Millions from Waste by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot - HTML preview

CHAPTER XI
 POTATO WASTE AS AN ASSET TO INDUSTRY

The potato has entered so intimately into our domestic life as to be regarded as indispensable to the human dietary. Whether its food value be exaggerated or otherwise, the fact remains that, speaking generally, it now ranks second to wheat in the estimation of the bread-eating nations. A potato-less dinner-table would create more dismay than one from which the familiar roll is missing, while some of us may even recall the widespread misery which was provoked in Ireland during the black years of 1845 and 1846 from the failure of the potato crop. The succulent tuber has achieved such a high estate among the community as to be deemed capable of taking the place of the cereal associated with the staff of life should exigencies so demand.

In view of such extreme popularity it is not surprising to find the potato cultivated extensively in the British Islands to serve essentially as a foodstuff for both man and beast. No allotment-holder would consider his endeavours to be complete without the inclusion of this vegetable in his gardening programme. As illuminative of the grip which the cult of the potato has secured upon the amateur son of Adam it may be mentioned that the allotment-holders of England and Wales raised a round 1,000,000 tons of this tuber, for the most part upon 10-rod plots, during the year 1918. Many farmers now regard it as the backbone to their agricultural endeavours, especially in those parts of the country where the soil conditions are particularly favourable to its easy and prolific cultivation.

Yet, in our use of the potato, we are extremely wasteful. We lose or discard at least one-third of what we grow. It is estimated that 25 per cent. of the value of a crop is lost to the farmer in cartage, carriage, clamping, bagging, marketing, and grading. This figure does not take into account the circumstance that only the cream of the crop—the ware potato—is set aside for human consumption, for which, of course, the maximum price is demanded. Neither does it refer to the losses incurred from the ravages of diseases, which, while varying according to the soil and weather conditions, are always material. An appreciable proportion of this loss and waste might be avoided were the practice of storage by clamping superseded by a method more in accordance with contemporary thought.

A further loss, even in connection with those set aside for the table, is incurred in the preparation of the vegetable. Peeling, as a rule, is clumsily and perfunctorily performed, “spud drill” being considered as one of the drudgeries of domestic life, because a pronounced portion of the edible flesh is removed with the skin, eyes and other unsightly or inedible parts. The extent of this loss varies with the size of the tuber and the carelessness or skill of the peeler. Consequently it may vary from 10 to 30 per cent. or even more.

What is done with the peelings? For the most part, notably in towns and cities, they suffer cremation, either at the destructor, via the dust-bin, or in the kitchen stove. But potato-peelings constitute an expensive fuel. The rural resident is generally more thrifty. He throws the peelings into the swill-tub for pig-food, or husbands them to boil and to blend with grain offal to sustain his poultry-run, but the quantity thus turned to economic account is really an insignificant proportion of the whole. Quite 600,000 tons of potato offal are destroyed in ignorance during the year—a deliberate wastage of valuable raw material.

The growers’ losses are equally startling, more particularly in clamping. The tubers afflicted with disease meet with instant rejection and destruction. Even the balance of good and sound tubers, remaining after the selection of the ware and seed grades, is utilized along the most wasteful lines, being regarded as fit for cattle only.

The farmer is not to be blamed for such extravagant use of the proportion of his crop which fails to rise to the high standard set for the table. He has not been enlightened either in regard to the constitution of the potato or its potential industrial uses. Even if he be cognizant of these factors he cannot more profitably exploit his surplus owing to the absence of all facilities to such an end.

Of what is the potato composed? Here is the result of an average analysis:—

The term “waste” included in the above table in reality is somewhat misplaced, as I explain later. The starch content is also a variable factor. While one analysis may show a percentage of only 15, another will yield a figure exceeding 18 per cent. Consequently that quoted may be accepted as representative.

Familiarity with the chemical composition of the humble potato prompted the Germans to regard it from two distinct view-points. The one, as in these islands, concerned its food potentialities; the second took into consideration its possible application as a raw material for several industries, such as the manufacture of alcohol, starch, glucose, dextrine, and other articles of commerce. Consequently, potato quotations upon the Teuton markets were dual and distinct. The one price, which was the higher, related to produce intended for the table, while the second, and lower, governed its industrial use.

