Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-07-04

Dry vegetables and fruits for win
ter use If tin cans and glass jars Tor
canning are scarce or expensive.
This is the advice of specialists of
the United States Department of
Agriculture, who recently have stud
led the possibilities of conserving food
to meet war needs in spite of any
difficulties that may be experienced in
obtaining canning containers. Drying
was well-recognized and successful
| way of preserving certain foods be-
| fore canning came into general use,
the specialists point out, and modern
methods make it still more practic-
able than formerly, either in the home
or by community groups.
Three methods Of drying have been
found by the department specialists
to give satisfactory results. These
are sun drying by artificial heat, and
drying with air blasts, as before an
electric fan. Trays for drying by
any one of these methods, as well as
tray frames for use over stoves or be-
fore fans, can be made satisfactorily
at home. Frames and trays for use
with artificial heat may be purchased
complete if desired.
Homemade trays may be made Of
side and end boards three-fourths of
an inch thick and two inches wide and
bottom boards Of lathing spaced one
fourth of an inch. If desired, one
fourth-inch galvanized wire mesh may
be tackled to the side and end boards
to form the bottoms of the trays.
Frames for use before fans may be
made Of wood of convenient size.
Frames for use with artificial heat
should be made of non-infiammable
material to as great an extent as
possible. AS many as six trays may
be placed one above the other when
artificial heat is used. In drying be-
fore fan the number of trays that
may be placed one above the other
will depend, to large extent, upon
the diameter Of the fan. In drying
in the sun, trays as described may be
used or the products to be dried may
be spread on sheets of paper or mus
lin held in place by weights.
Vegetables and fruits will dry bet
ter if sliced. They should be cut in
to slices one-eighth to one-fourth of
an inch thick; if thicker, they may
not dry thoroughly. While drying,
the products should be turned or stir
red from time to time. Dried pro-
ducts should be packed temporarily
for three or four days and poured
each day from one box to another to
bring about thorough mixing and So
that the whole mass will have a uni
form degree of moisture. If during
this Conditioning" any piece of the
products are found to be too moist,
they should be returned to the trays
and dried further. When in condi-
ton the products may be packed per-
manently in tight paper bags, insect
proof paper boxes or cartons, or glass
or tin containers.
Spinach and parsley: Spinach that
is in prime condition for greens
should be prepared by careful wash
ing and removing the leaves from the
roots. Spread the leaves on trays to
dry thoroughly. They will dry much
more promptly if sliced or chopped.
Beets: Select young, quickly grown
tender beets, which should be washed,
peeled, sliced about an eighth of an
inch thick, and dried.
Turnips should be treated in the
same way as beets.
Carrots should be well grown, but
varieties having large woody core
should be avoided. Wash, peel, and