The Benson signal., 1917-07-21

(From FARMERS BULLETIN S41. United
States Department of Agriculture.)
One of the most prominent features
of the food conservation program of
European countries has been the uni
.versal drying of fruits and vegetables.
The surplus vegetables in the city mar
kets were forced by the governments
into large municipal drying plants.
Community dryers were established
in the trucking regions and even itin-
Grant drying machines were sent from
farm to farm drying the vegetables
which otherwise would have gone to
waste. In addition, large quantities of
dried vegetables from Canada and this
country were shipped to France dur
ing the last two years, and there is a
possibility that dried fruits and vege-
tables may continue to be shipped
abroad in considerable quantities to
supplement the concentrated food diet
of the men in the trenches.
The drying of vegetables may seem
strange to the present generation, but
to our grandmothers it was no nov
city. Many housewives even today pre-
fer dried sweet corn to the product
canned by the old method, and say
that dried pumpkin and squash are ex-
cellent for pie making. Snap beans
often are strung on threads and dried
above the stove. Cherries and rasp-
berries still are dried on bits Of bark
for use instead of raisins. In fact,
many of the everyday foodstuffs al
ready are dried at some stage of their
preparation for market. The common
dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins,
figs. dates and apples, are staples in
the worlds markets, while beans and
other legumes, tea, coffee, cocoa, and
various manufactured foods, like
starch, tapioca, macaroni, etc., are
dried either in the sun and wind or in
specially constructed driers.
Even though the drying of fruits and
vegetables as practiced few decades
ago on many farms has become prac-
tically a ''lost art" the present food
situation doubtless will cause marked
stimulation of drying as a means OF
conserving the food supply. This coun-
try is producing large quantities Of per-
ishable foods this year, which should
be saved for storage, canned, or prop
erly dried Drying is not panacea
for the entire waste evil, nor should it
take the place of storing or canning
to any considerable extent where prop
er storage facilities are available or tin
cans or glass jars can be obtained
readily and at low cost.
Advantages of Drying.
The advantages Of drying vegetables
are not so apparent for the farm home
as they are for the town or city house
hold, which has no root cellar or 9th
er place in which to store fresh vege-
tables. For the farmers wife the new
methods of canning probably will be
better than sun drying, which require
somewhat longer time. But shorter
methods of drying are available, and
the dried product holds ar advantage
in that usually it requires fewer jars,
cans, or other containers than do
canned fruits or vegetables; also dried
material can be stored in receptacles
which cannot be used for canning.
Then, too, canned fruit and vegetables
freeze and cannot be shipped as con-
veniently in winter. Dried vegetables
can be compacted and shipped with
minimum risk.
Special Advantages.
To the housewife in the town the
of o+oh re
sents special advantages. During the
season when the market is Oversup-
piled locally and prices are low she
can lay in a stock, dry it, and put it
away for a winters emergency without
it's taking up much of the needed small
storage space in her home. If she is
accustomed to canning her fruit and
vegetables and finds she cannot Sc
cure jars or tin cans, she can easily re-
sort to drying.
With simple and inexpensive facili-
ties, all housewives can save quanti-
ties Of food which are too small con-
veniently to can. A few sweet pota-
toes or apples or peas or even a single
turnip can be dried and saved. Even
when very small quantities are dried
at time a quantity sufficient for
meal will soon be secured. Small lots
Of several dried vegetables, such as
cabbage, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and
onions, can be combined to advantage
for soups and stews.
Cleanliness Is Big Factor.
Cleanliness is as necessary in the
preparation of vegetables and fruits
for drying as in their preparation for
canning, perhaps even more so. To
secure a fine quality of dried products
much depends upon having the vege-
tables absolutely fresh, young, tender.
ard perfectly clean. If steel knives
ere used in pairing and cutting have
:hem clean and bright so as not to dis
color the vegetable. The earthly smell
and flavor will cling to root crops if
they are not washed thoroughly before
slicing, and one decayed root may fla