DRYING VEGETABLES AND EKUITS FOR HOME USE. 13 



Corn may be dried in the sun. Dry in oven 10 or 15 minutes at 

 165° F. and finish drying in the sun. Protect from insects and dust. 

 Sun drying is, of course, not satisfactory in moist weather and the 

 dried product will be darker and not as attractive in appearance. 

 When dried in the sun it should be heated in the oven, before storing, 

 for 10 minutes at 165° to 175° F. in order to kill insect eggs. 



Horse-radish. — Wash, scrape, slice in ^-irich or thinner slices and 

 rinse in vinegar. Do not blanch. Dry slowly, starting at 125° F. 

 and finishing at 135° to 140° F. Dry hard, but do not scorch. Grind 

 or powder. Keep in well-corked bottles or in tin cans. Before using 

 the powder, dampen with water and leave covered for about 2 hours. 



Leek. — Wash carefully after cutting off the roots and spoiled leaves. 

 They can be dried whole, if not too large, or cut in J-inch slices. 

 Blanch in steam 5 minutes or 2 to 4 minutes in boiling water. Drain, 

 remove surface moisture and start drying at 110° to 120° F. In- 

 crease temperature slowly to 140° F. or start at 175° F. and reduce 

 temperature to 135° F. 



Mushrooms. — Do not attempt to collect mushrooms unless you know 

 the edible varieties. 



All edible fungi can be dried. Wash carefully with a woolen cloth 

 and lukewarm salt water. After cleaning, place in clean, cold salt 

 (1 tablespoon salt to 1 gallon water). The lamellae are not re- 

 moved from the small partly closed mushrooms, but they are re- 

 moved from the large open ones from which also the outer skin is 

 removed. Eemove from the salt water, put in a crock and pour over 

 them boiling water with a little vinegar and salt added (1 table- 

 spoon vinegar and J teaspoon salt per quart water). Let stand 

 for ^ hour. Drain well. Place on a coarse towel, cover with another 

 towel, and wring as when wringing clothes. Spread on a board or 

 6n trays covered with cheesecloth and dry in air, preferably in draft 

 and sunshine, for a couple of days. Then place in an oven or in a 

 drier for a few hours at from 100° to 120° F. until thoroughly dry. 



Mushrooms should not be packed until several hours after they are 

 dried. It will be necessary to keep them in a very dry place or they 

 may mildew. It may be necessary to dry them again in case of damp 

 weather. Before using them, soak in lukewarm water or milk. The 

 dried mushrooms can also, when thoroughly dried, be powdered. 

 This powder may be kept in well-corked bottles and be used for 

 thickening of soups or gravies where the mushroom flavor is wanted. 



A simpler way of preparing them is to clean them, scrape and 

 wipe dry with a clean piece of linen. Cut in small pieces and dry 

 at 110° to 130° F. until they can be powdered. This powder must 

 be kept very dry or it will quickly spoil. 



Okra. — Wash, blanch in steam 2 to 3 minutes, or in boiling water 

 with salt and soda added and plunge into cold water. Drain and 



