Steam would be shut off at this stage. Fruit now known as pulp would be put through a sieve to extract stones, pips, etc then pumped away into wooden barrels with a quantity of SO2 solution to preserve the pulp.
A day would not go by without a wasp sting. As a young lad my first wage packet was £2.50 with which I purchased a pair of boots. There was no free issue.
It was not long before I transferred into the main factory. My first encounter was with Harry Hill, the jam foreman. It was clear from the start he was a significant figure and knew his job. This was a period of interest, particularly in open pan boiling on various sections such as A, B and C together with filling machine operating.
Harry had a few boiling pans, which he used for lemon and orange curds. Filling and sealing of jars was done by hand on a round rotary wooden table. On a Friday night after the week’s work was done, Harry would give us a whistle. This was the signal to go to the cooper’s shop to sample the cider which we made during the previous mincemeat season.
We are now in mid 1960 – time of new installation vacuum boiling and APV plant continuous evaporation. Both, in their own way, improved control and efficiency.
B Section
I look back to the early sixties to remember B Section. This was one of four boiling sections during this period.
There were six open boiling pans consisting of a copper top bowl for ingredients placed on top of an iron bowl, which was its energy: steam injection as we use today.
