Tree
  Ripe Fruit
    Cloves—Natural size
    Branch and Fruit—⅔ Natural size




                                 Cloves


    [Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Ground Cloves]

Cloves are the dry flower-buds of an evergreen (_Caryophyllus_,
_Aromaticus_ or _Eugenia caryophyllata_) belonging to the Myrtle family,
averaging in height twenty to forty feet. The Clove-tree is cultivated
in Ceylon, India, Mauritius, the West Indies and Zanzibar. The different
varieties derive their names from the district of origin or the city of
exportation. Cloves from Amboyna, Penang and Zanzibar are perhaps best
known and are in greatest demand.

The flowers grow in clusters. The green buds change to a reddish hue, at
which stage they are removed from the tree, spread in the sun and
allowed to dry. When allowed to fully fruit, the bud develops into a
hard seed an inch long, with a pulpy cover. This is called Mother of
Cloves.

The tree yields only one crop a year, the yield under normal conditions
being about 300 pounds to the acre. The average consumption is estimated
at 11,000,000 pounds per year.

There are a number of varieties of Cloves resembling each other in
appearance, but vastly different in pungency and flavoring value.

The slender stems bearing the closed buds have, to a limited degree, the
aromatic clove flavor, and as they sell for a very small fraction of the
cost of Cloves, are frequently powdered and used for reducing the cost
of Powdered Cloves, at the expense of quality and of common honesty.

McCormick & Company do not import, buy or sell Clove stems. Their Bee
and Banquet Brands Cloves, whole or ground, are carefully selected for
superior quality.


                            PRATT INSTITUTE
                             BROOKLYN, N.Y.
                  SCHOOL OF HOUSEHOLD SCIENCE AND ARTS
                      Isabel Ely Lord, _Director_

                                                           May 22, 1913.

Mr. W. M. McCormick, _McCormick & Co., Baltimore, Md._

_Dear Mr. McCormick_: I have just received the report of the instructors
who had charge of testing your products, and I am glad to tell you that
it is a very favorable one. The report is that no one of the flavorings
and spices was found unsatisfactory, and that the Orange Tipped Pekoe
Tea was especially praised. We shall be very glad to know if you put
your products on sale in New York, as in that case we shall certainly
use them.
                           Yours very truly,
                                                        Isabel Ely Lord.

    [Illustration: (Herbs)]

  Marjoram
  Sage
  Caraway
  Caraway Cross section Fruit
  Tender Sage Leaves
  Manioc or Cassava
  Fruit
  Yellow Mustard
  Pearl Tapioca
  Pod
  English
  Granulated Tapioca
  German
  Cross section Cardamon Seed
  Brown Mustard
  German
  Bari
  Pod
  Cardamon
  Seed
    Plants—½ Natural size—fruit—Natural size




                           Seed, Herbs, Etc.


                                Caraway

The Seed of the _Carum Carui_ is indigenous to Northern Europe and
cultivated to some extent in the United States. The seed is used as a
flavor in the preparation of many foods.

    [Illustration: Bee Brand Rubbed Sage]


                                Cardamom

Commonly spelled Cardamon. The Cardamoms of Java, Ceylon and Madagascar
are much alike.


                                Tapioca

The product of the roots or tubers of the Manioc or Cassava is known as
Tapioca. The plant is native to Brazil, but is cultivated in Jamaica and
the Far East. There are two kinds of Tapioca—Pearl and Granulated. Both
are made from the same rootstock under a slightly different process.


                                Marjoram

The leaf of a shrubby plant, a genus of the Mint family, native to the
shores of the Mediterranean; usually called Sweet Marjoram.


                                Mustard

Mustard-Seed comes from Russia, Germany, England and Holland, and to
some extent from California. There are two chief divisions, yellow and
brown. The brown seed comes largely from Italy and is known as Bari. The
term Trieste is frequently applied to all brown Mustard-Seeds.

