288 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



3. Preservation by Fermentation. Cabbage, string beans, 

 beets, and cucumbers can be preserved by covering with a weak 

 brine and allowing them to undergo fermentation out of contact 

 with the air. 



The prepared vegetables are mixed with salt at the rate of one- 

 quarter to one-half of a pound of salt to ten pounds of vegetables 

 and tightly packed in a deep crock or barrel and weighted down. 

 The salt and pressure force out the juice of the vegetables and they 

 decrease in volume one-third to one-half. After a day or two more 

 vegetables and salt may be added and the weight replaced. 



If kept in a warm room (65 to 70 degrees F.) a gaseous fer- 

 mentation commences and continues for several weeks. This pro- 

 duces lactic acid, which preserves the vegetables. When the fer- 

 mentation is over and the vegetables taste a little sour the liquid is 

 drawn off and replaced with a brine containing one-half of a pound 

 of salt to one gallon of water. In this they will keep in good con- 

 dition for a long time if well protected from the air. 



The large quantities of salt used in these methods must be re- 

 moved by soaking in fresh water ("freshening") before cooking. 



DRYING ROOT VEGETABLES. 



The method described below is suitable for turnips, carrots, 

 beets, potatoes and other similar root vegetables. 



1. Peel or scrape the roots and cut into slices % to ^ of an 

 inch thick. 



2. Spread in a single layer on wooden trays. Those used for 

 fruit or raisin drying are good. Suitable light trays can be made 

 from pine shakes or even from old boxes. They should be about 

 2 ft. X 3 ft. with a 2-in. cleat on each end and a ^-in. strip on each 

 side. 



3. Expose the sliced vegetables on the trays to the fumes of 

 burning sulfur. An ordinary "sulfur box" used in drying fruits 

 can be used. 



A simple sulfur box can be made of a large dry goods box or of 

 a wooden frame covered with ordinary tar paper to make it fairly 

 air-tight. It should be large enough to hold six to twelve stacked 

 trays. It should be open at the bottom and if large have a door at 

 one side for the insertion of the trays. If small it may be simply 

 put over the stacks of trays. It is placed on the ground with the 

 open side down over a hole at one end of which the sulfur is burned. 

 It should be long enough so that the trays do not come directly over 

 the sulfur hole at the end. 



As soon as the box is filled with trays of the sliced vegetables, 

 the sulfur, in a shallow iron or earthenware pan, is placed in the 

 hole and ignited. The door of the box is then closed. In from ten 

 to twenty minutes the sulfuring is complete. A handful of sulfur 

 is sufficient for a large box. 



