The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1917-05-25
HOME ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT
Club Instructions
Home Drying of Vegetables.

T1Ome bIyink VI NCkCtdOiCS
The States Relation Service, Wash
ington, D. c., sends out the follow
ing:
Owing to the shortage and the in
creased price of tin ans and glass
jars, attention has been directed to
the drying of surplus vegetables and
fruits. If an ample supply or con-
tainers is available it is probably bet
tainers is available it is probably bet
ter to can surplus vegetables and
fruits rather than to dry them as the
drying requires more time and labor.
However, if cans are not available,
surplus vegetables should be saved in
seem way. Such vegetables as can
be kept in a fresh condition by stor-
ing should be saved in this manner,
while those of a more ~perishable ma
ture should be dried. Root crops,
such as potatoes, sweet potatoes,
beets, parsnips, carrots. onions, etc,
should be stored rather than dried if
they mature at a time of the year
when they can be safely kept in this
way. The more perishable crops,
such as sweet corn, string beans, and
early cabbage. might be dried. These
can be dried in an oven. in trays or
racks over the kitchen stove, or in a
specially constructed drier. There
are small driers on the market which
give satisfactory results. Some of
these are made for use on the cook
stove. while others have a metal base
furnace. In both of these types the
principles Of drying are the same.
The evaporator part consists of a
fpa trr,pl- If Uropd ~ Ga 1Hra NIvnd
sheet iron with supports for the trays
The trays or racks have wire or per-
forated metal bottoms through which
the heated air passes. Home made
driers Of various kinds have been
used for drying fruits and vegetables.
A type Of home made dry kilns
used in some sections of the country
can be made as follows: Walls of
brick, stone, or cement are built up
a foot or two above the ground with
the front end left open for a fire
door. The size Of this kiln depends
upon the amount of material to be
dried. Many farm kilns are 4 feet
wide and 8 to 10 feet long. At the
back end a fue is built and this should
extend 4 or ) feet above the top of
the kiln. Iron bars are placed across
the top of the structure and sheet
iron or tin placed about two inches.
After applying the mortar a fire
should be started in the furnace to
bake the clay. The firing should be
done with a slow fire, and any cracks
formed during the baking should be
closed up with thin mortar. The ma
terial to be dried on this type of a
kiln is placed on large metal trays
to the depth of 2 or 3 inches. Only
a few hours are required for the dry
ing process. Most any fruit or vege-
labels can be dried on this type of
dryer, but the most commonly dried
are apples, peaches, cherries and
sweet corn.
The material to be dried is washed
and sliced or shredded before beng
placed on the racks. Most vegetables
are dried without cooking, but sweet
corn is usually steamed or boiled
long enough to set the milk. After
the steaming or boiling, the corn is
cut from the cob and placed on the
trays or racks for drying. Root
crops. such as carrots, p%arsnips, on
ions. etc, are peeled and sliced in
preparation for drying. Cabbage and
celery are shredded. After slicing
or s~hredding the material is placed
on the racks to the depth of n or
two inches, depending upon the char
acter of the material, and the heated
air passes through and over it.. The
temperature for drying should be
rather low to prevent scorching the
product. A temperature of about
$50 degrees F. is considered satisfac-
tory. The material should be stirred
or turned several times during the
dryign process in order to secure a
uniform product.
Many fruits and vegetables may be