Mustard-Seed contains two oils, known as Essential and Fatty. The
Essential Oil is soluble in water. In flavor and odor it closely
resembles horseradish. The Fatty Oil is mild and tasteless, insoluble in
water, and is sometimes used in place of olive oil.

In manufacturing Mustard-Flour the seed is warmed, subjected to
hydraulic pressure, which releases from fifteen to twenty-five per cent
of the fatty oil. The residue is called Mustard-Cake. It is ground and
bolted on fine sieves, separating the Mustard bran or hulls from the
interior, making ground mustard or flour. Brown seed contains a larger
percentage of the essential oil, and, therefore, makes a hotter or
stronger flour than the yellow variety, and must be blended with flour
from yellow seed.


                                  Sage

A perennial shrub about two feet high, native to Southern Europe, but
cultivated in this country as a garden plant. Bee Brand Rubbed Sage is
the finest Sage imported. It is rubbed and ready for use.

    [Illustration: (Vanilla)]

  Aerial Root of Vanilla
  Vanilla Bean
  Green Bean
    ⅔ Natural size




                              Vanilla-Bean


The Vanilla-Bean is the fruit of the _Vanilla planifolia_ or flat-leaved
Vanilla vine and is the source from which pure or true Vanilla Extract
is made. This climbing perennial belongs to the Orchid family and is
indigenous to Central and South America, but reaches its perfection of
flavor in Mexico. The Mexican bean sometimes attains a length of ten
inches.

    [Illustration: One of the Extract Stills]

When gathered, the beans are yellowish green, fleshy and without odor.
Their color and odor is developed by a process of fermentation or
sweating, which differs in various countries. The best method consists
of sun-drying for about a month, the beans being pressed alternately
between the folds of blankets and exposed to the air. After curing they
are tied in bundles. Vanilla-Beans when cured exude and become covered
with fine frostlike crystals of vanillin, the important active flavoring
principle.

Next in value to the Mexican bean comes the Bourbon, which term is
applied to all the Vanilla-Beans grown in the islands of the Indian
Ocean, off the east coast of Africa, of which Madagascar, Réunion, the
Comores, Mauritius and the Seychelles are most important. These beans
are shorter than the Mexican, decidedly inferior in flavoring quality,
and, therefore, less expensive. They more nearly resemble the Tonka bean
in odor. The cheapest beans are the Tahitis and so-called vanillons or
beans of the wild Vanilla (_Vanilla pompona_). They are little used in
extract making, and properly so, as they have neither strength nor
flavor.

The Tonka bean is here mentioned simply because it is so largely used in
the manufacture of imitation Vanilla Extracts. It is the seed of the
_Dipterix odorata_, native to Guiana. The pod is almond shaped and
contains a single seed shaped like a kidney-bean. This bean is dark in
color, having a thin, shiny, brittle skin, containing a two-lobed oily
kernel. A hundred years ago these beans were found in the snuffbox of
every gentleman and in the handkerchief case of every lady.

Further information regarding the Vanilla-Bean may be found under
Flavoring Extracts on page 22.

    [Illustration: (Tea)]

  Chinese Tea Plant and Flowers
  Chinese Tea Leaf
  Japanese Tea Leaf
  Ceylon Tea Leaf
  India Tea Leaf
  Seeds
    Natural size




                                  Tea


Commercial tea is the prepared leaf or leaf-bud of an evergreen,
indigenous to Asia, which in its wild state attains the general
proportions of the American peach-tree. Botanically, it is known as
_Camellis Thea_ or _Thea Chinensis_. Under cultivation, it is kept
pruned to within three to five feet high. The constant pruning
encourages the growth of new branches and new leaves. The value of the
Tea is in the young tender leaf.

    [Illustration: Testing Tea]

Teas are divided into two groups, which differ chiefly in the method of
curing. A tea-plant may produce a leaf which commercially may be either
black or green, depending on the treatment.

Green tea is prepared by steaming the fresh green leaf and then drying
it. In this way the bright color is preserved.

Black Tea is the result of oxidization or fermentation, caused by
exposing the leaves to the sun, which turns them black.

