24 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 404 



CONCLUSION 



Much still remains to be learned about home dehydration, and it must be re- 

 membered that conditions for preservation of food by this method are not the 

 same in the home as in commercial dehydrating plants where automatic controls 

 and trained supervision provide a high degree of uniformity. 



The same holds true for the keeping quality of home dehydrated foods. Sev- 

 eral of the vegetables undergo changes on storage which are alleviated to some 

 extent in commercially packaged products by the use of inert gases. The facil- 

 ities required for this cannot be found in the home. 



It would be well to guard against overenthusiasm in the application of home 

 dehydration procedures. It cannot be said that dehydration offers any substan- 

 tial saving in the amount of work required to preserve the products, and the 

 time required to prepare dried foods for serving is greater than that required for 

 other processed foods. 



Furthermore, it should be stressed that dehydration is not something for ex- 

 perimentation in the home or a means of saving money in preserving food. It is 

 not considered economical to dehydrate certain of the root vegetables for which 

 cellar storage is available. The usual procedures for common storage are quite 

 satisfactory for these products, and their use should be continued. Dehydration 

 should be considered only for those foods which are ordinarily canned; and for 

 the present, at least, is recommended only if existing supplies of equipment for 

 canning preservation should fail. The advantage of home dehydrated foods at 

 the present time is primarily one of food economy in the war-time need for con- 

 servation. It is quite unlikely that dehydration will ever replace canning or 

 freezing in the home preservation of food, but it can be an important supplement- 

 ary method of food preservation under present conditions, and there are definite 

 indications that commercially produced dehydrated foods will find continued use 

 in the post-war diet. 



REFERENCES 



Adam, Horner, and Stanworth, 1943. The effect of blanching upon vegetable 

 nutrients. Nutr. Rev. 1:3,69. Jour. Soc. Chem. Indus. 61:96. 



Benson, K. E., 1939. A cost analysis of home canning, etc. Master's Thesis. 

 Mass. State Col. 33 pp. 



Bureau of Home Economics, Foods and Nutrition Division, 1942. Drying foods 

 for victory meals. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 1918. 14 pp. 



Chace, W. M., Noel, W. A., and Pease, V. A., 1941. Preservation of fruits and 

 vegetables by commercial dehj'dration. U. S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 619. 46 pp. 



Cruess, W. V., and Mrak, E. M., 1941. The dehydration of vegetables. Calif. 

 Agr. Expt. Sta. (Mimeographed Pamphlet). 34 pp. 



Eidt, C. C, 1938. Principles and methods involved in dehydration of apples. 

 Canada Dept. Agr. Pub. 625, Tech. Bui. 18. 36 pp. 



Magoon, C. A., and Culpepper, C. W., 1924. Scalding of vegetables for canning. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 1265. 48 pp. 



Morgan, A. F., and Lackey, D., 1934. The effect of various methods of preser- 

 vation on the vitamin B content of spinach. Univ. Calif. Household Sci. Lab. 

 (Mimeographed Report). 



Tressler, D. K., 1942. Nutritive value of dried and dehydrated fruits and veg- 

 etables. N. Y. State Agr. Expt. Sta. Tech. Bui. 262. 48 pp. 



Publication of this Document Approved by Commission of Administration and Fin\nce 

 lOM 6-43-12150 



