The .Omaha Sunday Bee
PAST THREE
W MAGAZINE
.7 PAGES 05E TO EIGHT
PAST THREE
MAGAZINE
PAGES ONE TO EIGHT.
VOL. XLI-XO. 47.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 12, 1912.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
Macaroni Becoming the Great American Food Product
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Section oflaealind room
By Clyde E. Elliott
EOPLE are realizing more and more
that the great duty they owe to them
selves is to keep well; and, while the
matter of keeping well la dependent
upon our general mode of life, we
know that oar habitual eating of a
pnre food product has a great deal to
do with our health and strength as a nation.
All older nations, to a certain extent, have some
Special national food. This, for Instance, is nar-
' ttcularly true of the Japanese their national dish
is rice. The Englishman eats beef; the Swiss, one
of the hardiest of nations. eata chaeaa and 1HnV
buttermilk; the Italian, who la the greatest human
working machine on earth, eats macaroni.
America Is a new country, and it is, we think,
the greatest. It has been said that one of the
(things that has been for the making of this, coun
try is the fact that we hare been able and wise
lenough to profit by the experience of nations older
,than us. For instance, we have taken our law
from militant Rome, our art from classic Greece,
our science, industries and literature from modern
Europe, and have made a composite of all these,
which we find in the cultured and energetic Amer
ican However, it seems that we are just now in
the process of choosing our great national food
product, and it is macaroni.
Originally Italian Food
Macaroni, in its various forms, was originally
kn Italian product. ' It waa the great staple food
jof the Italians long before Italy, through Rome,
ruled all other nattona of the globe, and Its con
tinued use among Italians remains with ns today
sua proof of its great and genuine worth.
The fact that the Italians still regard macaroni
its the best food they can eat considering all sides
of the food problem Is proof that this product
must be a very excellent dish for any nation. Bo
the people of America are coming to accept this
food aa the beat individual dish that can be set
before them. They consider its taste, its health
'qualities and its strength-building virtues and
they agree that it is the food they should use. So
today we have physicians and pure food experts
.recommending macaroni for ose In all homes; and
so, too, we find it being served In a greater num
ber of homes every month. It is really becoming
jthe great American food product, and so it is ex
pected that the demand for it will soon be so great
that the factories of this country will be forced to
increase their output capacity in order to supply
e great demand.
All Formerly Imported
The use of macaroni in this country was orig
inally confined to our Italian population and to
Americans who formed the habit by extensive trav
eling in Italy. Until a comparatively few years
ago the product that was consumed by Americans
'was either imported or manufactured by Italians
In tbia country. However, In the last few years
'enterprising Americans have foreseen the great
'possibilities in the development of macaroni as a
staple American product, and have gone into IU
(manufacture extenaively. Several conditions make
the manufacture of macaroni desirable from a busi
ness point of view. First, we find that we have
In this country a special macaroni wheat, known
aa durum wheat, raised In the northwest, which Is
the greatest and most nutritious wheat in the
world, containing a large percentage of gluten;
second, we find great demand by Americans for
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in some of majsfve macaroni" presses dnd.otter machines
occasions; they looked upon It aa a food for the
worklngman. Today, however, the entire Amer
ican nation has come to regard It as one of the
a product which they know la manufactured under "u"
tbltelr -snltsry conditions They are not aa- .mMt ustainlng of foods.
absolutely sanitary conditions. They
pure of this In the Imported French or Italian
article; In fact, it has 'been demonstrated that un
der American management a much better grade of
goods is produced than under the best foreign con
ditions. Not many years ago there) was In this country a
farge class of people who "lived to eat" But we
find nnder the education which we are receiving
jtrom the pure food commissioners, and the medical
f rofession In general, our health depends on the
ood that we take Into our bodies more than any
ther one thing. We are, therefore, rapidly be
coming a nation that "eats to live." In other
iworda. It is better to maintain the original healthy
foiJ. with which practically all of ns hare been
blessed, than try to make It over again In our
later years. Every man, woman and child should
eat, as a basis for nutrition, a good pure food, a
food that will produce health, and this essential is
found In the highest degree and In the most di
gestible form in macaroni products. It la a very
Interesting fact that two very simple and econom
ical foods contain all the necessary Ingredients to
sustain life these are milk and gluten. Maca
roni Is largely composed of gluten.
