Page Six
THE FISHERMAN
Friday, August 28, 1&47
--VICTORIA, B.C. -
Ship Chandlers
(McQuode's) Ltd.
Est. 1858 1214   WHABF STREET VICTORIA, B.C. Be* ms for a full line of Ropes, Anchors, Chains and Fishermen's ■Supplies.
NOW Decca   — Victor Bluebird •— Columbia RECORDS
1800 IN STOCK Play them anywhere, anytime, on a Birch Portable Gramophone — $33.50.
RONNIE'S
At Your Service
Alert Bay, B.C.
Peterson & Edward Hardware
ALERT  BAY, B.C. DRT GOODS SHOES Valvoline Marine Paints Ships Ohandlers Radio Technicians *
W.   R.   "DICK" PATTINSON
McAllister and Warnes
General  Food Merchants ALERT BAY, B.C.
Supplying the Fishing Fleet with Grade A Meats, Groceries, Fresh Vegetables and Fruit.
Yuclataw Traders
Stuart Island, B.C.
Fishbuyers, Store, All Supplies, Oil Station, Postoffice and Telegraph
THULIN TRADING
CO. LTD-   (Red & White)
A complete stock for every need of the Fisherman. Fish Buying Camp — Imperial Oil Products.
LUND, RC.
SOME KEY PRINCIPLES OF FISH SMOKING
By S. A. BEATTY Fisheries Research Board, Atlantic Stations
THE softening of the market for fish over the past six months has resulted in an increased interest in fish smoking. It is opportune, therefore, to review some of the principles behind this method of processing, especially of kippers and fillets.
► JAS. B. GRAHAM <
^ Duncanby Landing ^
y Rivers Inlet ^
► FISH BUYING CAMP i
► GENERAL STORE i
£ Standard Oil Products^
Western Fishing
Co., Ltd.
Wholesale Fish Dealers and Curers
Exporters of Sea Products N.H.B. Fish Dock
VANCOUVER, B.O.
WE BUY ALL, KINDS OF FRESH FISH
Smoking is carried on in three stages: brining, drying and smoking proper.
Brining serves two purposes; it gives about the right salt concentration for flavor, and the salty surface is responsible for the sheen. The concentration of salt in commercial fillets and kippers ranges from two to more than four percent, but the average commercial products is just under three percent. In the absence of any actual taste panel data, we conclude that probably the latter concentration is about right. To produce a good sheen, the- salt concentration of the surface of the fillet can be anywhere between 5 and 15 percent salt. Practically every firm has its pet way of arriving at this salt concentration, but it doesn't make much difference how it is done. If half saturated solution of salt is used, the fillets or kippers must be immersed a half hour or longer depending on the amounts of brine and fish with constant stirring to provide for reasonably even salting. But a dip of from one to two minutes in a saturated solution effects the same result. If saturated brine is used, only certain dyes can be incorporated with it as many of them are not soluble in saturated brine.
The brining alone does not produce the sheen. The salt in the surface proteins cause them to take up water and swell. This surface layer of swollen jelly-like protein, when dried, assumes the same shiny surface as dried egg white   or  dried mucilage.
Drying Smoked Fish
Drying fresh fish or fillets is almost as fussy a job as is the drying of salt fish. The fish must not get warmer than about 75 deg. F. or they become partially cooked and the sheen is lost. The air used for drying can be quite warm especially if it is dry, because of the cooling effect of the evaporation. Generally, if the dew point is n\ich above 50 deg. F., that is, if the air is saturated with water when cooled to 50 deg. F., the fish will not dry satisfactorily.
As yet by far the most of the fish is smoked in the conventional smokehouse. It has the advantage that it provides a means of handling quickly as much as 25,-000 lbs. of fillets, and getting them out of the way until the following day.