The best Teas are made from the young leaves, the different varieties
being graded according to their age and position on the shoot.

Tea is produced in large quantities in China, Japan, India and the
islands of Ceylon, Java and Formosa.

There are about 200 varieties of Teas, and, perhaps, ten times as many
flavors. Tea ranges in value from a few cents per pound for stems up to
$10.00 for the very finest leaf.

The Government inspects all teas entering the United States, and those
below a certain standard are not allowed to enter the country.

Tea drinking in the United States is increasing, but the consumption is
still far behind that of many other countries.

    [Illustration: Banquet Extra Fancy Blended Tea]

The average American housewife has not given to the brewing of tea the
same careful consideration she gives to the preparation of other
beverages. Good Tea brewed right is a delicious beverage, but certain
rules must be observed.

Complete directions for the perfect brewing of Tea appear on each
package of Banquet Brand. Under this brand all the desirable varieties
are packed as well as a remarkable blend.

Our publication, “Tea, Its Early History, and the Three Colonial
American Tea Parties,” will be mailed free upon request.




                           Flavoring Extracts


The United States Agricultural Department, Circular No. 19, contains the
standards for foods. Among these are standards for Flavoring Extracts.
By this regulation Extract of Lemon must contain at least 6.4 ounces of
Oil of Lemon to 1 gallon of finished product, or, as the circular puts
it, 5 per cent Oil of Lemon by volume, and Vanilla Extract the
extractive matter from at least 13.35 ounces of the bean to the gallon
of finished product. The flavor is extracted from the bean by a mixture
of alcohol and water, as the resins in the Vanilla-Bean will not impart
their flavor to alcohol alone or to water alone, but to a mixture
containing from 40 to 60 per cent of alcohol, according to character of
bean. Long experience is required to accomplish the results desired.

The Vanilla-Beans brought into this country range in price about as
follows:

  Mexican, $3.50 to $6.00 per pound.
  Bourbon, $3.00 to $5.50 per pound.
  Guadalupe, $3.00 to $5.50 per pound.
  Seychelles, $3.25 to $4.50 per pound.
  Tahiti, $1.75 to $2.50 per pound.

And a large variety, such as Java, South American and others, ranging in
price from $2.75 to $5.00 per pound.

These prices represent wholesale prices and vary from time to time.

The use of Tahiti Beans, coming from the Islands of Tahiti, has grown
very largely in the last few years. They are much used by manufacturers
making the cheaper extracts.

The Vanilla-Bean dries out very quickly, but if properly cared for and
protected does not lose its strength. In fact, the flavor greatly
improves with age.

The same beans can be treated for extract by different persons and an
entirely different quality of goods produced, just as two cooks can take
the same kind of flour and one will produce a delightful loaf of bread
while the bread of the other will not be fit to eat.

We age our Bee Brand Extracts for two years in white oak casks before
placing them on the market. Thus they become mellow and have a rich,
dainty bouquet, which cannot be obtained by any other process. The
minimum cost of carrying large vats of Vanilla is about 12 to 15 per
cent per year. A fine, properly aged Extract of Vanilla, such as Bee
Brand, made from the best beans, would cost from $8.00 to $9.00 a gallon
to manufacture, and yet “Strictly Pure U. S. Standard Extracts” can be
made to cost not over $3.50 per gallon.

Frequently you will find that a cheap pure Extract of Vanilla is almost
as strong as the fine, or high priced, Bee Brand goods, but its flavor
is rank and it has not the same bouquet and delicacy of flavor, the
comparison between the two being the same as that between cheap cigars
(three for 5 cents), which may be just as strong as a fine Havana, or
stronger, which costs 25 cents, but the latter has a flavor and quality
which the former do not approach.

The average consumer thinks if an Extract is pure it must be good, and
is satisfied with that statement. This belief on the part of the
consumer is largely due to the fact that many jobbers and large
retailers want their goods under their own names, requesting the
manufacturer to put up the cheapest Extract that will comply with the
law, regardless of the kind of beans or other materials used in its
manufacture. They simply ask for goods that comply with State and
National laws, but you can readily see what the word “pure” means under
this condition.

