The weekly picket. (Canton, Miss.) 1894-19??, 1894-09-21
FRUIT DRYING.
Some Valuable Points IN Preparing Good
Things for Winter Use.


4 generally used than now The change
is in some respects unfortunate,afo fol
dried fruits, when the drying is care
fully and intelligently done, are among
the most healthfulo of all articles of diet
and are recommended by some ofsDnI
most distinguished physicians as being
better for use, especially for childrer
and invalids in hot weather, than 5skr
fresh fruits, unless these can be had ii
an hour or two after gathering. Dried
fruits really preserve much OF the favor
and all the healthful properties of the
fresh fruits, without their lability>t 10
fermentation. This advan tage they
share with canned fruits, but the latter
require to be cooked with certain
amount of sugar and both physicians
and chemists are becoming more and
more insistent upon the evils attending
the use of cane sugar, especially when
cooked with fruit acids
Strawberries, raspberries, blaclsheY-
ries and gooseberries do not dry to good
advantage, being composed principally
of flavor, water and seeds. The flavor
and water disappear, and only the seeds
remain. Currants and huckleberrics
take more kindly to the process, and
cherries, plums, apricots, peache8
pears and apples are all exceedingly
good always providing that the. drying
is properly done. W.
Only perfect fruit, neither unripe
nor overripe, should be selected
Huckleberries and currants need no
further preparation than washing and
picking over. Cherries and plums
need to have their pits removed, and
peaches require. in addition, to be
pared and quartered, while the other
fruits need to be pared, cored and cut
into quarters or still smaller divisions,
The old-fashioned method of thread
ing the quarters of apples or pears
upon strings, to hang in long festoons
on the sunny side of the house M
against the kitchen w.Il, mad marry
disadvantages. In the nrss place the
drying was necessarily slow that
sure to become in measure decoH
posed before the drying was corr
pleted, and in the second place tile
festoons were exposed to the attacly
of hosts of flies; and at the present day
we know that it was not without rea-
son that the ancient Philistines named
their spirit of evil ''Beelzebub, god Of
the flies, for there are no more indus
trious disseminators of disease than
they. The fly which has come from
putrid offal to alight upon some slight
scratch or pimple may be instantly
brushed away, but perhaps not before
he has had time to deposit the blood
poison which may produce the dreaded
or even the almost surely |
fatal malignant pustule; or by alight- |
ing upon articles of food, it may bring
infections which produce many sork
If stomach trouble or even typhoid
fever or cholera.
Tin dishes or fiat sheets of tin arb |
most convenient for this use, but ale
ipt to impart a disagreeable flavor.
Thin boards of some odorless wood ~
,wer a good purpose, but 1t is hot ssssv
% SO place them that the oven will
lold many at time. There is no dam
ser of their burning, for the oven that
S hot enough to burn the wood is quito
90 hot for the fruit, which would be
cooked instead of dried. The best way
S to have set of agate ware or porce-
ain-lined dripping pans kept for this
purpose only. In each spread single
aver of the fruit. Place the pans in
he oven in pile, one above the other
mot in such way as to make closed
ishes of them, but ''c1isscross," 90
hat the hot air may have free access
o the Fruitful the oven will hold no
lore. In this way good deal of fruit
lay be done at one time. The heat of
he oven may be first tested by putting
4 small portion of the fruit to be
ried, as not only do different fruits
equire a different temperature, but
ven various sorts of the same fruit; q
God deal depending upon whether the
eason has been wet or dry, that which
gathered in a dry season demanding
OF only a lower degree of heat, but =
lorter time than that gathered in
ct season.
Dried fruits should be carefully and
1icl1ly washed before cooking; quick
:, because none of the flavor should
cape to be thrown away in the wash
q water. Then the fruit should be
1T into cold water, and allowed to
,ak until it begins to plump out into
mething resembling its original pro-
,rtions. Then put into preserving
title, set upon the fire, and bring to a
lick scald, after which it may be set
tck from the fire to where it will just !
MINER until done. Perhaps one of
e chief reasons why dried fruits are E
healthful is that they cannot be g
ed without good deal of cooking. .
his destroys the tendency to fermep- I
tion. which is the bane of fresh
uits, especially those, which have haA 2
come far to market. II sugar is ID ;
added, it may be done in few min
es before removing from the FIRE, or
ait until it is brought TO the table. b
here each person may suit himself as G
quantity.
1t should be mentioned that all :
nits--for all have acid qualities
ould be cooked only in vessels which
n impart no flavor. ARate-iron or a
IN with a porcelain lining, is good /.
hen new, but should not be used \,
ter the lining is at all broken. An ;,
a ox. 1ro44lo q.