But it has m.any very serious disadvantages. The smokehouse is responsible for almost all the fires that occur in processing plants. The process is very wasteful of both time and materials. The loading is slow, and there is always some droppage from tenters during loading. The losses in hot weather due to cooking are usuallv hieh enough to ruin r- ■ "~
A. C. Benson Shipyard Ltd.
2   Marine  Ways  — General Repairs — Boats of Every Description Built to Order 1705 W. Georgia St.   MA. 2843
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ELECTRICAL MACHINERY SALES
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what might have been a sizable profit. No smokehouse smokes evenly. The lowest fish are smoked heaviest, and unless the fish are loaded very lightly in the house there is uneven smoking throughout the length and breadth. This light load, especially in warm weather, is very wasteful of space, and the load in the average house is about one lb. per effective cubic foot of space in poor weather and about two lbs. in good weather. This dependence on the weather is probably the most important draw-back to the conventional house and, in fact, smoking cannot be carried on at all over most of the Maritimes during much of July, August, and September. The size of the space makes it uneconomical to attempt to air condition these holds.
Smoke Tunnels
Of late, attention has been turned to tunnels as a means of correcting the faults o the conventional smokehouse, and the main purpose of this article is to summarize our knowledge of these.
There are three types of smoke tunnel available to the trade of Eastern Canada. The first was developed by the Torry Low Temperature Research Station, Aberdeen, Scotland, and two models have been worked out by the Fisheries Experimental Station, Halifax, N.S. Plans of all these can be secured from this laboratory. Actually there is little or no difference in them except in detail, and the choice will depend on local conditions, available space, etcetera.
Tunnel smoking overcomes many of the difficulties incurred in the conventional procedure. The fire risk is almost entirely eliminated. Labor qost Is reduced about 50 percent. Smoking is more even. The color is greater, making dyeing either unnecessary or at least much less necessary. The operation is more nearly continuous and fits in better with regular processing. There is less interference from the weather, and smoking can be made entirely independent of the weather by the installation of air conditioning equipment. The time of smoking is reduced from about 15 hours to two to three hours and the load is about 10 lbs. per cubic foot instead of about two lbs.
This equipment has never been installed of sufficient size to determine how it fits into the processing techniques, and, therefore, difficulties not now evident may appear if large installations are made. There is one basic difficulty which we do not believe
will be serious when the trade is used to the equipment. The color develops slowly and does not reach its maximum even in the conventional house. After two or three hours smoking in a tunnel, the sheen may be good but there will be very little color. This will not reach its maximum until one or more days later depending on the storage temperature. Hence it would be difficult to determine when fish are sufficiently smoked were it not that the smoking from day to day is reasonably constant, and a routine can be established that does produce color sufficiently constant.
Results Constant
While the weight loss varies considerably from day to day in the conventional house, fairly constant results can be obtained with the tunnel. The trade suffers losses due to drying between eight and 18 percent- The optimum is about 12 percent. Greater drying results in needless losses and tough, leathery tails; less drying means too much drip after  fillets are thawed.
Probably the greatest deterrent to sales of smoked fish is spoilage that occurs in the retail stores. It is generally believed that smoking stops almost indefinitely the action of spoilage bacteria. If we smoked enough for this, few people would eat the fish. Haddies, fillets and kippers are smoked to impart a pleasant flavor, not to prolong indefinitely the keeping time. While these fish do keep longer than the un-smoked fish or fillets, the keeping qualities are not greatly enhanced, and retailers should be warned that these mildly smoked fish should be handled as carefully as if they had not been smoked.
Bill Henderson HA. 4377 'Sam Montgomery       Stev. 63
RICHMOND TRANSFER
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THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
Cummins Diesel Sales of B.C Ltd.
DEPENDABLE MARINE DIESEL ENGINES 1832 W. Georgia Vancouver
SHIPYARD and MARINE REPAIRS
SEINE BOATS Halibut Boats Work Boats
TWO MARINE WAYS •
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. and Co. Ltd.
