48 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 417 



Home Dehydration. (W. B. Esselen, Jr., S. G. Davis, M. A. Ewing, and F. P. 

 Griffiths.) A method has been devised for evaluating the performance of home 

 dehydrators and has been used as a basis for setting up minimum performance 

 standards. For this method of food preservation an electric dehydrator with 

 forced air circulation and thermostat is recommended. Properly designed natural 

 draft dehydrators may be used. In general, oven drying is least satisfactory be- 

 cause of the difificulty in controlling oven temperatures, the temperature variation 

 in different parts of many ovens, and the frequency with which the trays must be 

 rotated and shifted. 



The following fruits and vegetables yielded a satisfactory product when pre- 

 served by recommended methods of home dehydration: apples, cranberries, 

 peaches, pears, blue plums, red plums, green and red cabbage, beets, green beans, 

 spinach, kale, baked beans, green and red peppers, broccoli, white potatoes, 

 baked potatoes, and mushrooms. Foods dehydrated at home should be dried 

 to a moisture content of below 5 percent, packaged in moistureproof containers, 

 and stored at as low a temperature as possible. 



Dehydration of Foods in Atmospheres other than Air. (F. P. Griffiths and 

 R. E. Morse.) The dehydration of vegetables in atmospheres of methane or 

 natural gas, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, versus air was investigated. Methane 

 or natural gas dehydration was effective in preventing losses of ascorbic acid dur- 

 ing dehydration and did not produce off-flavors in the reconstituted foods. 

 Storage of dehydrated foods in gas atmospheres was effective in retarding ascor- 

 bic acid losses and deterioration in quality when such foods were stored at room 

 temperature (75°-80°F.). At elevated storage temperatures (110°-120°), less 

 protection was noted and the quality deteriorated rapidly. 



Nutritive Value of Fishery Products. (F. P. Griffiths and R. E. Morse in 

 cooperation with R. T. Parkhurst of the Poultry Department.) Work was done 

 on the dehydration and nutritive quality of starfish meal for use in poultry feed- 

 ing. Starfish can be readily ground and dehydrated. The meal contained pro- 

 tein of high quality and a large amount of minerals. Chicks fed up to 8 percent 

 starfish meal grew well and utilized the protein as efficiently as control groups 

 fed equivalent amounts of fish and crab meals. 



Red Squill Research. (L. R. Parkinson and F. P. Griffiths.) Under war-time 

 conditions it has been increasingly difficult to obtain red squill (a raticide) of 

 high toxic potency. Work carried on during the past year indicates that it may 

 be possible to concentrate the toxic principle of red squill in order to provide a 

 raticide of satisfactory killing powers. 



Vitamin D Milk Investigations. (L. R. Parkinson and F. P. Griffiths.) Dur- 

 ing the past year approximately 150 samples of commercially produced milk 

 have been assayed in order to check the efficacy of various methods of vitamin D 

 fortification in providing a milk of desired vitamin D content. All samples 

 tested were satisfactory and the results indicated that the methods of vitamin D 

 fortification of milk can be relied upon to produce a satisfactory product. 



Fortification of Apple Juice Concentrate with Ascorbic Acid. (F. P. Griffiths, 

 M. J. Garvey, and J. J. Powers.) Fortification of canned apple juice with ascorbic 

 acid has been practiced in Canada for some time. Because fresh citrus fruits 

 are not always available and are often high priced and because canned citrus 

 juices are restricted under point rationing, the practicality of administering 

 ascorbic acid to infants using apple juice concentrate as a carrier was studied. 



