VEGETABLE AND FRUIT DEHYDRATION 31 



brine peeling is usually suitable also for lye peeling. The cost for 

 equipment is considerably less than for retort equipment of similar 

 capacity. 



Flame peeling equipment is somewhat difficult to obtain and costly 

 to operate. It is limited in field of application, depending upon the 

 means used for conveying the product through the furnace. It is 

 apt to be somewhat wasteful in fuel, and maintenance cost is excep- 

 tionally high. It is peculiarly suited to processing onions that cannot 

 be readily peeled by other means. 



All peelers, with the exception of abrasive, require an auxiliary 

 washer to remove the peel and foreign material. The cost of the 

 washer equipment is comparatively low, and no additional labor is 

 required for its operation. 



Trimming 



Subsequent to peeling, the root crops require hand trimming for 

 the removal of residual skin, eyes, discolored areas, digging cuts, dis- 

 ease and insect injury, sunburn, and green top. The amount required 

 will depend upon the efficiency of the peeling operation. 



The trimming of leafy vegetables involves hand removal of discol- 

 ored leaves, disease and insect injury, and the removal of long, thick 

 stems. In the trimming of cabbage, the wilted, soiled, or otherwise 

 damaged outer leaves of the head are removed. Even if the outer 

 leaves are in good condition, it is advisable to remove them to eliminate 

 the danger from poisoning by spray residues, and operators should be 

 careful to wash their hands thoroughly. 



The next step in the preparation of cabbage involves removal of the 

 core tissue which can be accomplished manually or mechanically. If 

 the coring operation is to be done manually, care should be taken to 

 keep the amount of cutting required to a minimum. Figure 14 shows 

 two methods of cutting for coring. The first and preferred method 

 (A) minimizes the necessary hand work. The cabbage is first cut 

 along line 1. Part I is then complete. Next, the cabbage is cut along 

 line 2, and part II is then complete. Part III is then cut along line 3 

 to remove the core. If the cabbage is cut as shown in figure 14, B, 

 not less than six knife operations are necessary instead of three as 

 required by the former method. 



Some plants have improvised stationary cylindrical cutter knives 

 for removing the core after operation 1 of the first process described. 

 This stationary cutter knife is shown in figure 15. In using this de- 

 vice the operator may hold the part of the cabbage containing the 

 core in two hands and use the entire strength of both arms for per- 

 forming the coring operation. This method of coring is relatively 

 simple and if carried out successively by two operators as a team 

 wherein one operator divides the cabbage into two parts and the 

 second operator removes the core, coring can be accomplished fairly 

 rapidly and efficiently. This device permits removal of crooked 

 cores, a feature which cannot readily be accomplished by mechanical 

 coring. 



When cabbage is prepared by mechanical coring, a rotating auger 

 is provided. This auger should be of the self-centering type and de- 

 signed for safe operation. Cutter knives are usually formed of tool 

 steel in such a manner that when the cabbage is pressed upon the auger, 

 it will start cutting. The device should not be self-starting as this 



