The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-06-27
A Fruit Evaporation.
There are several forms of these fir,

There are several forms of these fruit |
evaporators, but this is the Oldest, and
is a good type of them all. The appa-
ratus that has been described consists
essentially of an upright wooden shaft
or tower erected in three story build
ing. At the base is some form OF hot
air furnace, with proper inlets for fresh
air. The air passes over the furnace,
becomes heated, and ascends through
the shaft and escapes at the top of the
tower. When the temperature of the
interior ranges from $50 to 300 degrees
Fahrenheit, a tray of fresh fruit is sus
pended on the elevating chains just
above the furnace. At this tempera
ture the fruit would be cooked instead
of dried, were it not for the fact that it
is dripping with moisture. 1t is bathed
in steaming vapor and begins to dry,
not on the outside, but from the inside
first. The air, saturated with water,
keeps the pores of the fruit open and
the surface unchanged. There is no
formation of a hard, dry, and discolored
skin, as when fruit is dried in the open
air. In this high temperature, in few
minutes, the fruit would begin to cook;
but before this can happen, the elevat-
ing chains are moved and the tray is
raised about Is centimeters Give
inches), and another tray is placed be-
low it. The first tray is now shaded
from the direct heat and the lower tray
gives off clouds of vapor that rise and
battle the fruit above in hot and steam
ing atmosphere. In certain number
of minutes, regulated by the heat, the
kind and quality of the fruit, and the
state of the weather, the two trays are
raised another thirteen centimeters, and
another fresh lot of fruit is inserted be-
low. The first lot is still more shaded
from the heat, but remains in an atmos-
phere saturated with moisture from the
new supplies below. Thus the fruit
rises few centimeters every ten or if
teen minutes, moving continually away
from the fire, and yet always bathed in
vapor from the fruit under it. In from
four to six hours it rises to the top of the
shaft, and is by this time finished. 1t
has parted with all its water, and has
undergone an entire change in its nature
When fresh, four-fifths of the ripe
peaches consisted of water. 1t also con-
tanned certain percentage of acids and
a certain proportion of sugar, starch,
and other chemical constituents. After
passing through the evaporation, it is re-
duced to four-fifths of its original weight,
the loss being almost wholly in water.
The fibrous skeleton of the fruit re-
mains, but the acids are reduced and
the sugar has increased in quantity.
The other portions starch, ETC.
are nearly unchanged, the color
is retained, and there is still trace of
the fragrance of the ripe fruit. The
process the fruit has passed through
seems to resemble a supplementary
ripening. The familiar instances of the
after-ripening of winter pears in dark
closet, where the hard and sour pears
becomes sweet, juicy, and mellow, may
serve to illustrate the chemical change
that takes place in this process. The
evaporated peach is dry, but ripper and
sweeter than when fresh. Every valua-
BILE quality of the fruit is retained; the
water alone has been extracted. Soak
the dry peach in enough cold water to
cover it and it assumes its natural size
and flavor. 1t is then practically ripe
peach, with the water restored 1t
makes no difference when the water is
replaced; it may be now, next year, or
ten years hence, in this or in any other
climate; add the water to the dry peach
at any time, and it may be cooked and
eaten in any form that fancy dictates.
Charles Barnard, sn Scaf5ner for June