The provision of two separate markets for the commodity produced the inevitable result. Farmers were assured of lucrative prices for their crop set aside for edible use, while the second market absorbed practically the whole of what was not required to satisfy the first-named demand, and that at an attractive figure. Accordingly, there was every inducement to bring more and more acres under the tuber, which led to the reclamation of poor soils regarded as utterly useless for general agriculture.

But the encouragement thus extended wrought many other far-reaching benefits. To persuade the poor soils devoted to the culture of the potato to become fertile led to an increased demand for artificial fertilizers, and provided a big domestic outlet for the native potash. The farmers were enlightened as to the many virtues possessed by such manures and were urged to use them liberally. The potash deposits were not the only home resources to enjoy prosperity from such propaganda. The steel industry reaped a certain measure of profit, because the land offered an encouraging market for the enormous accumulations of basic slag arising from the working in steel. Then the alcohol derived from the potato assisted other industries, notably that concerned with the manufacture of coal-tar dyestuffs. From this it will be seen that the increased production of the potato, and its submission to the most economic processes, exercised a repercussive effect in various directions.

It was the pursuit of this policy which enabled Germany to raise 54,000,000 tons of potatoes a year. Of this enormous yield approximately 30,000 tons were used to feed other industries with essential raw materials. The energy displayed by the farmer resulted in the supply exceeding the demand, so it became necessary to devise measures to cope with the glut to avoid the grower, from the receipt of absurdly low prices, being discouraged. The German farmer does not favour clamping: he desires to dispose of his product immediately it is gathered. With such an enormous output this tendency proved an awkward obstacle. The auxiliary industries planned their operations upon a twelve months scale. That is to say, they naturally desired to work steadily the whole year round. The raw material from the soil came to hand in tidal waves, and inconveniently.

The problem of meeting these sudden seasonal surges provoked difficulty and dissatisfaction. The dependent industries acquired their requirements, which left a very large quantity of potatoes upon the growers’ hands. They could not hold them through the winter owing to the extreme susceptibility of this vegetable to injury from frost. The merchants were ready to accept delivery and to hold them in store against the calls of commerce, but only at a price which was so low as to leave the growers on the wrong side. The latter, dissatisfied, threatened retaliation in the form of curtailment of production. At this declaration the alcohol-distilling interests took alarm. To secure themselves against any shortage of raw material they decided to hasten to the farmers’ assistance, the merchants being ignored. The Alcohol Association and the Farmers’ Societies collaborated to perfect ways and means of saving the surplus both from destruction and the profiteering of the factors. The co-operation of the Government was also sought. The last-named assented to extend tangible aid and forthwith prizes to the value of £1,500—$7,500—were offered to stimulate inventive fertility. As a result of the various discussions it was decided that the most promising solution of the vital question would be to convert the potato into a dried product.

Inventive effort responded very promptly upon the narrowing down of the issue. As a result of searching tests two dehydrating methods were adopted. By these processes the potatoes are washed, cooked, dried, and reduced to a flake and shredded form respectively. The product from the first-named process is described as “flocken” from its flake-like character, while the second is called “schnitzel.” The latter is the cheaper process, the cost of dehydrating a ton of potatoes being about 4s.—$1.00—while the conversion of a ton of tubers into flocken costs 10s.—$2.50. However, the capital investment incurred with the machinery for producing schnitzel is higher than that for yielding the flake, and initial outlay being the most compelling feature it is the process which has been most widely adopted. In 1914 there were over 400 factories in operation converting the surplus potato crop into a dried form, of which about 75 per cent. followed the flocken method. But it does not matter which process is employed, the result is the same—the production of a dried potato pulp, capable of being kept indefinitely so long as it is protected against the ravages of damp, and which suffers no injury from frost. From this dehydrated potato it is possible to work up a cheap, excellent cattle-food.

