DRYING VEGETABLES 285 



drying establishment of Penniman Brothers, of San Jose, which 

 was opened for vegetable drying in 1889 and subsequently turned 

 to other uses for lack of demand, was turned again to vegetables to 

 supply sharp orders for Alaskan shipment. Onions, potatoes, string 

 beans and carrots were dried and several slicing machines were 

 used. A drying establishment at Azusa, Los Angeles county, was 

 also operated for vegetables during part of the season, and others 

 probably participated. Interest in commercial vegetable drying re- 

 vived during the European war and a large establishment was 

 equipped near Stockton for drying and flouring potatoes. If de- 

 mand and prices should favor it California could produce large 

 quantities of dried vegetables as well as dried fruits. Experience 

 thus far seems to favor machine evaporation rather than sun dry- 

 ing, but it is quite probable that sun heat may be found available, 

 at least for part of the work, when further attention is given to the 

 matter. The commercial development of vegetable drying is, how- 

 ever, very slow as compared with the production of fresh and 

 canned vegetables for distant shipment. 



For home use the drying of many kinds of vegetables is very 

 desirable. During 1917 under the nation-wide movement for food 

 conservation there was much effort expended to preparing detailed 

 advice and instruction concerning vegetable drying and many pub- 

 lications resulted, describing many improvements in methods. Such 

 publications can be had free of cost from the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington, D. C, and from the University of Cal- 

 ifornia Experiment Station at Berkeley, to which the reader is 

 referred. These sources furnish all information needed for the 

 beginner, who will find out, however, that he has much to learn 

 also from his own experience. 



For the convenience of the reader the following outlines of 

 methods of both canning and drying vegetables with ordinary home 

 appliances are compiled from publications of the University of Cal- 

 ifornia by Professor W. V. Cruess : 



PRACTICAL DETAILS OF CANNING VEGETABLES. 



1. Make a false bottom to fit inside an ordinary stove wash- 

 boiler. This bottom may be a piece of heavy wire netting or a 

 wooden grating. 



2. Prepare the vegetables as for cooking and in convenient 

 form for placing in the cans. Root vegetables should be brushed 

 clean, peeled and cut into convenient slices or pieces. Green beans 

 should have their strings removed and then be cut into short lengths. 

 Peas should be shelled. Corn should be cut off the cob. Peppers 

 should be scalded and the skin removed. Squash should be peeled, 

 the seeds removed, and the flesh cut up into small pieces. Aspara- 

 gus should be blanched or parboiled by dipping into boiling water 

 for about three minutes immediately before canning. Artichokes 