Sales Increased ImmrmaWy
People who have never stopped to think about
the consumption of macaroni would be surprised
at the figures on the sale of this food all over the
United States., How It has grown from small sales
'pt a few years ago to the giant sales of today Is a
jvery interesting story, and one that would make
the foundation for an interesting little book. Peo
ple, until few years ago, thought macaroni was a
food that was to be eaten only Infrequently; they
tftd not then regard it as one of the most nourish
ing and' most strength-building of the foods and
yerwyent telet lttojwrredpnlx tyerj.fererila;
In all the leading cafes of the country . it is
placed on the menu dally. One of Omaha's cafes,
Courtney's, serves this food regularly. The Court
ney chef is an expert In macaroni cooking, and the
dish that he sets before the Courtney guests Is
just aa delicious a one as Omaha people have ever
tasted. It is cooked so well and flavored so ap
petixingly that one Is tempted to repeat bis order.
Courtney uses Skinner's macaroni, too, and the
chef of this popular cafe says he prefers this brand
to any foreign makes and always insists on using it.
In Kansas City, St. Louis, SL Paul, Minneapolis
and many other western cities the cafe and res
taurant proprietors have given their chefs Instruc
tions to have macaroni served in some form every
day. It is one of the "regular of the menu, and
a patron of these places does not have to give a
special order when he wants macaroni.
Omaha restaurant keepers, when Interviewed
recently, said that the quantity of macaroni eaten
at their places during the past years waa four times
larger than la any previous twelvemonth; they
also stated that the daily orders for this food are
Increasing every week.
Kinds of Macaroni
The various preparations are met with in the
form of fine, thin threads which constitute vermi
celli, so-called from its threadwormlike appear
ance, thin sticks and pipes (macaroni). These
various forms are prepared In a uniform manner
from a granular meal of hard wheat, which itself,
nnder the name of Semolina or Semola, is a com
mercial article. The semolina Is thoroughly mixed
and incorporated Into a stiff paste) or dough with
boiling water, end In the hot condition It Is placed
In a strong metsllle cylinder constructed to stand
a pressors of f,00 pound per square inch the
ecjyr; jFhtcI 1 clog jrnhr-athjclp jlisk Jgiercd
with openings which correspond with the diameter ,
or section of the article to be made. Into this
cylinder an accurately fitting plunger or piston Is
introduced, and by very powerful pressure It
causes the stiff dough to squeexe out through the
openings In the disk In continuous threads, sticks
or pipes, as the ease may be. When pipe or tube
macaroni is being made the openings in the disk
are widened internally and mandrels the gauge of
the tubes to be made are centered In them. In
making pastes the cylinder Is laid horizontally, the
end Is closed with a disk pierced with holes having
the sectional form of the pastes, and a set of
knives revolves close against the external surface
of the disk, cutting off the paste In thin sections
as it exudes from each opening.
Product Dried Gradually
Macaroni Is dried gradually by hanging it in
long sticks or tubes over wooden rods In heated
apartments through which currents of air are
driven. It Is only genuine macaroni, rich In glu
ten, which can be dried In this manner; spurious
fabrications made with common flour and colored
to Imitate the true material will not bear tbelr own
weight. Imitations must, therefore, be laid out
flat and dried slowly, during which they very read
ily split and break up, while In other cases they be
come mouldy on the Inside of the tubes. True
macaroni can be distinguished by observing Its soft,
yellowish color. Its rough texture and hardness; It
breaks with a smooth, glassy fracture. In boiling
It swells p to doable Its original also without be
coming pasty or adhesive, maintaining always Its
original tabular form without either rapture or
coUapse. It can be kept any length of time with
out alteration or deterioration, aad it as oa this)
account, in xseay instances, a most convenient, as
wen aa highly antrltioas and health 'ul, article of
food.
asodera Factory Bare
Omaha and the central west art) fortuasta In
and up-to-date macaroni factories In this country.
It Is manufacturing right at home a macaroni
which cannot be surpassed by the Imported product
and which la made under absolutely cleanly condi
tions; It Is also furnishing this nutritious food at
a price which makes It a boon to the housekeeper
of moderate means. The Skinner Manufacturing
company, which, though It has been In existence
only about a year, has been experiencing such large
demand for Its products that It finds it necessary
to vacate the present building now occupied and
erect a new factory.
