The indicator., 1897-11-20
DRYING VEGETABLES.
A New Industry of the Pacific
Coast.
Potatoes, Onions, Carrots and Othe,
Vegetables as Treated for Use
in the Mining Re
KiOns,

A new and important industry has
come into existence in Santa Clara
county, which bids fair in time to rival
the fruit drying. This is the prepara-
tion of dried vegetables for the mar
ket, which at present is generally con-
fined to the short season at the driers
between the ripening of the different
fruits. just lately the vegetables have
been usurping the place of the apricots,
but they have now already begun to
give way in turn to the prunes.
On approaching a drier it does not
take one long to decide whether fruit
or vegetables are being prepared, for
in the latter case pungent odor
rushes out to sting ones eyes and
crawl uncomfortably up ones nostrils
for the trail of onions is over the land.
Within lively scene is presented. Men
are hurrying to and fro bearing traps
and boxes, while long rows of women
and children sit busily peeling pota-
toes and carrots, which, together with
the onions, form at present the staple
product. When boxes of potatoes or
carrots are filled. they are poured into
a large hopper. and from there fed to a
machine with rotating knife-blades,
which cuts them up into small slives
a quarter of an inch thick. The fur
ther process which the potatoes under
go is simple, and for carrots and the
other minor vegetables it is practically
the same.
After being sliced the tubers are
slightly sulphured in chamber built
of wood. Here great discrimination
must be used, for, if they are sulphured
TOO much, the potatoes. will taste of
the fumes; if too little, they will not
contain enough antiseptic property,
and bacteria attracted by the starch will
develop. Moreover, little sulphurng
is necessary to preserve the color of
the vegetables as far as possible and to
prevent decay.
After this process the potatoes are
not spread out in the sun, but put into
all evaporator. The latter looks like
a small Ferris wheel, and is inclosed in
a sort of brick oven with glass windows.
Within this it revolves close to hot-air
pipes for few hours. When the mois-
lure is sufficiently evaporated the ears
OF the wheel are emptied through the
windows, and their contents are now
ready for shipment in sacks.
When this stage is reached the sliced
potatoes resemble dry chips, and ii
takes six or seven pounds of the fresh
to make one pound of the dried.
By their pungency onions possess the
power of warding Off bacteria, and are,
therefore, only slightly sulphured to
preserve their color. They arenext evap-
Grated until one-third of the moisture is
expelled. and then placed in trays in
the sun, just as is done with fruit. The
drying process shrivels the onions so
much that it takes 90 parts of the fresh
to make one of the dried. While the
onions are being cut up the moisture
coming from them is very disagreeable
and hard on the eyes of the employees.
When carrots are evaporated it takes
about nine parts of them to make one
dried part. Perhaps the drying process
used in the case of both carrots and
potatoes might be improved upon were
steam employed By using the latter
The starch in the potatoes would be part
IN cooked and sterilized, and after this
the tubers could be evaporated in n
chamber similar to the one above de-
scribed. In this way the potatoes could
be rid of sulphur, well dried and yet
capable of being quickly soaked, and
there would be no chance for bacteria
TO develop.
Other vegetables than these mem
toned are at present in proces. of de-
velopment; but so far the industry has
proved very profitable, as evinced by
the increased demand for dried vege-
tables all over the country, but espe-
cially in the mining regions.-San Fran