Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-01-04
Che Pouseholo.
EvAPORATED FRUIT.

Evaporated fruit today, says the New
York Mail and Express, is entirely
different from the dried fruit of dozen
years ago. Who doesn't remember the
.shriveled, dark-colored, wedge-shaped
pieces of apple and peach that were sold
by the family grocer? They possessed
the tenacity of sole leather and were I'M
inviting to look and smell. Before they
could be used in the homemade pies they
required to be boiled and stewed for
hours at time. The preparation of the
dried fruits of those days was primitive.
Farmers wives and daughters pared and
sliced the apple by hand and placed them
on wooden trays, which were set out in
the sun. 1t took days to dry the fruit,
and exposure to showers and the night
air had to be avoided or the lot would be
spoiled. The advent of steam evapora-
tors and scientific methods has wrought
great change in the business. Large
evaporating establishments have been
put up, thousands of men given employ
ment, and prosperous industry created.
to the sun-dried article has caused an
immense demand for them, and aside
from the consumption in this country,
large amounts are shipped abroad. The
new processes now in use produce fruit
that retains much of its original color,
and that is as palatable as though
it were in its fresh and natural condition.
a large proportion of the evaporated
fruit that is consumed in this city and
exported is produced in the western part
of this State. Within radius of 40 miles
of Rochester there are 1900 evaporators,
from the small farmhouse apparatus,
with capacity of % bushels per day, to
the large steam evapOrators drying from
800 to 1000 bushels of apples every "a
hours. These evaporators employ over
10000 hands during the fall and early
winter months. Large quantities that were
formerly wasted are utilized, and the
profits of fruit raising largely increased.
The great care and scrupulous cleanliness
observed, and the excellent quality of the
fruit used, have made the New York
evaporated apples famous, and enabled
them to command good prices. The
product in the State is now estimat-
ed at 3O,OOO,0OO pounds, worth at
first cost about S2,O00,00C. In order
to produce this quantity of dried
fruit no less than 100000 bushels
of apples are required, and $4,000 tons of
coal consumed. A constant attendance,
night and day, of an army of men,
women and children nun boring 10000 is
necessary. The process of evaporation
eliminates 225, 900 tons of water, reducing
the green fruit to about one-eighth of its
original weight, each 100 pounds yield
ing, when properly evaporated, ~ pounds
of fruit.
The fruits is packed in boxes holding
60 pounds each, and is shipped to all
parts of the world Aside from the fact
that the evaporated apple can be tran
spOrted to any CLINE without deteriora,
ton, the advantage in the cost of freight
is great. A case of the concentrated pro
duct costs thirty cents for transportation
to Liverpool in the green state, the 81
bushels required to produce the 80 pounds
would cost S2.25, and In the canned state
the cost would be S2.l0. The principa
consuming countries abroad are Ger
many, England, France, Belgium, Hol
land, Scotland. There is also growing
demand for the apples in the Australian
and West African trade. During lSs,
there were shipped to France $1,000 bar
res of chopped apples. These wer'
dried without being pared or .cored, ant
were used for the production of cider ant
cheap wines. The total exports of evap
Grated apples now amount to 4,OOO,OO
pounds per annum.