Show PIE TRADE I 1 PASTRY FOUNDRIES THAT TURN OUT PIES A DAY soule same statistics on a popular article of Food Pies falling like ilko leaves from tho the frost hissed oak delivery anil and distribution tile the statistics will show that more pies are made baked and eaten in ill chicago in in proportion to the population thun than in any ally other oilier city in ill tho the world in fact chicago consumes it a reasonably large quantity of all sorts of eatables and the hie fact that the pie is in ill domand demand is nit an evidence of the prevalence tit of a cultivated taste among the people there Ther earo are three establishments in ill the city where homemade pis pies are ara turned out in magnificent quantities to supply the wholesale demand the extent of this industry has bas assumed surprising proportions in ix recent years aper A person who has not investigated the matter to some extent would have but a faint conception of the magnitude of the business it is even claimed that chicago excels new york in the trade As wore before stated there are three pie manu factories in the city they each do about the same extent of busin business esq they aro are generally crowded to their fullest f ul lest capacity during the hot season taking tho the establishment on west lake street as a fair average some very interesting figures are procured this house employs about hands of which one half are females generally gai gills 19 who earn good salaries some of them earn from 8 to 10 per week the forewoman getting 15 this pie turns out pastry during baking hours at the rate of 1000 pies per hour or from to each day on nn an average RUNNING NIGHT AND DAY CAY they run night and day in fact the ovens are never allowed to cool the ovens have a revolving bottom on which the pies are placed which is kept in motion almost constantly st A pio pie is baked during ono one revolution is removed and another takes its place tin dishes or plates are used for baking and delivery this one si clim m requiring I 1 plates the pies are all made by liand hand lad and are stamped u nith ith the name of the firm and variety of the contents contenti an ali apple pie is marked A on the upper crust a blackberry pie B B and i ashberry lasp asp berry pie R B those not having au an upper crust bear their identity on their face and need no branding apple pies are the tie staple and are in the most general domand berry pies are very popular during their season it is a sight not without interest to see forty pr or fifty ahl Is peeling and preparing pre parin the fruit or ranged along either sido side of a large table neatly diessel in white aprons and jaqui jaunty caps each ono one performing her fier allotted labor in the construction of a pie this work is done with that rapidity dexterity and skill only attained by ion long practice one set of girls rolls the dough linot another ber puts in ill the bottom crust others dip in them the contents and still re j f 11 f fit jt on the top crust jit is then passed to A a machine that runs by power which trims and joins the edges with lightning rapidity pies fall upon the reception tables like leaves from the frost kissed oak and are home borne away to the ovens by the baking detachment tach ment 0 TOSS TONS OF IA in the manufacture of f from roin to pies per week a vast number of ingredients is consumed it requires on an ail average a carload car load of flour eighty barrels of sugar and thirty barrels of lard to say nothing about the number of eggs and the vast quantity of milk used in manufacturing the crust the general rule is to uso use two pounds of flour to one ot of lard this is more lard bow however than our pie bakers bakeis consume its as they have discovered that by the use of tile the best grades of flour and winter lard a sufficiently crisp consistency can be attained in the crust with less lard while they contend the pies are more wholesome it is generally admitted that the chicago pie bakers use tho the best grade ot of materials attainable in their pies and that their productions are clean and healthy they have discovered that it takes less of a good grade of flour and lard to make a superior grade of pie for the delivery and distribution of this vast quantity of pastry daily the tha firm visited runs sixteen wagons As locomotive power they keep an average of forty horses the do livery has to be done quickly and for a city of the magnificent dist distances anees of chicago it takes rapid driving this necessitates a change of horses each half balf day A number of men are employed to take charge of the horses who live in the stable each driver hitches bitches his own team and is held responsible tor for it while in his charge the wagons each hold pies which are slipped in single shelves arranged along either tide bide tightly closed so as to exclude the dust while on the street streel the wagons have a sort of aisle through the middle and on the outside are painted in gaudy colors looking something like a circus wagon the pies pica are sold at different prices the general retail price is twelve to fifteen cents the tha manufacturer tims to make ono one halt half cent on each pie made dear clear of contents and running expenses out of this is his profit after paying his taxes and keeping up a property in which about is invested chicago herald |