570 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ripe Pears, which are consequently very full of juice, dry slowly and with 

 difficulty. Most varieties of dessert Pears are not suited for drying, and 

 cooking Pears yield the best result. 



To produce a very fine product the Pears are thrown into spring water 

 when peeled, quartered, and the core removed, and then steamed at a high 

 temperature for eight or ten minutes. The original moisture of the fruit 

 is thus more easily evaporated, and the dried fruit has a semi-transparent 

 appearance, which is attractive to the purchaser and demands a higher 

 price. 



Whole Pears require seven to nine hours, halved and quartered five to 

 seven hours to dry. The waste (skin, core, &c.) in Pears varies from 14 

 to 22 per cent., and the dried product averages from 12 to 18 per cent, of 

 the quantity of fruit used. When preparing the Pears before drying the 

 flavour will be improved if a little sugar be added to the water in which 

 they are cooked, and to this may be added the juice of the core and peel. 



Flattening the Fruit. — When partly evaporated or dried, the smaller 

 sorts of Pears, and a few other sorts of fruit, are sometimes flattened in 

 order to make them pack better in boxes. The system employed, is to 

 take each tray out of the machine when half-dried, and to place the 

 fruits in a wooden clapper, which can easily be made locally, and after they 

 have been flattened, then to complete the drying process. A very port- 

 able clapper may be made by cutting two slips of wood 2^ to 3 inches 

 wide, | inch thick, and about 2 feet long. The last 8 inches of each are 

 rounded to form a handle, and the two pieces are best hinged at the other 

 end by a strip of leather. 



Wider sizes can of course be made to flatten more fruit at once, and a 

 similar attachment can be made to fix to the edge of a table when required. 

 Some practical men aver that this process is unnecessary, as it takes time, 

 and some juice will be lost. They say, moreover, that if the fruit be not 

 dried too hard, it can easily be flattened when being pressed into its box. 



Plums.— The best varieties for drying are those of which the fruit is 

 large, with a good percentage of sugar and rich in aroma. Other varieties 

 are not so suitable for the purpose on account of their acidity, and give 

 an unattractive brown product. 



Mirabelles dry comparatively quickly (six to eight hours) : they both 

 look and taste well, and are much sought after in the market. 30 lb. of 

 dried fruit are to be got from 100 lb. of the fresh. Plums should never 

 be dried too much, as they then lose much of their aroma, and the final 

 product is of less weight. As soon as the sugar inside the fruit is 

 concentrated, its keeping properties are secured. 



The large egg-shaped plums have both a very soft flesh and a very 

 thin skin, and the regulation of the temperature during the drying is most 

 important. The fruit begins to dry when the flesh has been thoroughly 

 cooked through by the heat of the apparatus, and the drying process can 

 thus be much shortened if the fruits be steamed before being brought 

 into the dryer. The steaming occupies only about six minutes, and the 

 drying occupies eight to twelve hours for steamed fruit, and sixteen to 

 twenty hours for unsteamed fruit. The dried product realised about 25 

 to 30 per cent, of the fresh. Should it be desired to remove the stones, 

 this is best done when the fruit is partly dried, and the fruit has 



