UTILIZING OUR SURPLUS APPLES 



Zimmerman Fruit Evaporator. 



MCCARTHY, of the North CaroHna 

 Experimental Station, pubHshes a 

 bulletin on the above subject which contains 

 some good hints. Among other things he 

 describes an evaporator suitable for farm 

 use. He says : 



The possibilities for expansion in apple 

 growing are almost unlimited. When a fair 

 profit is assured, as it must be by the general 

 introduction of improved evaporators, and 

 modern methods for utilizing the lower 

 grades of fruit, we may look for a great in- 

 crease in orcharding, and as a result, greater 

 prosperity for the mountain region, where 

 our best apples are grown. 



The experience of practical apple-grow- 

 ers seems to show that on a commercial 

 scale no evaporator will pay which turns out, 

 in a day's run of ten hours, less than 300 

 pounds of dried fruit. In practice it is cus- 

 tomary to keep the evaporator going night 

 and day during the season. 



One of the best evaporators for farm 

 use is the Zimmerman, made by the Blymer 

 Iron Works Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. This 

 machine is built entirely of metal, and is 

 therefore fire-proof. There are several 



styles on the market, differing mainly in 

 size, but no one who evaporates for the mar- 

 ket should buy a smaller machine than the 

 No. 3, which consumes about twenty bush- 

 els of fresh fruit in ten hours. This ma- 

 chine costs about $100. The No. 4 will 

 work up 30 to 40 bushels in ten hours, and 

 costs about $170. 



In large factories it is customary to bleach 

 the fruit after peeling, by submitting it to 

 fumes of burning sulphur. But such fruit 

 is not as wholesome nor palatable as that 

 unsulphured. If the fruit is dropped into 

 a tub of weak salt brine as soon as sliced it 

 will not discolor, and while retaining all the 

 natural flavor of the apple, will appear in 

 the dried state nearly as white as the sul- 

 phur-bleached fruit. The brine is made by 

 boiling for ten minutes one pound of clean 

 table salt in 16 gallons of water. Carefully 

 skim off the scum which rises, and allow the 

 water to cool before using. The fruit is 

 simply dropped into the salt bath and al- 

 lowed to soak about five minutes. It is then 

 removed, drained for a few minutes and 

 placed in the evaporating trays. The salt 

 does not taste upon the finished product. A 

 fresh bath should be provided every four 

 hours. 



The trays upon which the fruit is placed 

 are bottomed with galvanized iron wire. 

 The fruit is placed upon these in a thin 

 layer. Wood is always used as fuel in the 

 portable evaporators. The length of time re- 

 quired to dry the fruit differs with the dif- 

 ferent varieties of fruit, and with the tem- 

 perature and other factors, which can be de- 

 termined only by practical experience. 

 The fruit is properly dried when it does not 

 show moisture when broken. It must not, 

 however, become so dry that it will snap or 

 crackle when broken between the fingers. 

 After removing from the evaporator the 

 fruit is piled on a clean floor three or four 

 feet deep, and allowed to sweat for several 



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