These jobbers and retailers think when they have complied with the law
they have done all that is necessary. We refuse positively to sell our
Bee Brand goods, or any other Flavoring Extracts, under any other name
than our own.

The consumer must realize that purity is one thing, strength another,
but _quality_, the cardinal feature by which to judge, can be obtained
only by buying goods under the name of a reputable manufacturer.

At one time the use of the ground or pulverized Vanilla-Bean directly in
the article to be flavored was considered by bakers and ice-cream
manufacturers a strong card to feature in their advertising.

Since the introduction of Domestic Science into so many of our
educational institutions, with the subsequent general interest which the
movement has aroused, the American housewife has come to learn that by
the use of the ground bean only one of the several flavoring principles
is obtained, _i. e._, vanillin.

The other active agents may be obtained only by intensive processing,
and thus a full-toned extract is secured.

There is a great deal of “Vanilla Compound,” or “Imitation Vanilla,”
sold. This is made always from manufactured Vanillin or Coumarin, or
both. The natural Vanillin comes from Vanilla-Beans themselves. Put a
fresh Vanilla-Bean where it is very cold and crystals will form on the
outside. These crystals are pure Vanillin. For a long time this was
thought to be the only flavoring principle of the Vanilla-Bean, but it
has been proven to be only one of a number.

The Vanillin in general use is manufactured by artificial means. It is a
white powdery substance with a strong Vanilla-like flavor, but it lacks
that softness which only Vanilla-Beans produce. In the process of making
cheap Extracts, Vanillin is frequently toned up in strength and pungency
with Coumarin.

Coumarin occurs naturally in Tonka Beans and Deer Tongue. The Tonka Bean
is a short, stumpy bean about 1½ to 2 inches long by ½ inch wide, and is
used for flavoring tobacco. Coumarin is made commercially from the
leaves of Virginia Deer Tongue and is manufactured in very large
quantities, as it is cheaper than that made from Tonka Beans.

It may be of interest to know that Bee Brand Flavoring Extracts were
awarded the only Gold Medal at the Jamestown Exposition, and that we now
have the only Gold Medal awarded Flavoring Extracts since the National
Pure Food laws have been in existence.

The Committee on Awards had no connection with the Exposition Company,
as it was appointed personally by Ex-President Roosevelt, who named Dr.
Harvey T. Wiley as chairman.




                    The Bee Brand Manual of Cookery


This book is the result of many years of conscientious effort to produce
a work which would be worthy of the title—The Blue Book of the Culinary
Art.

The old Colonial homes of Maryland and Virginia, long famous for their
“Southern Cooking,” have yielded most of the recipes. Graduates of
leading Schools of Domestic Science have thoroughly tested and in some
instances revised the recipes, so that in the new edition we offer the
Perfect Cook Book. The following pages are selected at random:


                               Fish Salad

  Some cold cooked fish
  1 lettuce
  3 tablespoons olive oil
  1 tablespoon vinegar
  1 hard boiled egg
  ½ lemon
  3 pickled gherkins
  1 slice of cooked beet
  Bee Brand pepper and salt
  Few grains of Bee Brand ground red pepper

Free the fish from bones; separate the pieces into small flakes; mix
with the lettuce, which must be well washed, wiped, and divided into
shreds, season with salt, pepper and red pepper. Mix the oil and vinegar
so that both are well incorporated; then pour over the fish and lettuce;
mix carefully, and dish up in a pile on a china dish or salad bowl.

Garnish with slices of lemon, sliced gherkins, or other green pickles,
slices of beet, slices of hard cooked eggs, and some chopped parsley.


                            Chiffonale Salad

  1 cup diced celery
  1 cup pulp of grapefruit
  5 sliced and peeled tomatoes
  4 chicory leaves
  French dressing
  McCormick’s Mayonnaise dressing
  Chopped olives
  Chopped parsley
  Green peppers cut in thin strips

Break the chicory leaves into pieces for serving. Marinate all the
different vegetables and grapefruit with French dressing. Arrange in
separate mounds on a serving dish. Garnish each with the olives, parsley
and green peppers. Pass mayonnaise dressing.


