METHODS 01' FRUIT PRESERVING. 



571 



lost about one half of its water contents. A little incision is then made 

 in the stalk end of the fruit and the stone can then be easily squeezed 

 out. 



To make "prunes " proper, as understood on the Continent, the skins 

 of the Plums are removed as follows : — The fruits are steamed in the 

 steamer for about six minutes, or boiled for a minute in a saucepan, and 

 then cooled in cold water. The skins can then be very easily removed. 

 The bright appearance of much of the foreign fruit is due to its now 

 being soaked in a solution of sulphuric acid. The drying should proceed 

 in the usual way at about 120° Fahr., so as to enable a coating to form on 

 the fruit. The skinning enables the drying to be effected more rapidly, 

 as the water in the fruit is more easily evaporated. 



It should be remembered that the excellence of the French, Bosnian, 

 and Turkish prunes is due, not only to the variety and good ripening of 

 the fruits, but also to the careful method of drying. In Turkey, the Plums 

 are exposed to the direct rays of the southern sun ; in France and Bosnia 

 a very primitive form of oven is used. The French obtain their pre- 

 eminent product only by the constant interruption of the drying process. 

 In Bosnia the fruits are also graded according to how many go to the 

 pound— 120, 100, 85, &c. 



The drying should be stopped when the sugar has sufficiently con- 

 densed, and while the fruit is soft to the touch. In France the finished 

 prunes are packed in flat boxes with fresh bay-leaves which give a fine 

 flavour to the fruit, and the boxes are also lined with paper to preserve 

 the fruit from maggots, mildew, and other injury. 



Cherries of a firm flesh are best adapted for drying, as they yield the 

 largest percentage of the treated product. Black Cherries fetch a better 

 price when dried than light -coloured ones, which assume a dirty brown 

 tint when dried. Cherries, especially bitter Cherries, must be as ripe as 

 possible when treated. The duration of drying is reduced if the fruits be 

 previously exposed in the sun. Cherries should be laid on the trays with 

 the stalks uppermost, which after a preliminary drying should be removed. 

 This is done to prevent the juice escaping, which would unavoidably occur 

 if fresh fruit with the stalks first removed were laid on the trays. In 

 order, however, to avoid the additional trouble of removing the trays from 

 the dryer, and replacing them, some people risk the loss of the juice and 

 remove the stalks before drying at all. 



In any case the stalk end of the fruit should always be placed upper- 

 most, as the wound not only allows the escape of the juice, but if placed 

 downwards would lead to the fruit bursting on heat being applied. In 

 drying Cherries the trays of fresh fruit are placed at the top, in the coolest 

 place first and gradually brought into the greater heat. These two remarks 

 apply to all stone fruit equally. 



One hundred pounds of Cherries, dried for four to six hours, produce 

 about twenty-five pounds of the evaporated product. 



"Cherry raisins" can be made by removing the stems and stones 

 from the bright-coloured fruit and then drying. 



Eight pounds of dried " raisins " can be made from 100 lb. of fresh 

 fruit. About fifteen pounds of the loss are accounted for by the stalks 

 and stones, and the rest by the water in the fruit. 



p 2 



