24 MISC. PUBLICATION 5 40, U. S. DEFT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Cabbage. — Head cabbage requires special handling during washing 

 to prevent breaking up of the head. Usually, to prevent double han- 

 dling, the loosened and damaged leaves are removed and the product 

 is cored and quartered before washing. In this condition the leaves 

 are loose and the head may be broken if it is roughly handled. Since 

 most of the dirt and other foreign material is removed along with the 

 loose and damaged leaves, washing becomes relatively simple. In 

 most cases the cored and quartered product is placed on a wire-mesh 

 belt conveyer and sprayed from above and below so as to dislodge en- 

 trained soil. Consideration should be given to the use of a water 

 flume for conveying and cleansing the cabbage simultaneously; it is 

 probable that eddy currents caused by the water in motion would bring 

 about effective washing. 



Grading 



Following the washing operation it may be desirable to pass the 

 product over an inspection belt for the removal of cull and foreign 

 material, especially if the lot is of poor quality. This will be useful in 

 saving time in the subsequent trimming and inspection operations. 



Size grading of raw vegetables is a desirable operation to reduce 

 peeling losses, especially when abrasive peeling is practiced. This use 

 is discussed more thoroughly under the subject of abrasive peelers. 

 If root vegetables are to be blanched or cooked whole, grading to size 

 is almost essential to assure uniformity of cooking. 



Size grading may be accomplished either manually or mechanically. 

 Manual grading can be confined to removal of culls and other un- 

 desirable products, or special grading tables can be used which permit 

 each inspector to grade the product into several sizes. By a system of 

 belts and dividing fences, inspectors segregate the product into lots 

 according to size. The equipment is in general similar to that usually 

 employed for grading potatoes. As would be expected, the process 

 requires semiskilled inspectors or operators. 



Mechanical graders are available in several types. The most com- 

 mon are the rubber-spool grader, the rotary-drum grader, and the 

 shuffle grader. All operate by rolling the vegetable over a support 

 fitted with openings that are small at the entrance end and larger 

 further along, so that pieces of different sizes drop through at different 

 places. In general, selection of a grader should be governed by its 

 ruggedness and reliability. The unit likely to require the least main- 

 tenance should be selected, all other conditions being equal. 



To summarize, it can be said that grading has application if field- 

 run products are handled, if selective grading for marketing purposes 

 is desired, or if abrasive peeling or cooking of the whole vegetable is 

 practiced. 



Root Peeling 



A satisfactory peeling method is of vital importance to all dehydra- 

 tion plants handling root crops. Unsatisfactory or inefficient peeling 

 may spell the financial doom of an otherwise successful plant. 



The peeling method should be selected only after careful weighing 

 of labor cost against cost of raw product. Other considerations that 

 affect the selection are available means of waste disposal, uniformity 

 of the product size and quality, and ability of the product to resist dis- 

 coloration or damage during or after peeling. The most commonly 



