The Placer herald., 1874-11-14
HOUSE AND FARM.

ABoUr FsuT DRYING PBocEssEs. Pre-.
serving perishable food ia brancl, Of indus
try Of considerable importance to those
suffering from inability to handle III u m
tiful hsrtess Of fruits and vegitables Many
are endeavoring 10 solve the question OF
market and profit, for a dried article, and
before canvassing any process Of preservation,
We offer some items from the Custom Honsc
reportss Into the por, Of San Francisco, for
the year ending August 31st 1874. 500, 600
dollars worth Of foreign fruit was brought
just think Of it ye fruit producers who ought
= have reaped this harvest. In the United
States duringt the year 1878, over IS, ,0O0, 900
wocth Of the same import was consumed.
These figures prove the demand Why
should this amount Of money be paid fer
foreign produce and labor, when it would
more than compensate the producers Of this
aod other States, for the care and expense,
involved 70 giving well manipulated article
to the commercial world There il no rea.
800 why va sbould not use our surplus pro-
duct to supply this demand; and 10 meet
the pecessi,y Of rapid and easy work, comes
the inventive power Of our American mind.
Already we have number Of processes in
the field for preserving fruit and root crops
Foremost in success in this industry is the
Alden, but from it's expense it fails to reach
tbe macs ofindividual farmers, who are the
ones 70 handle this question and reap the
benefits. In many sections where co-opera-
tive establishments could be formed this is
not cxceIled in its productions Riders
American drier, however, comes nearer to
the wants Of individuals. 1t is cheap, easy
TO handle and yields fine article, but not in
large quantities. Later in the field comes
Lloyd's process. which promises to do more
work than either of the others, for the amount
Of money invested. reacbin, the farmer, who
wishes small machine for utilizing his own
crop. or the capitalist who wishes good
and sdfe investment A small farm dryer,
having a capacity equal to Riders American
will be put in the market at $50, and one
carrying about two tons perday of "a hours,
will cost about $500 Fruits average from
four to Fix hours in drying, with the excep-
ton Of grapes and prunes, which take from
IL 10 "a according to temperature. 1t is
claimed that this is the only machine capable
Of handling hides, fish and meat on large
scale. This latter product, which we have
seen. looks very fine, coming back to its
original raw state after soaking in water.
A few words of knowledge gained abroad
and Of experience here, and we close this
article hoping it may benefit its readers with
an idea OF the demand for preserved food,
and furnish some general knowledge Of the
modus-Operandi employed to give the
present article Of food to the market
Have the lead in price and consumption,
the best being made from the Malaga, Mus
catel or "sun rasin;" these are dried on The
rines. the stem of each bush when ripe be-
ing partially severed and the leaves that
shade it picked Of, Thus exposed, the
grapes soon sllrivel by the evaporation of the
water they contain, and become sweeter by
the consequent concentration Of the pulp.
These, more than any other sort, retain the
freshness aud bloom OF the fruit, and acquire
less Of the saccharine deposit which is found
on most OF the other varieties. Other raisi
are prepared by drying the ripe grapes after
they are picked, either in the sun or in heat
ed rooms. Those known as the "Lcxas,
are so called from the lye employed in curing
them. Included among these ure the varie-
ties known as the Valencia and Denia. The
best Of these are hung on lines to dry in the
sun, and as they begin to shrivel, they are
dipped into weak lye. once or twice, then
hung up again to complete the drying. The
effect Of the lye is to cause a saccharinc exu-
datiou to take place, which forms concretious
upon the raisins, and cous them with
thin varnish. Of Turkish raisins, two va
rieties. the Sultans and black Smyrnas are
the best known. The former are from
ANAL, delicious grape without seeds, and
come packed in drums. The latter are also
email, but have very large seeds. AS a rule,
they are free from the sugary concretous
which are common to other sorts.
A very important variety of raisins, and
one rarely understood to be the fruit Of the
vine, y lhe dried currant Of commerce. This
is very small sized grape. largely cul,iva-
ted at Patras, in Zaute, Ithaca and Cepha-
lonia. Its name is a corruption of Corntb
OF CoIiatian grapes. They are no larger
than peas. aud the punches are three inches
long. The importation Of raisns averages
over $1 .OO0. 900 yearly; that Of Zante cur
rants about $500. 600 yearly.
PhUNks.
The best varieties of pruncs are made
from the Saint Catherine plum and the prune
diAglue. After being exposed in the air for
several days, until they become soft, they
are shut up close in a spent oven aud left "a
hours. They are then taken out, and re-
placed after the oven has been slightly re-
heated on the next day; they are turned by
slightly shaking the sieves OH which they
have been laid. The eovens ale heated again,
and they are put in third time. After re-
MMining "a hours they are taken out and left
10 get quite cold. This same process Of
heating the ovens is gone through with twice