The ability to render the potato into a convenient dry form at a low figure prompted other countries, notably Japan and the United States of America, to resort to similar methods, but to a different end. The potato is rich in carbohydrates, and this fact suggested the subsequent milling of the dry material into a flour, commercially known as “farina,” which has proved a conspicuous commercial success. The demand for this flour is expanding rapidly, because it serves as excellent material for the preparation of bun-flours, cake-flours, custard-powders, soups, and other foodstuffs, designed and marketed with the primary idea of lessening the worries and labours of the housewife.

Previous to the war the price for this imported article varied between £25 and £35—$125 and $175—per ton, the cost of production ranging from £14 to £20—$70 to $100—per ton. The margin of profit was sufficiently wide to warrant the development of the process. Under war conditions the price soared as high as £90—$450—per ton, but subsequently dropped to about £45-£50—$225-$250. A very marked diminution upon this latter figure is improbable, owing to the increased manufacturing costs which now rule.

Therefore the question arises as to whether Britain cannot turn the balance of her potato crop to greater commercial advantage. There is no reason why we should not do so, seeing that in 1913 we imported over 40,000 tons of farina, while in 1917 the value of our importation of this flour rose to £1,040,319—$5,201,595—for about 25,000 tons. It must be conceded, however, that under present conditions less scope exists for such a manifestation of enterprise in this country, seeing that our potato crop is only about one-tenth of what Germany normally raises. But the demand for the by-products in this country is every whit as heavy and sustained as in Germany, while the fact that in this raw material we have the base wherewith to revive an industry—the production of starch—which Germany wrenched from us by unscrupulous trading, alone should be sufficiently attractive to warrant such an attempt being made. Our consumption of starch is heavy, exceeding 50,000 tons a year, while our purchases of dextrine and unpotable methylic-alcohol, both of which can be made from the potato, run into £70,000—$350,000—apiece during the year. Even the industrial alcohol, despite the adverse taxation conditions which prevail, is in urgent demand for many new industries.

If we confine the issue to the farina we have a distinctly promising outlook. British inventive effort has been encouraged, and has evolved a process and product of this character which are immeasurably superior to those of the foreigner. To us the domestic manufacture of farina is of far wider significance than its mere mention might suggest, inasmuch as it would prove of far-reaching value as an ingredient to the loaf. As a matter of fact the authorities, in their resolve to grapple with the national food question, provisionally ear-marked 2,000,000 tons of the 1918 British potato crop for conversion into farina, to be blended with the domestic wheaten flour, to induce the supplies of the last-named to go farther. The conclusion of hostilities rendered this precautionary measure unnecessary.

In the eyes of many people the addition of potato-flour to wheaten flour for bread may seem reprehensible, and to savour of adulteration. Prejudice is a wellnigh insuperable obstacle to overcome. But in this instance such opposition is misplaced. The introduction of farina to the loaf cannot be regarded as an adulterant, substitute, or even a diluent. Rightly or wrongly, the potato is invested with a high food value: in some quarters it is even held to be an equivalent to the wheat flour. Doubtless opposition would arise from memories of the practice which obtained during the early days of the war. But the faults which were encountered then were due to the method and not to any shortcomings upon the part of the ingredient.

The utilization of the potato for the production of bread is not even a modern innovation. It really represents a revival of a long-since abandoned and wellnigh forgotten art. In the early years of the Victorian era our bakers were compelled to make resort to the potato as a constituent of the loaf. The home-grown wheat physiologically was not adapted to the making of bread, and the same argument applies more or less to the domestically grown cereal of these days. Normally, only a certain volume can be used; it has to be blended with imported flour to obtain the requisite percentage of gluten in which the domestic cereal is deficient. The bakers of a century ago used the potato to obtain the gluten content. With the availability of the more glutinous imported flour recourse to the potato declined, until finally the practice was abandoned.

The revival of the principle to meet the conditions of war proved a failure from the simple fact that the baker had lost his cunning, and was neither so clean nor so painstaking as his forbears in regard to his utensils and the handling of the tuber. The potato is particularly sensitive to contamination. Should an imperfectly-cleaned utensil be used the resultant bread will speedily sour. Moreover, the mashing of the potato was carried out very indifferently, while its admixture with the other constituents was still more unsatisfactorily fulfilled, with the result that the loaf was a spongy, unattractive, unappetizing, and indigestible mass of doubtful nutritive value.

