Page 36 Advertisements Column 2

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 25, 22 June 1910, Page 36

The Making of the Biscuits. The actual making of the biscuits ami cakes takes place in three great factories eomuinnieating with each other ny covered viaducts, and with lifts connecting the floors. t he ingredients for the various forme of dough are weighed out in rooms above the mixing machines, and sent down shoots to the hoppers. Great care is here exercised, as, upon the mixing of rhe dough depends the ultimate success of tne product. When thoroughly mixed and kneaded, the dough is trans!erred to heavy roiirng machines, where it is rolled out into slabs of the required thickness, and passed on to the cutting and stamping machine. This last machine cuts out the biscuit, and at the same lime stamps it with any lettering it is to carry. All these machines are kepi scrupulously clean, and. to prevent any possibility of oil or grease from the machinery getting into the dough, the Hearings are all cased in. As soon as the biscuits have been stamped or cut out, they are carried forward on a moving web of felt to the trays, which stand ready to be slid into the travelling ovens, through which they slowly pass, and by the time they reach the far end they are baked. These ovens are long chambers, open at both ends, and fitted with endless bands of plate or chain work, which carry the trays of biscuits forward. The rate at which the trays travel varies with the size and nature of the biscuit, am! is regulated to the time required for baking. Some of the richer kinds of biscuits are cut. and formed by hand: some are baked in moulds instead of in tins, while special ovens are required for o'thers. Making Cracknels. The making of the cracknel is a very interesting process. It may not be known that these delicious biscuits are both boiled and baked, and it is this fact which accounts for their peculiar dry nutty flavour. Eggs enter very largely into the composition of cracknels, and the dough is made very rich. When cut out* the cracknels are thrown first into boiling water, in which they sink. But as the heat of the water begins to act upon them, they gradually swell and rise to the surface. They are then taken out, and thrown into cold water, after which they are dried and baked at a great heat. The result of all this is a crisp brown, glossy cracknel, three 'times as large as the original stamped-out dough. Each Biscuit Must be Perfect. As soon as the biscuits emerge from the ovens they are conveyed to tne ?.ort;rg 100 ms, ami uiriieu over io an army of experienced and aieri sorters, named io uc” iect tne sugntest naw. Every biscuit not abso.uie.y periect is tiiioun cut. i lie oitnmuy peisou imgiit wonder wny some or these had failed io pass me sorter-—t tie v seem so perfect, out the expert sees that there is just a shade too much or wo ntue (Oiour; a minute fragment broken from tne eage, or a speck—a single speck —on Hie surface. H is enougii io condemn m a system mat admits only of perfection supreme and absolute. The rejected biscuits are broken up in special machines, ami disposed or as “broken biscuits.” Having passed the sorters, ihe biscuits are transferred to the packing room. Here they are taken in hand by Hundreds of (left-lingered girls, some of wnom pacK ihe his euits neatly in tins, while others label the tins and make them air-tign'i. niscuiis intended lor tropical countries are packed in hermetically-sealed tins. Hunt ley ana ralmers’ biscuits are thus made to retain their ireshuess indefinitely, and whether the 'tin be opened within a few days or after months of its being sent out, the contained biscuits are always crisp and delightful. But it is not only for biscuits that Messrs. Huntley and ralmers have become world famous. They are equally famous for their cakes, the variety and rich flavour of which is unequalled. The same scrupulous care in reference to the ingredients and proportions is exercised here as with the biscuits, and no cake that falls short of absolute perfection is ever sent out. Messrs. Huntley and Palmers’ cakes are made to suit all tastes and all purses, but whatever the cake and whatever the price, the one rule holds good- no substitutes. An expensive cake, of course, contains more expensive ingredients than a cheaper kind: but in both cases the ingredients are of like quality, like purity. Only the best butter, the freshest eggs, the richest fruit, are ever used in the making of Huntley and Palmers' cakes—and that is the secret of their reputation. Whatever machinery can be pressed into’ the service of this most progressive firm it is done. To look across one of the great rooms is an impressive sight. A perfect forest of shafting and belting meets the eye, driving the mighty machines which stand side by side the whole width of the room, and from each of which an endless stream of biscui'ts conies pouring out to feed the insatiable ovens. A Self-contained Factory. Everything practically is done on the premises. In the engineering and carpentry departments almost every trade is represented. Bricklayers, masons, joiners, carpenters, painters, plumbers, wire-workers, tinsmiths, case-makers, etc., all find work in this great self-contained factory. The engineering department alone gives employment to hundreds, for the firm makes nearly all its own machinery; even the four locomotives employed for hauling goods to and from, the railway systems connected with the factory being repaired on the premises. Tin* perfect organisation of this wonderful business is evidence of the master minds which rule it. The office accommodation is constantly being increased—a fact, which shows the evergrowing prosperity of the firm. Scores of entirely separate sections of the different departments are maintained, each under the superintendence of a foreman, who, in turn, is responsible to the head of the department, he to an assistant director, and so on until the whole is brought to a focus in tin* office of the General Manager. It is this perfect organisation which has made Han't ley and Balmers’ business the perfect machine it is. and enabled it to meet with the enormous demairfl which lias grown with every year, and still grows. And it is because the firm lias kept faith with the public that it has achieved a world-wide reputation. The name of Huntley and Palmers stands for absolute purity, and highest possible quality. Every biscuit or cake turnml out is of the first standard, ami nothing will ever induce Messrs. Huntley and Palmers to reduce Hint standard. Supreme excellence Is their alm. and they achieve it and maintain it by using only tin* purest and best of materials In tin* manufacture of their biscuits and cakes, combining their ingredients in the most approved wny that life-long skill can devise.