278 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 7, 1918. 



HOME DRYING OF FRUITS AND 

 VEGETABLES. 



Farmers' Bulhlin 984, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, is devoted to the subject of fann and home 

 drying of fruits and vegetables. In the introductory 

 remarks it is pointed out that, at the present time, imperative 

 necessity demands nation-wide conservation of those portions 

 of our food crops which have heretofore been permitted to go 

 to waste. As is well known, a considerable portion of this 

 wasted food material is made up of perishable fruits and 

 vegetables produced in home garden.s and fruit plots in excess 

 of the immediate needs of the producers, and in the absence 

 of accessible markets for the purpose. 



Drying offers a simple, convenient, and economical 

 method for preserving food materials, and permits the carry- 

 ing over of the surplus into periods in which fresh fruits and 

 vegetable.? are expensive or unobtainable. 



Success in drying depends upon the observance of a few 

 fundamental principles, and the quality of the product 

 depends upon the care employed in the selection of the raw 

 material, upon proper preparation for drying, and upon 

 careful control of the temperatures employed, rather 

 than upon the particular type of evaporating apparatus 

 employed. 



As a general principle, it may be stated that, 

 in districts which normally have a rainless period coin- 

 ciding with the ripening period for fruits and berries, 

 these crops may be successfully dried in the sun or by 

 means of glass covered solar driers. In regions which 

 do not have such favourable climatic conditions, driers 

 employing artificial heat must be used. In this bulletin 

 a number of driers are described, and directions for their 

 construction given. The smaller .sizes are adapted to the 

 needs of the individual home, and are designed to care for the 

 surplus of garden products and fruits from the home grounds. 

 The larger types are suited to the needs of individuals or 

 communities having a considerable surplus of perishable 

 crops. All the driers described are said to have been thor- 

 oughly tested in practice, and are such as may be constructed 

 at very moderate expense from materials everywhere avail- 

 able by any one who can use ordinary tools. 



Directions for the preparation, drying, and subsequent 

 btorage and care of the dried products are given for each of 

 the more important fruits and vegetables. For ordinary 

 family needs, a consiierable munbtr of small driers both pat- 

 ented and unpatented are mentioned, which are intended to be 

 operative over the ordinary cook stove, and in connexion with 

 the usual routine of the kitchen. In plan, thei^e range from 

 single trays, or open racks supporting several trays to be 

 suspended from the ceiling, to strongly built all metal cabinets 

 with a capacity of 1 to 2 bushels at a single charge. In 

 many cases the housewife will find it possible to do without 

 special apparatus, and to dry such materials as she wishes to 

 preserve in the oven ot the cook stove, the products to be 

 dried being spread thinly in l)aking pins or pie tins, which 

 should be [ilaced upon racks so that they do not come into 

 direct coniact with the oven wall. The door of the oven 

 should be left open, so that the water vajiour driven off may 

 pass out, and the fire should be so regulated that the 

 material may not be scorched. 



Such a device as the last mentioned, would appear to 

 be specially suited to conditions in the West Indies, where 

 with the use of an ordinary evaporator, placed on the stove, 

 Hwtet potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables grown in 

 these colonies may be preserved in the manner described 

 below. 



.SWEET 1»0TAT0BS. 



Sweet potatoes intended for drying may be prepared in 

 the general manner outlined for root vegetables in so far as 

 washing and paring are concerned. They may be cut into 

 slices, like potaioes or carrots, or split lengthwise into 

 quarters or eighths according to size, and dried in that form. 

 If sliced, six or eight minutes is sufficient for blanching; if 

 cut into quarters, the time should be increased to tea 

 minutes, as the potatoes must be partially cooked. The 

 temperature of the drier maybe 145 to 150° F. at the 

 beginning of the drying, and rai.sed 10 or 15 degrees after 

 the product loses most of its moisture. Sweet potatoes should 

 remain in the drier until the pieces have become quite brittle, 

 and break readily under pressure. 



In humid districts in which the storage period for 

 sweet potatoes is comparatively short, an evaporator may 

 advantageously be used for partially drying or curing 

 potatoes to increase their keeping period. The [)Otatoes are 

 brought from the field or market, spread upon the trays one 

 or two deep, and placed in the drier, which is kept at a 

 temperature of 90° to 100° F. by slow, careful firing. After 

 forty-eight to seventy-two hours of this treatment, the pota- 

 toes will have lost 10 to 15 per cent, of their weight, and 

 will have become slightly shrivelled superficially. All cuts 

 or broken surfaces will have dried out. The potatoes should 

 then be removed and stored in bins or cellars in the usual 

 way. The ordinary fungi which cause rotting in storage do not 

 attack potatoes which have been subjected to this treatment, 

 while the cooking qualities and flavour of the potatoes are 

 entirely unaffected by it. 



TOMATOES. 



Fruit intended for drying should be well ripened bat 

 still firm. Wash the tomatoes, place them in a wire basket, 

 and submerge in boiling water for one or two minutes, to 

 loosen the skins. Remove and allow to cool, strip off the skins, 

 remove the hard, woody central core and any adhering skin 

 or diseased areas, and cut the fruit into slices f - toiinch in 

 thickness. Spread the slices in a single layer upon the 

 trays. Tomatoes cannot be placed directly npon naked wire 

 trays, as the acids of the fruit become so concentrated during 

 drying that the metal is rather vigorously attacked. Trays 

 may be protected by painting them over witli a brush dipped 

 in boiling paraffin, or by laying pieces of cheesecloth over 

 them. 



The temperature at the beginning should n,-)t be more 

 than r20*F., and may be gradually increa.sed to a maximum 

 of 140°F., towards the completion of the drying. 



Properly dried tomatoes, as taken from the drier, will 

 show no moisture on being pressed between the fingers, and 

 the slices will break crisply on bending. Like all other 

 vegetable products they will become somewhat flexible and 

 elastic after being shovelled over for some days in the curing 

 room. 



OKRAS. 



The younger pods of okra may be dried entire afier 

 being steamed or blanched in boiling water for two to three 

 minutes, while older pods should be split into halves, or if 

 (juite large, into quarters, and blanched for two minutes. 

 Spread thinly on trays so that the pods do not overlap, 

 liegin the drying at a temperature of 115°F. to 120°F, and 

 gradually increase to not more than 135° as the drying 

 proceeds. 



BEANS AND PEAS. 



Garden peas intended for drying should be gathered 

 when in ideal condition for immediate table use, that is, 

 when the seeds have .attained full size, and before the pods 