                            Nuremburg Salad

  1 lettuce
  1 stalk of celery
  4 cooked beets
  1 peeled cucumber
  Cold cooked chicken or game
  4 fillets of anchovy
  12 olives
  Salt
  Few grains of Bee Brand ground red pepper
  1 chopped onion
  1 gherkin
  1 hard cooked egg

Pick the lettuce into little pieces, wash and dry it in a clean cloth.

Cut in strips the celery, cooked beets, cucumber, olives, fillets of
anchovy, the cooked chicken or game; place all these on a dish or in a
salad bowl, season with salt, red pepper, chopped onion and pour over
them mayonnaise sauce, and mix all up together, then sprinkle over the
gherkin finely chopped and hard cooked egg that has been rubbed through
a sieve.


                    Endive, Banana and Pimento Salad

  4 bananas (cut in rather thick slices)
  1 canned pimento (cut in strips)
  1 head endive or escarolle

Mix fruit and Pimento, pour over French dressing, and serve on the
Escarolle or Endive.


                         American Beauty Salad

  1 cup orange (skinned and cut in small pieces)
  1 cup tart apples (peeled and cut in small pieces)
  1 pineapple (fresh or canned, cut in small pieces)
  1 cup heart celery (cut in small pieces)

Mix thoroughly and place in small moulds or after-dinner coffee cups.
Pour over each mould lemon jelly (cooled but not stiffened), colored
with a few drops of McCormick’s Bee Brand Red color. When well set and
firm, turn out on lettuce leaves, and serve with McCormick’s Mayonnaise.

For an added garnish, half of an English walnut may be placed carefully
in the bottom of each cup before it is filled with the mixture, or may
be fastened to finish mould by means of a few drops of the liquid jelly
and allowed to harden before sending to table.


                          Cream of Potato Soup

  1 cup mashed potatoes
  1 pint hot milk
  1 extra cup milk
  2 tablespoons butter
  2 tablespoons flour
  ½ teaspoon Bee Brand white pepper
  ¼ teaspoon Bee Brand celery salt
  ½ teaspoon Bee Brand onion extract

Make a white sauce of the flour, butter and extra cup of milk as in
above recipes and add seasoning. Mix the mashed potatoes with the hot
milk, combine with white sauce and serve at once.


                       Cream of Green Pepper Soup

  1 quart clarified soup stock
  2 onions
  2 large or 4 small green peppers
  Yolk of one egg
  1 teaspoon salt
  ½ teaspoon Bee Brand celery salt
  ½ teaspoon Bee Brand white pepper

Chop onion fine, cut green peppers in strips about ¼ inch long. Put
stock and condiments together. Simmer slowly from 30 minutes to an hour.
Just before serving beat the egg yolk and pour the hot soup over this.
Serve in bouillon cups if desired.


                          Delicious Quick Soup

  1 cup carrot cubes
  1 cup potato cubes
  1 large onion, sliced
  1 cup celery, sliced
  ½ cup of fat from chicken or beef stock
  1 quart water
  4 tablespoons meat extract
  1 bay leaf
  1 teaspoon salt
  ¼ teaspoon Bee Brand white pepper
  ⅛ teaspoon Bee Brand paprika

Melt the fat, and in it cook the carrot, celery and onion. Stir
constantly; cook about 15 minutes. Cook the potatoes in boiling water,
drain, rinse in cold water and drain again. Add to other vegetables with
the broth and seasoning. Cook at least one hour. Remove bay leaf and
serve.


                               Mince Pie

  1 cup cooked and chopped lean beef
  1½ cups chopped apple
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 teaspoon Bee Brand cinnamon
  1 teaspoon Bee Brand cloves
  1 teaspoon Bee Brand allspice
  1 teaspoon Bee Brand nutmeg
  1 cup brown sugar
  ½ cup raisins
  ½ cup currants
  ½ cup citron
  Moisten with one cup sweet cider.