If the potato be used in the farinaceous form no such objections can be levelled against the ultimate bread. The ingredients can be blended more completely. It is this circumstance which renders the outlook for the potato-flour so promising, and the British process which has been perfected for its production should meet with far more gratifying success.

The preparation of the farina is simple and straightforward. The potatoes are taken in hand immediately after they have been dug, and so are perfectly fresh. They are emptied into hoppers to pass to the washing machine. Then they proceed to the steam-cooker where, unpeeled, they are partially cooked. Finally they are conveyed to the flaking machine, where the first stage of the process is completed. The potato is passed between closely-set, internally-heated rollers, the pulp being rolled out into a continuous sheet about as thick as tissue paper. During this stage the cooking process is completed, while the product is dried and converted into a crisp substance which is peeled from the final roller to fall in a shower of tiny flakes into a trough. It will be observed that the skin, eyes, and other deleterious portions, from which all flesh has fallen away, is collected with the main product.

Cooking, pulping, and flaking expels practically the whole of the 75 per cent. of water entering into the composition of the raw potato. The secret of the process is the control of the temperature, which must be maintained at a critical level, to assure the perfection of the product. If this be excessive there is the risk of the flake becoming charred, while, similarly, should the heat fall below the predetermined point, the product will lack dryness and crispness. As may be imagined, the treatment reduces the bulk of the potato very perceptibly, 5 tons of potatoes being required to furnish 1 ton of flake.

The second process is of the conventional milling character, the flake being ground to an extremely fine consistency. During this process the skin and all other inedible portions are removed. It may be mentioned that by turning the tubers into flake, slightly diseased potatoes, which would be useless for the table, or which could only be wastefully adapted to such a purpose, may be used without imperilling the purity of the product in any way, and with the minimum of loss. The flaking process presents an absolutely sterilized flour, the diseased portions being removed during milling.

All offal is carefully collected to be treated separately. It has pronounced food value for cattle, and, consequently, is converted into a meal. The production of 1 ton of farina yields about 300 lb. of offal, worth about £20—$100—a ton. The farina itself is of very fine consistency, yellowish-white in colour, appetizing in appearance, of pleasing aroma, the distinctive fragrance of the potato being scarcely discernible, and, if preserved from the damp, may be kept indefinitely.

It is not imperative that the flake should be milled immediately. In the former condition the potato may be safely stored in bags in a dry place after the manner of grain. It is not even essential to turn it into farina at all. In the flake form it constitutes an excellent base for the other industries to which it may be applied. It may be distilled for the extraction of the alcohol, excellent whisky, as is doubtless well known, being made from the potato, while large quantities of British brandies are produced from the starch which, by treatment with weak sulphuric acid, is converted into glucose, which is then fermented. Thus, it will be seen, the flake really represents the starting-point for numerous applications, each of which has its individual commercial possibilities. The outstanding advantage accruing from the conversion of the potato into flake is that it enables the product to be kept indefinitely, without suffering the slightest deterioration, and without any waste being incurred. I have seen samples which have been stored for seven years, and which to-day are in every way as good as flake fresh from the machine.

In setting forth the composition of the succulent tuber I referred to the item waste, which in the analysis given stands at 1.4 per cent. This is the ultimate residue from certain operations, but is not common to all, as, for instance, in the production of farina, where everything of a solid nature is utilized. But in some branches of industrial use there results a residue for which, at present, no attractive purpose has been found, although there are hopes that even this insignificant fraction will ultimately prove capable of profitable exploitation.

Turning once more to the utilization of farina as a constituent of the loaf, we encounter a possible development which should play a very emphatic part towards rendering ourselves less dependent upon foreign sources of wheat supplies. A series of baking tests were conducted under ordinary commercial conditions. The farina was mixed with the wheat-flour in the proportion of 5 per cent. of the former to a sack of the latter. Government Regulation flour was employed. The sack contains 280 lb., so that the addition of the farina was equal to 14 lb. Seeing that the farina represents the potato in a highly concentrated form—5 to 1—the addition was really equal to 70 lb. of mashed potatoes—a degree to which no ordinary baker would be prepared to venture.

