364 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



again he is deceived and loses out finan- 

 cially. 



A permanent market for potato flour 

 in the United States would stabilize po- 

 tato growing and make it less of a gamble 

 than it is now. 



THE advantages of the dried tomato 



But the tomato offers an even stronger 

 argument for dried vegetables than the 

 sweet-potato or the white-potato, when 

 viewed from the newer standpoint of 

 food value and car space. Fifty years 

 ago we refused to eat the tomato because 

 we believed it was poisonous ; then we be- 

 came so fond of it that we demanded it 

 both in and out of season, even though 

 it had to be grown thousands of miles 

 from our markets, in the South or under 

 glass. And for our epicurean tastes we 

 paid exorbitant prices. 



Then we learned to can this vegetable 

 in great factories, and because we want 

 our tomatoes stewed instead of as a sauce 

 for macaroni or rice, we insist that the 

 vast majority of our put-up product shall 

 be in form for immediate use — emer- 

 gency ration shape; in other words, 

 canned without being concentrated into 

 paste, which is the way the Italians use 

 their tomato flavor. In this dilute form 

 360,000,000 cans of tomatoes are shipped 

 over the country. 



There are 2 pounds 1 ounce of toma- 

 toes in a can, or a trifle over 1.8 cents' 

 worth, and in a case of 24 cans, which 

 sells for $4, approximately 43 cents' 

 worth of tomatoes as picked in the field. 



This not only means that we ship the 

 tin cans in which the canned tomatoes 

 are contained, but that we first ship the 

 same number of tin cans from the fac- 

 tory where they are made to the cannery 

 where they are filled. 



We have never learned and have never 

 had to learn, until this war's necessities 

 forced the matter to our attention, that 

 the tomato can be successfully sliced and 

 dried ; that it retains its characteristic 

 flavor and aroma when so dried ; that 

 when soaked in water for four or six 

 hours it comes back and makes a delicious 

 sauce or soup, slightly sweeter than the 

 canned tomato. For many of the ordi- 

 nary uses of the household the dried 

 tomato is as satisfactory as the canned 

 product. 



SAVING TONS OF TRANSPORTATION 



One ton of good tomatoes, after peel- 

 ing, trimming, and packing in cans, will 

 weigh approximately 2,300 pounds when 

 crated for shipment, whereas the same 

 quantity, when dried and boxed, is re- 

 duced to only 200 pounds, or about one- 

 twelfth as much. In bulk the saving 

 depends upon whether the slices are com- 

 pressed or not. 



If left loose in the packages, the equiv- 

 alent of ten carloads of the canned toma- 

 toes could be packed in a single car, and 

 when the car space required for moving 

 the empty tin cans, block tin, and pack- 

 ing-case materials is considered, this 

 number of cars is practically doubled. 



Likewise, cabbage and its fermented 

 product, sauerkraut, can be dried suc- 

 cessfully and brought back without losing 

 their flavor. In a trial at one of the army 

 hospitals five pounds of dried cabbage 

 formed a ration for 428 men. 



Dried carrots, beets, peas, and string- 

 beans are practically indistinguishable 

 from the fresh ; spinach, which is so often 

 tasteless when canned, turnips, onions, 

 cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, 

 squash, pumpkins, and parsnips — all are 

 successfully dried, particularly so by the 

 newer and better-regulated power-fan 

 drying processes which have been adapted 

 and invented by various American drying 

 firms. 



These commercial products are more 

 uniform and of much more attractive 

 appearance than the home-dried products, 

 taken as a class, for the reason mainly 

 that they are dried more rapidly, under 

 more carefully controlled conditions of 

 moisture and heat; and when put into 

 water they come back to almost, if not 

 quite, their original dimensions and ap- 

 pearance. 



BUT HOME CANNING MUST NOT BE- 

 DISCOURAGED 



Luncheons in some of the big hotels of 

 the country have been held to test these 

 dried vegetables ; some of the foremost 

 women in the country have been given a 

 chance to taste them, and there has been 

 almost universal surprise as to their pal- 

 atability and their superiority or equiv- 

 alence to the canned products. 



This article is written for the purpose 

 of encouraging the consumption of dried 