Bake in two crusts. Just before serving pour through the slits in the
crust one tablespoon of fine brandy. Serve mince pie warm.

This is particularly good served with plain vanilla ice cream.


                              Date Pudding

  ½ lb. dates
  3 tablespoons butter
  ½ cup molasses
  ½ cup milk
  1⅔ cups flour
  ½ teaspoon baking soda
  ¼ teaspoon each of Bee Brand Cloves, Allspice, and Nutmeg

Stone dates and cut into small pieces. Melt the butter, add molasses and
milk. Mix the dry ingredients and sift to blend them thoroughly. Add
these to the butter mixture and lastly add the dates.

Pour into a buttered mold, cover with buttered paper and steam for one
and one-half hours.


                              Salmon Loaf

  1 can salmon
  1 cup stale bread crumbs
  2 well beaten eggs
  ½ cup milk
  1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
  2 tablespoons melted butter
  Seasoning and salt—Bee Brand black pepper and Bee Brand paprika

Pick one salmon, discard bones and pieces of skin. Shred meat with
silver fork, mix all ingredients, and put into a well-glazed mould and
bake in a pan of water for thirty minutes. Turn from mould and serve
with Hollandaise sauce, or allow to get cold and slice, and serve on a
dish garnished with rings of lemon and sprays of parsley.


                            Mackerel Souffle

  ¼ cup butter
  ⅓ cup flour, sifted and measured
  1 pint milk
  1 teaspoon salt
  ¼ teaspoon Bee Brand white pepper
  ⅛ teaspoon Bee Brand paprika
  2 teaspoons parsley, chopped fine
  3 egg yolks
  3 egg whites
  1½ cups canned mackerel

Melt butter, add flour and stir until well blended, in saucepan over
fire, then pour on the milk, stirring constantly. Cook to a smooth,
thick cream, add seasonings, then the fish, picked over and shredded
with a silver fork; then egg yolks beaten until thick, then fold in
whites beaten stiff and dry. Turn into a buttered baking dish, and bake
until firm and delicately colored—it will require about 45 minutes.




                           Quality vs. Purity


The enactment of the National Pure Food Law in 1906 did much toward
awakening an interest in the purity of Foods and Drugs, and while it has
been beneficial in a general way, it has had its disadvantages because
it is not complete.

The people have been taught by the laws and the Pure Food propagandists
to believe that the word “Pure” upon a package ensures that its contents
are all right. Nothing can be further from the truth.

An article may be Pure and yet be of very Poor Quality; Purity means
little. Quality means much. For instance, a Keifer pear is a Pure pear,
yet in Quality it cannot be compared to the Bartlett pear. Consider the
difference in the quality of butter. Take a number of samples of butter
and you will find that some of them will be unfit to eat, and others a
delight to use, yet they are all Pure butter, and the difference is in
the Quality. The tobacco in a “five-for-a-nickel” stogie may be a Pure
tobacco, but it cannot be placed in a class with that of an imported
Havana cigar selling at twenty-five cents.

A Spice may be Pure, and yet come from a country known to produce
inferior Spices. It may be Pure and yet inert. Consider the difference
in Quality between Acheen Pepper and Tellicherry. They are both Pure
peppers.

A Vanilla Flavoring Extract made from rank Tahiti Beans costing $1.50 a
pound is a pure Extract of Vanilla, but how does its quality compare
with that made from high-grade Mexican beans, costing $6.00 a pound? So
it goes all down the line.

    [Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Celery and Salt]

The time is coming when consumers will realize that the important thing
to look for in the purchasing of foodstuffs is not the word “Pure”—but
the name of the reputable manufacturer whose dealings are beyond
reproach.


                             THE COLANNADE
                       1332-1339 MT. ROYAL AVENUE

                                           Baltimore, Md., Dec. 1, 1914.