In the first test the bread was moulded by hand, and the sack produced 104 loaves, each weighing, ready for the oven, 2 lb. 3 oz., as compared with 94 loaves of equivalent weight normally obtained from the sack at this bakery. Under machine bread-making conditions, which obtained with the second test, and which was in accordance with the conventional practice of the firm in question, the yield from the blended flour, for technical reasons, was slightly lower, being 101 loaves, the weight of the loaf, ready for the oven, being the same as in the first experiment.

Baking was conducted at a temperature of 560 degrees, the loaves scaling barely 2 lb. 2 oz. upon withdrawal from the oven, and falling to 2 lb. net fifteen hours after baking. The bread was examined by experts who were present, and was declared to leave little or nothing to be desired. Judging from the public point of view it was held to be more attractive, owing to its increased volume, even texture, and perfect homogeneity, while it was found to be more digestible and satisfying.

In the hot condition the bread revealed only a slight trace of the peculiar fragrance of the potato, but this disappeared entirely upon cooling. The palate was unable to detect the potato-flour addition. The keeping qualities of this bread aroused particular comment. Four days after baking it was found to be still moist, while, upon the lapse of a fortnight, two loaves were rebaked and then found to be totally free from sourness. The striking success recorded was accepted by the expert opinion to be sufficiently conclusive: indeed, the suggestion was made that the proportion of farina might safely be increased to 7¹⁄₂ per cent. without allowing the presence of the potato to be detected. Tests were also carried out to determine the suitability of the potato-flour as an ingredient in the preparation of cakes and pastries. Here again the blended flour was unequivocally declared to yield better and more appetizing articles than was possible with pure wheaten flour.

But, taking the 5 per cent. addition as the figure coinciding with all-round requirements, it will be seen that the potato holds out great economic possibilities towards the reduction of the expense of the nation’s bread bill. During the year 1916 our consumption of flour totalled 37,000,000 sacks, of which approximately 12,000,000 sacks represented imported flour. Assuming that 30,000,000 sacks were devoted to the production of bread, the aggregate yield of loaves was approximately 2,820,000,000. Had we used home-produced farina from home-grown potatoes to the extent of 5 per cent. we could have reduced the foregoing consumption of the wheaten product by 1,500,000 sacks, and that without losing a single loaf. As a matter of fact we would have been better off, because, on the higher average yield of 101 loaves per sack to which farina has been added, we should have obtained 2,875,500,000 loaves—an increase of 55,500,000 loaves.

The economy possible from the more enterprising utilization of the potato in connection with our daily bread is so impressive as to command attention, even to-day. Presuming that the foregoing figures still hold good, the blending of 5 per cent. of native farina would save 200,000 tons of shipping per year. To supply the requisite 188,000 tons of farina would involve 940,000 tons of potatoes. Seeing that the authorities, under the dictates of war, contemplated setting aside 2,000,000 tons from the 1918 crop for the production of potato-flour, such a demand as indicated would not impose an intolerable strain upon our potato-growing resources. Were such a scheme carried to fruition we should also be able to recover 28,000 tons of valuable cattle meal to feed our stock during the winter season.

But, as already mentioned, the farina represents only one phase of a big issue possessed of vast possibilities. The other available openings for the products of the tuber would consume from four to eight times the volume of potatoes available. In Germany, out of the total 54,000,000 tons raised during the year only a round 4,000,000 tons have to be turned into flocken and schnitzel to save them from destruction by frost. In these circumstances there would appear to be scope for the cultivation of a further 5,000,000 tons, or twice the prevailing annual crop in these islands, with this advantage. The farmer, assured of his market and a fair price for his product, would be encouraged to extend his activities, and would be prompted to exploit considerable acreage of land which at present is regarded as waste, for the simple reason that it cannot be cultivated under existing conditions to profit.

Even disease and its ravages would be regarded by the growers with perfect equanimity were the industrial uses of the potato to be developed in this country. A farmer would not be faced with disaster in such an eventuality, as is the case to-day, because the diseased tubers would be available for the production of alcohol. Indeed, the more advanced the stage of disease the more suitable is the potato to this range of exploitation.

