Concentrated tomato products require dilution to 12% natural tomato soluble solids ( N T S S ) before consistency can be determined using the Bostwick consistometer. The data show that the measured value is dependent upon the amount of added water required to reach the specified solids content. The extent of desiccation of the water insoluble fraction of the solids and their inability to resorb maximally is proposed as the cause of the phenomenon. Heating is suggested as a n additional step in the determination of consistency of tomato products to reduce the error caused by inefficient resorption of water at ambient temperatures.Consistency is not considered a mandatory quality attribute of the concentrated product, tomato paste. However, lately it has assumed an economic importance as more of this product is used on a re-manufacturing

The change in Bostwick consistency of tomato juice with change in solids during concentration was found to be related to the waterinsoluble solids @!JIS):total solids (TS) ratio and to the viscosity of the serum of clarified juice. These characteristics were found to be widely variable among new tomato cultivars. The slope of the concentration curve was found to be primarily dependent upon the WlS/TS ratio. The locus of the concentration curve, on the other hand, was found to be dependent on both WIS/TS ratio and serum viscosity, and could be located by Bostwick consistency of the juice and initial solids content. The influence of these characteristics on processing and Bostwick consistency of tomato paste is discussed.

Consistency and serum separation were found to be unrelated quality attributes. When consistency was standardized to a given Bostwick level serum separation varied from none to considerable. Consistency was found to be directly dependent upon the fraction of water insoluble solids (WIS) of the total solids (TS) of the tomato pulp used. Serum separation was found to depend upon the break system employed. Retention of at least 80% of the tomatoes' original serum viscosity was required for minimal serum flow. The data suggested that serum separation best measures quality, whereas the percentage of water insoluble solids in the total solids of a pulp determines the ratio of tomato solids to sugar required to achieve a standardized consistency level, which makes this ratio a measure of yield. The data also indicate that automation of catsup making is possible provided the “yield factor” is determined by the method described, or the water insoluble solids and total solids contents of the pulp are known beforehand.

A method has been developed to determine the amount of tomato solids required to make a batch of catsup which contains a given level of total solids at any specified Bostwick consistency. It was developed to determine factors that control the yield and quality of catsup obtainable from any any raw material and the effect of the processing procedures used for producing the tomato pulp required for its production. It was also developed for evaluating the production capability of recently released varieties grown under field trial conditions. These subjects will be discussed in a subsequent paper.

VF145‐7879 variety of tomatoes were commercially machine harvested at three maturity levels which were 12 days and 7 days before the field was to be customarily harvested, and again when the field was harvested for delivery to the processor. The effects of transportation, storage and a simulated commercial wash were measured in terms of wholeness, several degrees of damage, and loss by weight for each of the maturity levels. Tomatoes harvested at the regular time showed greater losses and deterioration of condition than those harvested earlier. The percentage of tomatoes with visible locules (exposed seed cavity) determined before washing was found to be a useful measure for predicting the percentage weight loss through washing. The percentages of tomatoes with visible loculcs measured after washing were found to be indicators of the condition of VF145‐7879 tomatoes for processing.