Messrs. McCormick & Co.
Baltimore, Md.

Gentlemen: For twenty years past I’ve been using Bee Brand Extracts and
Spices, and ever since you’ve added Teas to your products, I’ve used
Banquet Blend.

It’s the finest tea I know of and it pleases all our guests.

If you care to use this letter, you have my permission.
                           Yours very truly,
                             The Colannade,
                                                           M. E. McConn.




                           Banquet Brand Tea


In this big drum all the dust and foreign matter is removed from Banquet
Tea.

It’s a vacuum process, and it acts in such a way as to thoroughly mix
and blend the Teas when two or more are worked together.

    [Illustration: Vacuum Tea Cleaner]

There are few Tea houses similarly equipped. Among the 2000 flavors in
Tea, the problem of selection and combining is big. It takes expert
knowledge to produce a Tea like Banquet Blend. Four successive
generations of Tea experts produced the man who weened Banquet Blend
from among the many flavors.

Teas from the highlands of Ceylon, from the interior of China and from
the hillsides of Japan—all blended in one masterful creation—the triumph
of the tea-blender’s art.

In Banquet Blend there is a delicacy of flavor, a richness of bouquet, a
certain subtle softness, and none of that rankness which is found in so
many brands of tea.


                           Bee Brand Extracts

There are few houses engaged in the manufacture of Flavoring extracts
which have at their disposal a laboratory such as this.

Early in their business career McCormick & Company realized that eternal
vigilance in extract making would be the keynote of success.

    [Illustration: A Corner of the Laboratory]

The services of expert chemists were engaged, a modern laboratory
equipped and the work of producing the world’s finest flavors begun. The
task was not easy, nor has the expense been light, but today, and for a
number of years past, these pioneers in the field of purer foodstuffs
have been reaping the harvest of seed sown years ago.

During the two years which are required to “process” most Bee Brand
Flavoring Extracts the goods are sealed in big white oak casks, where
much of their characteristic mellowness is acquired.

    [Illustration: Percolating Vanilla]

The making of Flavoring Extracts has long since been reduced to a
science, or, if you prefer, elevated to the station of an art. For
twenty-five years the manufacturers of Bee Brand Flavoring Extracts have
been the first to experiment with whatever innovations which have
offered for the betterment of the trade. In spite of many experiments,
the changes have not been drastic—the process remains much the same.


                            Bee Brand Spices

The rows of spice-mills, illustrated on page 5, are always of interest
to the guest. Long before one comes to the spice department the
fragrant, pungent aroma drifts out in friendly greeting. Big
electrically-driven mills pound away hour after hour, day after day,
turning out savory Bee Brand Spices to tempt the fickle appetite of a
busy work-a-day world.

In this building one finds the products of the four corners of the
globe. It is, indeed, easy to understand Sheba’s tribute to Solomon when
she selected spices from among all the good things the world affords and
sent them to his court.

Here is the atmosphere of the Old World mingled with the commercialism
of the New.


A cordial invitation is extended you to visit the Bee Brand Plant when
you are in Baltimore. Courteous guides are at your disposal from 10 A.
M. to 4 P. M. each day. Every nook and corner of this great institution
is open for your inspection—there is nothing under cover, nothing to
conceal.

The management wants you personally to see the sanitary manner in which
the plant is run—the smiling faces of contented employees, who find
their pleasure in their work. No note of discord here! Occasionally a
“kicker” drifts in, but not for long. He has no place in “the spirit of
the hive.”

Telephone Connections.

                        THE INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL
                   COOKS AND PASTRY COOKS ASSOCIATION
                              OF NEW YORK
                          154 WEST 44TH STREET

  Societe Culinaire Philanthropique
  Cooks and Pastry Cooks Association
  Culinary Alimentary Association
  Culinary Club
  International Cooks Association

                                                New York. June 11, 1914.

Mess. McCormick and Co. Baltimore, Maryland. Gentlemen:—

      To obtain the best results, we use and recommend for use “BEE
BRAND EXTRACT OF VANILLA.” We find it an excellent Vanilla of a superior
quality.