Lifting the commercial horizon, in so far as it affects the potato, demands support for other reasons. It would encourage inventive effort, which, in turn, would undoubtedly lead to the elimination of wastage in the household. Evaporative or dehydrating processes are already in operation, and it is only logical to assume that this tendency is capable of considerable expansion. The perfection of a simple and inexpensive process of drying the potato, either whole or in conveniently sized sections, as is common to culinary practice, capable of restoration, if necessary, to the original condition before cooking for the table, would benefit the whole community. “Spud drill,” the bête noire of every home, restaurant and hotel, with its concomitant wastage of time and heavy loss of valuable food material, would be eliminated. The removal of the greater part, or whole, of the 75 per cent. of the water contained in the raw tuber would decrease bulk, and effect a very valuable saving in transport. At the present moment the carriage of one ton of potatoes involves the useless dragging about of 15 cwt. of water which is superfluous. Only 5 cwt. of the load represents solid foodstuff. Dry the potato, expel the water, and from 4 to 5 tons of the product could be carried in the space now demanded to receive one ton. We have milk, peas, fruits, and other commodities innumerable in an evaporated form, which in their raw condition are associated with heavy proportions of water, so that there does not appear to be any valid reason why the potato should not be supplied to the housewife in a similar form and at a low figure. The perfection of such a process would completely obviate all waste because the offal—the peel and other inedible portions—would be recovered for conversion into food for animals, instead of suffering incineration. The recovery of the skin alone would bring within reach of the cattle-raiser for winter feed upwards of 30,000 tons of meal worth from £400,000 to £600,000—$2,000,000 to $3,000,000.

We, who live in these islands, scarcely understand the potato. We are content to cling tenaciously to the traditions established three hundred years ago. It is estimated that the British farmers lost over £6,000,000—$30,000,000—in handling their 1918 crop owing to the employment of obsolete and wasteful methods. The greater part, if not the whole, of this loss might have been averted had more enlightened methods prevailed concerning the utilization of the tuber. The above-mentioned figure does not take into account the losses suffered from disease and other causes, which must also have amounted to millions sterling.

Our system is as pre-historic as many of the agricultural methods practised by the fellaheen in the Land of the Pharaohs. The potatoes are dug and then collected for storage in big clamps. These have to be opened at intervals to allow the contents to be turned over and inspected, to ascertain whether or no latent disease has asserted itself. The potatoes have to be graded and bagged preparatory for market, while there is the formidable item of transport to be considered. Between the harvesting of the crop and its ultimate disposal considerable handling ensues, while the difference in value between the “ware,” or table, potatoes and the “chats,” or those regarded as fit only for the pigs, is also very pronounced.

Contrast this method with what would obtain were we to develop the Continental system. After digging and grading the crop the farmer would merely be called upon to convey his harvest to the factory, when all anxiety, so far as he was concerned, would end. The method would be comparable with that pertaining to the handling of the wheat harvest in the great grain-growing countries, where the farmer is merely called upon to gather his grain and to haul it to the elevator. The saving in time and labour alone—two vital factors in these days—would be incalculable, while the risks of loss of crop would be completely obviated.

The super-scientific exploitation of the potato would extend far-reaching benefits in every direction. Not only would considerable stretches of derelict agricultural Britain be brought into productivity, but the very stimulation of the poor soils would bring about startling expansion in the production of artificial fertilizers, and would tend to stabilize such industries. In this way the recovery of waste in many other directions would be fostered—potash from the flues of the blast furnaces; basic slag from the dumps disfiguring the countryside in the vicinity of our ironworks; sulphate of ammonia from our gas and coking ovens; nitrates from the air. These would offer scope for employment, and tend to keep money within the confines of these islands, because the expansion of waste-recovery plants upon a sufficiently impressive scale in the interests of agriculture, with the local demand constituting the backbone of the trade, would encourage production for export. The labour thus absorbed would more than counter-balance the displacement experienced on the farms, and would redound to the benefit of the latter, because foods for poor and rich soils would be turned out in increasing streams and at lower prices. Thus it will be seen that any development of the potato, along modern scientific lines, and in such a way as to frustrate waste, must represent a big stride forward in the progressive cycle.