EUTOCA 



EtTOCA: Phacelia. 



EVAPORATING FRUIT. The domestic operation of 

 drying fruit has been practised ever since men looked 

 beyond their immediate wants and stored food for 

 time of greater need. Dried fruit has long been an 

 article of commerce, yet until a few years ago only the 

 most primitive methods were used in drying, and the 

 industry, commercially, was confined to a few favored 

 regions in Europe. The modern industry is not yet a 

 half-century old. Its almost inconceivable growth in 

 America in this brief time is one of the industrial 

 phenomena of the times. Spurred into activity by the 

 encroachment of American products in their markets, 

 the European producers, by the adoption of better 

 methods, and by governmental encouragement, have 

 increased greatly their output of dried fruit. Thus, 

 from an adjunct to fruit-growing for home use. drying 

 fruit has become, within recent years, one of the main 

 branches of horticulture. 



An idea of the dried-fruit industry in the United 

 States and of its great growth in recent years may be 

 obtained from the following figures from the census 

 of 1910 for the crop of 1909: 



Raisina 111,774,767 pounds worth $4,837,933 



Prunes 138,498,490 pounds worth 5,130,412 



Peaches 46,843,391 pounds worth 2,423,083 



Apples 44,568,244 pounds worth 3,098,095 



Apricots 29,205,569 pounds worth 2,277,177 



All other fruits 29,438,306 pounds worth 2,073,695 



Adding the valuations given, results in a grand total 

 of $19,840,395 for dried fruits in the year 1909. Com- 

 paring this sum with the census of 1900, one finds that 

 the crop in 1899 was valued at $4,757,005 and that the 

 industry, judged by the figures, has increased more 

 than fourfold in ten years. 



Fruit may be cured in the sun, or it may be cured in 

 drying-machines, called evaporators. That cured in the 

 sun is called by the producer "dried fruit;" that in 

 evaporators, "evaporated fruit." By far the larger part 

 of the world's product is cured in the sun. Thus, at 

 least three-fourths of the fruit dried in America is 

 sun-dried in California. 



Sun-drying fruit. In countries having a sufficiently 

 warm and dry climate, as Greece and Turkey, and 

 parts of France, Spain and western America, fruit is 

 dried almost wholly in the sun. The fact that in these 

 favored localities the drying capacity is limited only 

 by the acreage of sunshine, makes it certain that the 

 proportion of sun-dried fruit will always be vastly 

 greater than that of evaporated fruit. Drying fruit in 

 the sun is a simple process, but one hedged in by many 

 little arts and methods that facilitate the work and 

 improve the product. In general, the process is as 

 follows: The fruit is graded, bleached by sulfur, if a 

 light-colored product is desired, in the case of prunes 

 dipped or pricked, and is then spread on trays to be ex- 

 posed to the sun. When the drying process is completed, 

 the fruit is again graded, in most cases put through a 

 sweat, and then "finished" in various ways, as by dip- 

 ping or glossing. 



Evaporating fruit. There are many styles of evapora- 

 tors, but all possess in common a chamber for the 

 reception of the fruit, through which a current of warm 

 air is forced, or the fruit is forced through the air, 

 or both, the object being to remove the aqueous 

 matter from the fruit as quickly as possible, and the 

 principle being that warm air will absorb more moist- 

 ure than cool air. The saturated air must not remain 

 in contact with the fruit. Since different fruits exact 

 different conditions, it is necessary to change the 

 temperature and velocity of the air-current in the dry- 

 ing-chamber at will. To make the product homogene- 

 ous, current and temperature must be equal in all 

 parts of the evaporator. It is obvious that simplicity 

 in the machine and economy in heat and in room are 

 cardinal virtues in a good evaporator. It is the rule to 



EVAPORATING FRUIT 1177 



start the evaporation of large fruits at a low tempera- 

 ture and finish at a high one, but with berries the 

 reverse is true. 



Recently two or three patented processes for curing 

 fruit by "dehydration" have been introduced with 

 much promise of betterment in the industry. While 

 the machinery, the methods and the products are quite 

 different in evaporating and dehydrating, the principle 

 in the two operations is practically the same. In both 

 processes the water is removed from the fruit by moving 

 currents of warm air. In evaporation the air is warmed 

 only. In dehydration the air is dried by cooling until 

 the moisture is condensed out and is then warmed and 

 passed over the fruit or vegetable to be cured. By the 

 new process much time is saved and a greater variety 

 of fruits and vegetables can be used. 



The following are definitions of the somewhat techni- 

 cal terms used in the industry: Bleaching is the process 

 of changing the dark color of fruit to a lighter hue, or 

 of preventing the discoloration; it is generally accom- 

 plished by sulfuring. Bloaters are prunes which in dry- 

 ing swell up to an abnormal size; they are usually pro- 

 duced by fermentation in over-ripe fruit. Chops are 

 dried apples cured without paring or coring to be used 

 in making cider or vinegar. Dipping is the process of 

 cutting the skin of fresh prunes to facilitate curing. 

 The operation is performed by submerging the fruit 

 in boiling lye. Cured fruit is sometimes dipped in one 

 of various solutions as a "finishing" process. Drip 

 is the syrupy liquid which oozes from prunes in the 

 process of evaporation; it generally characterizes a 

 poor prune or a poor evaporator. Frogs are cured 



E runes having an abnormal shape, a condition caused 

 y curing unripe fruit. Pricking is the process of 

 puncturing the cuticle of fresh prunes. It is done by 

 means of a machine, the essential part of which is a 

 board covered with projecting needles, over which the 

 prunes must pass. It accomplishes the same end as 

 lye-dipping. Sizes is a term used to indicate the num- 

 ber of cured prunes it takes to make a pound. The 

 "four sizes" known in the markets are 60's-70's, 70's- 

 80's, 80's-90's, 90's-100's. Sugaring is the formation 

 of globules of sugar on the cuticle of cured prunes or 

 raisins. Sulfuring is a process to which fruit is subjected 

 to give it a lighter color. The fruit is exposed to 

 fumes of burning sulfur before being exposed to the 

 sun or put in evaporators. Sweating is a process to 

 which cured fruit is subjected before packing; it is 

 put in a room at a high temperature and allowed to 

 become moist. Waste is a dried product made from 

 skins and cores of apples and pears and used for vinegar. 

 Apples and pears are peeled, cored, cut into rings 

 and bleached by being exposed to the fumes of sulfur 

 for about a half hour in preparation for drying or 

 evaporating. Fruits so prepared are placed upon 

 trays for sun-drying and must be cured in the sun for 

 three to five days. In evaporating in the western states, 

 the prepared fruits are placed on trays and passed in 

 from six to twelve hours through the evaporator 

 chamber, but in the East, where the product is chiefly 

 made, the prepared fruit is piled from 4 to 6 inches 

 deep on the floor of a kiln. Here it is left for fourteen 

 to sixteen hours ? being turned every two or three hours, 

 until the fruit is no longer sticky, an indication that 

 it has reached the proper stage of dryness. In Ncu 

 York, the law requires that evaporated apples contain 

 not more than 27 per cent of moisture. One hundred 

 pounds of apples will yield from twelve to fifteen 

 pounds of evaporated apples. 



Apricots, peaches and nectarines must be fully ripe 

 before drying and without bruises. They are pitted, 

 and may or may not be peeled. If peeled, the opera- 

 tion is done with a machine or with lye, though the use 

 of the latter is considered bad practice. The fruit is 

 placed on the trays cup side up. About three days are 

 required for drying in the sun and about eight hours 