Plans are being drawn up for the erection of
one of the most modern macaroni factories in the
country. The Skinner company has purchased a
valuable site at Fourteenth and Jackson streets
for the home of the new factory. Fisher Lawrie
are engaged In making plans for the big building
that will rise on this site.
Employing Many People
The Skinner company now employs more than
forty people. AH of these employes, with the ex
ception of three or four traveling salesmen, make
their homes in Omaha. With the erection of the
new factory the Skinner company will have a ca
pacity that will be three times greater tban that of
the present establishment. This new home will
call for the services of many more employes, so
that this company will furnish work for many
more Omaha people.
In the beginning this company declared that Its
product should be the best To this end It decided
that only the best durum wheat would be bought
and that the best macaroni manufacturing machin
ery would be Installed. This plan was carried out,
so the Skinner macaroni is now recognised aa one
of the purest products on the market in this coun
try. The sales force was organized Immediately
after the plans for the manufacture of macaroni
were completed. This force has placed the Skin
ner product In nearly all grocer stores of Iowa
territory, so that It Is only a question of a short
time before the Skinner product will bs on sale all
ever the west
Expert In Charge
When the Skinner plant was opened Mr. Dom
inie Lumetto was placed In charge of the manufac
turing end. Mr. Lumetto Is an expert In this busi
ness; he Is a native of Italy and there for yeara
was engaged In making macaroni. He has studied
the business and knows every detail thoroughly;
he Is Interested In the company aa one of the stock
holders. All other departments are la charge of
experts who are Interested In turning out the best
macaroni products that can be made In the entire
west
The cost of macaroni Is so small as compared
with that of other products which contsln less
health-building qualities that none can deny Its
superiority over hundreds of foods thst have long
been used on the tables of Americans. The young
boy who romps about out-of-doors every hour of
the day finds a Joy In eating macaroni, and he gets
a strength from It that makea him grow strong.
The man who labors hard all days In factory, shop
or street relishes macaroni and gets nourishment
that makea him feel like working bard tbs next
day that gives him the power and strength to
continue his labor day after day.
With the building of the new 8klnner factory,
Omaha will have one of the best equipped estab
lishments of Its kind In the country, and Omaha
will become one of the macaroni manufacturing
centers of the west Omaha people have been In
terested In watching the growth of tbia firm and
they will continue to watch Its progress. The Im
portant part, about getting a good dish from mac
aroni is In the cootlng. Macaroni should always
be placed In boiling water and left there for fifteen
or twenty minutes, and then blanched In cold
water. The Skinner company is one of the two
factories In Omaha; Manglamell Jb Bro. operate a
second plant for the production of this food. The
Skinner company, however, is one of the largest
In the west snd Is growing more rapidly tban any
other similar factory In this section.
Views In Factory
The illustrations on this page, the photographs
of which were made at the Skinner factory through
the courtesy of the owners of that plant show
Vftrtnua shilM in thb nrfWMia of lh m.ntt fnrturM .
of macaroni. One of the views gives an Idea of the
manner in which macaroni and sphagetti are dried.
It will be seen that this product Ik hung over long
poles and placed In such a position that the strings
hang vertically. The air currents passing through
the rooms cool the strings evenly.
The largest of the illustrations gives a partial '
view of the macarpnl-maklng' machinery, showing
the presses snd part of the mixing battery. In
another of the Illustrations a glimpse at the flour
used In making Skinner's macaroni is given. Hun
dreds of these sacks are used every week, and when
the new Skinner plant Is done the flour orders tor
this factory will have to be Increased many fold.
The whole Skinner factory ia one of the clean- -est
of its kind In the whole country. Every pre
caution Is taken to get a product that is thoroughly
clean and pure. The rooms of the factory are kept
free from dirt aad employes are directed to take
special pains at all times to tare every room dean.
Frequent washings and sweepings secure a dean
plant and the Skinner management insists on these
operationa every day.
In many ways the Skinner plant Is a model one.
With the coming of the new factory this company
. will have an ideal home for making Its famous
product, and. will be a source of greater pride te
y tAer ftava-OTo. and la per tq fciarging ihe sales Omaha . tad. Kebraskv f
