COMMERCIAL DEHYDRATIOX 5 



hydration and used dehydrated vegetables to advantage in the first 

 World War. 



Nearly 9 million pounds of dehydrated foods, mainly potatoes and 

 soup mixtures, were sent to the United States forces overseas in 1918. 

 Some of this material was pood, but much of it did not keep well. 

 Army cooks were inexperienced and untrained in methods of prepar- 

 ing it (fig. 4), and it was not successful. 



Figube 4. — in the last war dehydrated foods did ool fulfill their purpose, partly 

 because they were qoI properly prepared for eating. \nw Army cooks arc 

 taught how to conserve flavor as well as food values by soaking the foods 

 in the right amount of water and cooking them a short time just before 

 serving. 



Even before the war ended, the Department of Agriculture initi- 

 ated a research program to develop methods for producing better 

 dehydrated foods. The results of this research were published in 

 Farmers' Bulletin 984, Farm and Home Drying of Fruits and Vege 

 tallies;' published in l!)ls, and in Department Bulletin L335, issued in 

 1!>'2."> (since revised as Circular 619, Preservation of Fruits and Vege- 

 tables by Commercial Dehydration). This work furnished the foun- 

 dation for the investigations and commercial dehydration operations 

 begun after the outbreak of the present war. 



"Out of print, but may be consulted in libraries. 



