The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1880-05-28
HOME INTERESTs.


TO-DAY is no better-if it is as good-as
that which was consumed one hundred
years ago. Somehow people had come
to think that fruit when dried ought
to be the color of mahogany, and the
liquid in which it is boiled should be
the color of uncreamed coffee. Fruit
was usually set out on screens and
dried. by the slow process OF the sun,
or put into the oven after the bread
was taken out, if the sun failed to
shine in tie meantime it was visited
by hosts of common flies, wasps, moths,
hornets, spiders and OTHER "Termln"
that mutilated it and peppered IT all
over with their e1cretal matter, so
that consumers were compelled to wash
il thoroughly before boiling it, or eat
more than they bargained for. At
other times it was strung on strings and
hung up to dry by the sun or atmos-
phere, under like exposure, or put in
tin or iron pans and dried in the oven,
which was made hot enough to dry it
as crisp as old shoe leather, or burn it
as black as charcoal. Much OF that in
the market at the present day is OF
that character, and especially the kind
made OF sweet spples, and otten when
brought to the table is of an inky
color, ana anything but inviting to the
appetite.
Another objection to much of the
dried fruit was that it was dried with
the skins sn, and this was especially
the case with sweet apples and peaches,
and also, in some cases, with pears.
This is to some extent still the case
Possibly there may be some people who
prefer impaired dried fruit, and if this is
the case the demand for it should
certainly be supplied. Another reason,
perhaps, is that pared fruit necessarily
commands a higher price, and people
may prefer the impaired on that account
But with the present improved pairing
and coring machines the labor of pre-
pairing fruit to dry is very much dimin-
ished besides, it takes longer thorough
1y to dry fruit that is impaired than it
does that which is pared. During the
last ten or twelve years various machines
have been invented for drying fruit by
artificial heat in such a manner as to
retain nearly It's original color and
flavor. The true philosophy in drying
cut and pared fruits is to subject them
TO q current OF dry heated air, III order
to dry the cut surface quickly, which
prevents discoleration and makes an
artificial skin, which practically closes
the cellular tissues that contain the
acid and starch, which yield glucose
or fruit-sUgar. Let 1T also be remem.
bered that fruit dried by this method
needs no preparatory washing-indeed,
washing always carries off consi ler-
able amount of the flavor and saccharine
matter, and produces corresponding
insipidity.
There is another matter connected
with drying for the market which
seems to have elected but little at
tention generally, but which, we be-
lieve, would pay in the end and that
is to make different grades of quality,
and these grades should be based upon
equal degrees of ripeness and equal
degrees of texture. For instance, ripe
fruit and unripe should not be in
cluded in the same lot neither should
naturally tough and tender fruit.
because unripe and tough fruit always
requires longer boiling than ripe and
tender fruit hence In the culinary
preparation the former may be partially
raw, whilst the later may be reduced
to pulp when they are boiled togelh-
er. Time was when butchers paid
little attention to grading their meets,
except, perhaps, in larger cities; but
now the thing 10 more systematically y
arranged everywhere, and II pays
Tho tobacco growers see the advantage
OF systematic grading in preparing their
erOps for market, but before they learn.
ed It many q fiEst.class lot CT tobacco
was saCrifced because of the inferior
gEzdes beirg mixed up with it. Il
pays them, and pays them well, too, te
grade their crops into different qualities
y would pay equally we'll IN dried
fsuit. Our country-tbe Pacific north
VESTS so excellent for fruit growing
that the best methods OF utilizing and
preserving fruits should be y study o
great interest here. The canning bnsi