COMMERCIAL DEHYDRATION 9 



PROBLEMS AND METHODS OF VEGETABLE AND FRUIT 

 DEHYDRATION 



Location of the Dehydration Plant 



Vegetables and fruits are dehydrated in the regions of greatest 

 production. Though many commodities are grown generally over 

 the country, heavy commercial production is likely to be limited to 

 certain districts. Even within a State wide variation in concentra- 

 tion commonly occurs; certain valleys in the Pacific Coast States, for 

 example, are noted for particular fruits or vegetables. Commercial 

 sweet corn production is largely restricted to States around the Great 

 Lakes, Maryland, New York, and Maine. Cranberries are limited to 

 Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Washington, and Oregon. 

 Figs are grown extensively only in California and Texas; onions are 

 widely distributed over the country. Potatoes are grown almost 

 everywhere in the United States, but heaviest production is in the 

 Northern States. Sweetpotatoes are a southern crop, for the most 

 part, although they are grown in quantity on the eastern seaboard as 

 far north as New Jersey. Table beets are produced commercially in 

 three well-defined areas located roughly in the northeastern, south 

 central, and northwestern parts of the country. 



Within the region best suited for the production of a selected vege- 

 table or fruit, the particular location of the dehydration plant — its 

 nearness to the fields where suitable products are grown — is of prime 

 importance. 



Additional factors that affect the location of plants, some of which 

 are related to the present wartime emergency, are: (1) Suitability of 

 existing food-processing plants for expansion or conversion to vege- 

 table dehydration with minimum use of critical materials; (2) avail- 

 ability of experienced management and labor; (•'?) possibility of ob- 

 taining labor for production and harvesting; (4) satisfactory financial 

 arrangements; (5) availability of controllable heat (steam, gas. or 

 oil), electric power, pure water, and sewage facilities. 



Selection of Crops and Varieties 



Not only climate and soil but also the variety and the strain within 

 a variety of any given crop may affect the quality of finished de- 

 hydrated products. As a result, the food processor considers the 

 adaptability of raw materials to dehydration as well as modifications 

 of his technique to make the best possible product from the raw ma- 

 terial available. 



A vegetable or fruit of a certain variety grown in one region will 

 frequently be distinctly different as a finished dehydrated product 

 from one of the same variety grown in another region. This is a 

 matter for consideration within the various regions; experience and 

 study, with consequent adaptation of processes and the selection of 

 suitable varieties and types of crop, will aid the farmer and the proc- 

 essor. Certain general statements are sound guides, however. The 

 best type of white potato for dehydration, for example, becomes light 

 and mealy rather than discolored and soggy when cooked. The more 

 pungent white or yellow onions, carrots with deep-orange cores, and 



