DRIED TRUCK 243 



if in a closed box will very soon saturate the air with mois- 

 ture. This will slow down the rate of drying and lead to 

 the formation of molds. If a current of dry air is blown 

 over them continually, the water in them will evaporate 

 steadily until they are dry and crisp. Certain products, 

 especially raspberries, should not be dried hard, because if 

 too much moisture is removed from them they will not 

 resume their original form when soaked in water. 



The rotary hand slicer is adapted for use on a very wide 

 range of material. Don't slice your hand with it. 



From an eighth to a quarter of an inch is a fair thickness 

 for most of the common vegetables to be sliced. To secure 

 fine quality, much depends upon having the vegetables 

 absolutely fresh, young, tender, and perfectly clean ; one 

 decayed root may flavor several kettles of soup if the slices 

 from it are scattered through a batch of material. 

 High-grade "root" vegetables can only be made from peeled 

 roots. 



Blanching consists of plunging the vegetables into boiling 

 water for a short time. Use a wire basket or cheesecloth 

 bag for this. After blanching as many minutes as is needed, 

 drain well and remove the surface moisture from vegetables 

 by placing them between two towels or by exposing them 

 to the sun and air for a short time. 



A mosquito net is thrown over the product to protect 

 the slices from flies and other insects. Fruits and vegetables, 

 when dried in the sun, generally are spread on large trays 

 of uniform size which can be stacked one on top of the other 

 and protected from rain by covers made of oilcloth, canvas, 

 or roofing paper. 



A very cheap tray can be made of lath three fourths of 

 an inch thick and 2 inches wide, which form the sides and 



