96 



had it dried and pressed into blocks and we used to get it. 

 It would come out just the same as a block of dates or some 

 thing like that. Then we would put it into the kettle and 

 make soup. 



MRS. BURNHAM : I have a friend who has charge of 

 an old ladies' home and she told me she stewed her tomatoes 

 with different flavorings until they were stewed down quite 

 thick and then dried thin and put them into a candy box, 

 and a teaspoonful of them would serve 20 old ladies with 

 soup. However, I do not know whether I wanted to be one 

 of the old ladies or not. 



MR. WHITCOMB : I would like to inquire if there are 

 any figures available as to the cost of this drying. For in- 

 stance, two bushels of potatoes reduced to 20 pounds, what 

 would be the cost of getting rid of that 100 pounds of water? 



MRS. BURNHAM: In our kitchen where we did it, as I 

 say, we used the Granger Evaporator. Once your water Is 

 heated under that evaporator, it takes a very short time. 

 The pilot burner will keep it going, and I evaporated those 

 potatoes in about three hours with the pilot burner, so the 

 cost for gas was very slight. The electricity was probably 

 five cents; possibly 15 cents would fully cover the cost of 

 evaporating two bushels of potatoes, if you don't count the 

 labor. There was some work to cooking them and peeling 

 them, though. 



MR. WHITCO]\IB: The sun drying would cost nothing, 

 of course, for fuel. We might be willing to sacrifice the 

 price of the materials for the sake of the sun drying. 



MRS. BURNHAM: That might be, if you live in a part 

 of the country where you are at all sure of the weather. In 

 Waltham we are too near to the ocean to be sure of more 

 than three hours of dry atmosphere at a time. On our 

 hottest, sunniest days — there are very humid days and very 

 bad for drying. 



I think it is always well, if you have a good sunny day. 

 to start your evaporators down in the sun, but always 