    [Illustration: THE INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL COOKS AND PASTRY COOKS
    ASSOCIATION OF N.Y. INC. • 1914]

                        THE INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL
                   COOKS AND PASTRY COOKS ASSOCIATION
                                  per _Adolphus Meyer_
                                                               Secretary


                That’s What 6000 Chefs and Stewards Say!

These chefs and stewards are members of the International Mutual Cooks
and Pastry Cooks Association, and they have unreservedly endorsed Bee
Brand Flavoring Extracts as the highest in quality.

They don’t guess at it—they know! They have tried and tested them in
comparison with all other brands of extracts worthy of any consideration
at all. There was only one possible verdict! Bee Brand was found
superior in mellowness of flavor, in quality of ingredients; in fact, in
every way.

In the kitchen, Bee Brand Extracts were found to cook out less readily
than any other extract and to impart a finer fruit flavor than could be
secured in any other way.

This is as it should be. Bee Brand Extracts are the perfected result of
twenty-five years’ experience in scientific Extract Making. The highest
quality raw materials are used exclusively and after intensive
processing, Bee Brand Extracts are aged in white oak casks to bring out
their distinctive mellowness of flavor.

Bee Brand Extracts were awarded the only Gold Medal at the Jamestown
Exposition and have been endorsed by “Good Housekeeping Magazine,”
Westfield Board of Health and the highest authorities in Domestic
Science.

    [Illustration: McCORMICK and COMPANY]

    [Illustration: IMPORTERS of SPICES]


                  A Partial List of Bee Brand Products


                              Spices, Etc.

  Bee Brand Powdered Cinnamon
  Bee Brand Saigon Cinnamon
  Bee Brand Ground Nutmegs
  Bee Brand Ground Ginger
  Bee Brand Ground Allspice
  Bee Brand Pickling Spice
  Bee Brand Whole Cloves
  Bee Brand Ground Cloves
  Bee Brand Ground Mace
  Bee Brand Turmeric
  Bee Brand Whole White Pepper
  Bee Brand Ground White Pepper
  Bee Brand Ground Black Pepper
  Bee Brand Ground Red Pepper
  Bee Brand Ground Mustard
  Bee Brand Celery Seed
  Bee Brand Celery Salt
  Bee Brand Onion Salt
  Bee Brand Curry Powder
  Bee Brand Rubbed Sage
  Bee Brand Thyme
  Bee Brand Marjoram
  Bee Brand Tapioca, Granulated
  Bee Brand Paprika
  Bee Brand Tapioca, Pearl
  Green Seal Salad Dressing
  Green Seal Table Relish
  Bee Brand Gelatine
  McCormick’s Mayonnaise Dressing


                           Flavoring Extracts

  Bee Brand Almond
  Bee Brand Banana
  Bee Brand Cinnamon
  Bee Brand Cloves
  Bee Brand Jamaica Ginger
  Bee Brand Lemon
  Bee Brand Nutmeg
  Bee Brand Orange
  Bee Brand Peppermint
  Bee Brand Peach
  Bee Brand Pineapple
  Bee Brand Raspberry
  Bee Brand Strawberry
  Bee Brand Rose
  Bee Brand Vanilla
  Bee Brand Wintergreen


                         Confectioner’s Colors

  Bee Brand Green
  Bee Brand Blue
  Bee Brand Yellow
  Bee Brand Strawberry Red
  Bee Brand Pink
  Bee Brand Violet
  Bee Brand Brown


                           Banquet Brand Tea

All the leading varieties are packed under this brand.


                           Bee Brand Gelatine
                          Acidulated or Plain

This is the Gelatine which Dr. Vulté selected from among twenty samples
submitted as being the very finest possible to procure.

The Dietetic Department of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, uses
Bee Brand exclusively.

    [Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Gelatine]




                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.







End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Spices, Their Nature and Growth; The
Vanilla Bean; A Talk on Tea, by McCormick & Co.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63007 ***