UTILIZING THE FRUIT 225 



mercial drying of peaches is an industry confined 

 almost wholly to California, where the drying is done 

 largely under the sun in the open air. It hardly 

 seems practicable here to enter into a discussion 

 of the methods used in that work. 



In the eastern states peaches when dried are usu- 

 ally put through one of the regular fruit evaporators. 

 These may be bought in various sizes, some de- 

 signed to be operated on top of a kitchen stove, and 

 others fitted with furnaces of their own. The com- 

 mercial fruit evaporators, of course, are even more 

 ambitious than these, and consist of houses or kilns 

 built especially for the work. Anyone who wishes 

 to try the ready-made driers of any size can get full 

 and reliable directions for operating from the manu- 

 facturers ; and anyone who wants to build a regular 

 drying factory had better consult the evaporation 

 engineers. 



Peaches may be home dried with excellent results. 

 The freestone varieties are best for this purpose. 

 Mrs. Fred Telford gives the following directions : 



Peel the peaches, remove the stones, and spread the fruit 

 upon drying frames that have previously been covered with 

 clean wrapping paper. Place the frames in the direct sun- 

 shine and cover the peaches with mosquito bar or wire netting. 

 Place the frames far enough from the street or the road to 

 prevent dust from falling on the fruit. Each day place the 

 frames under cover just before sundown. Turn the peaches 

 several times during the first day of exposure. After they 

 have dried for some days the contents of several frames may 

 be placed together on one frame. Peaches may be dried 

 without peeling, but the product is not so well flavored or 

 tender when it is cooked in the winter. Nor do the unpeeled 

 dried peaches sell so well as the peeled fruit. After the 

 peaches have become thoroughly dry they should be kept in a 

 cool, dry place, in something that will prevent all insects from 

 reaching them. A thick paper sack, such as corn meal or pan- 

 cake flour comes in, is excellent for this purpose. 



