SYRUP FROM GRAPES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 199, 17 May 1919, Page 10

SYRUP FROM GRAPES

During the agitation for prohibition in California, one of the realty vital prob-' lems concerning larjjc sections of the State was what to do with the immense crops of wine grapes, if they were not made into wine. There are large areas of land in California on which little else but theso grapes will grow; so the problem wns, how to prohibit thp manufncture of wine without bringing undue hardship on the people growing the srapes, as these grapes were considered fit only to bo converted into wine. The Agricultural College of the University of California took up the problem, and has developed in its laboratory a practical method of converting grape juice into excellent syrup—an article so much in demand in these days of sugarconservation. Tho university claims that the conversion of grapes into syrup instead of wine will double the value of the grape crow of the State, that tho 259,0(10 tons of wine grapes, now worth i,000,000 dollars, whoso market will be cut off by war prohibition in 1019, if made into syrup would be equivalent to •J-O.flOO tons of sugar of a present value of 8,000,000 dollars.

Oiie of the most interesting features of this question is, writes the "Scientific American," the plan recommended by the university that all crape growers, winceries and sugar factories co-operate next year in the interest of all these industries. It proposes that the wineries purchase the grapes of tho vintage of 1919,' and extract and' store . th& estimated 50,000,000 gallons of juice, the larger summer factories to receive the juice, concentrate it, and ship syrup to the canneries,for use in 1920.

Th is can'be done, because the university lias discovered a simple and inexoensi've process of treating tlie juice which will 1 prevent fermentation for a year if necessary. The bulletin states that this syrup cnn be used in"~place of. sugar in preserving some fruits, and mixed with sugar for others.