Ft. Cardero St      Coal Harbor Phone MA. 8839 VANCOUVER, B.C.
"Build B.C. Payroll*"
Among a number of reasons Mrs. R. McN. cites this im-why she uses Pacific Milk, portant one: "It is very convenient, convenient because ane need never be without Milk. It keeps sweeter much longer than ordinary milk and is more economical."
Pacific Milk
Irradiated and Vacuum Packed
From Head to Foot, by Alex
Novlkoff,    A    'Young World
Book, $2.50. "MOW it can be told"—or more '« correctly, "now it has been told"—the seeming mysteries of how our bodies are made and how they function are revealed in words and wonderful illustrations by Alex Novikoff, author of that illuminating book "Climbing Our Family Tree."
Although "From Head to Foot" belongs to the Young World Books written chiefly for the growing boy and girl, the material is ao well written that all who are interested in gaining some real, scientifically correct knowledge about the inner mechanisms of their own bodies should not miss the opportunity to read it.
Those who have reached maturity may feel that they have only academic interest in the knowledge about themselves, but the generation jus't maturing is an enquiring one. Time and again, parents, teachers, instructors in youth work are confronted by young people eager for accurate material to help them grow into mature men and women.
A few words about the author will verify as to the accuracy of the contents. Dr. Alex Novikoff is a teacher of biology at Brooklyn College, author of many books on scientific subjects.
The illustrator of the book has made as great a contribution to the work as the author himself.
It is difficult to say just which part of the* book is the most in-
teresting since each page is so full of pulsating life. However, the last few chapters bring forth a fact of the greatest significance to us as human beings. Much of the preceding we find is in common with all living forms, but the last explains our brain and what a tremendous, supreme, important role it plays in our lives. Dr. Novikoff says it so succintly that a quote is in order: "But because of our brains and nervous systems, we alone of the animals have the power to make the way we live serve our needs and desires. . . . Man's complicated brain and nervous system, his body, which can adapt itself so easily to different surroundings, his ability to plan, work and use tools, give him a chance to work together with his fellows and deliberately improve his society until it suits him, until it gives everybody a good life. Lucky for us that we have this ability. That's what makes us 'human beings'."—H. O. Hormavirta, D.O.
*   * ★
"From Head to Foot" can be ordered from The Fisherman book department at $2.50 plus 10 cents to cover postage.
J. G. Clandening & Sons
Machinist and Engineers Marine Ways
Drew Harbour
P.O. Heriot Bay or Quathiaskd Cove
"CATERPILLAR" MARINE DIESEL
The above picture shows the "D 8800" 77 H.P. at 900 R.P.M.
A Wide Variety of Attachments is Available
Finning Tractor & Equipment Co. Limited
,ii»C! «U««T M0 ,TAT|0N STRUT. VANCOUVER SiZLiml
REFRIGERATORS — RADIOS — WASHERS
General Electric, Leonard, Philco, Crosley, Northern Electric, Thor and A.B.C.
Full Line of Floor, Table Lamps and Small Appliances
— SEE —
NORTHERN B.C. POWER COMPANY LIMITED
Phone 210
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. STEWART, B.C.
All employees are Union Members, affiliated with A.F.L. _
'      IN MARINE
SHEET METAL WORK
W. A. THOM
SfWf Metal Works Ltd.
iv 79 west geop.gia st. Vancouver: b.c.
Principal Products Manufactured:
MARINE TANKS STACKS MUFFLERS VENTILATORS
Portable Welding Equipment
Phone — MArine 2725
Ramsay Machine Works Ltd.
Machinists — Engineers — Founders — Patternmakers MARINE REPAIRS Phone G 5314       -       1630 Store St.       -       Victoria. B.C.
GRAY MARINE ENGINES
THE FISHERMAN'S CHOICE
Quiet Dependable Economical
B.C. Distributors
HOFFARS LTD.
1790 WTJST GEORGIA STREET
VANCOUVER