Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-08-17
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HOME DRYING OF VEGE-
TABLES.
; Scarcity OF Cans or Glass Jars
Makes This Form Of Pre-
serving Desirable.

= Scarcity OF Cans or Glass Jars :.
= Makes This Form Of Pre- :.
IL serving Desirable. :.
Dry vegetables and fruits for win
ter use If tin cans and glass jars for
canning are scarce or expensive.
This is the advice of specialists OF
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture, who recently have studied
the possibilities of conserving fool
to meet war needs in spite of any diff
ficulties that may be experienced in
obtaining canning containers.
Drying was well-recognized AMI
successful way of preserving certain
foods before canning came into gen.
eral use. the specialists point out, and
modern methods make it still moro
practicable than formerly, either in
the home or by community groups.
Methods Of Drying.
Three methods of drying have been
found by the department specialists
to give satisfactory results. These
are sun drying, by artificial heat and
before an electric fan. Trays for
drying by any one of these methods,
as we'll as tray frames for use over
stoves or before fans, can be made
heat, and drying with air blasts, as
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 inches wide and
bottom boards of lathing spaced one
fourth of an inch. If desired, n 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 NAV no
made of wood of convenient size.
Frames for use with artificial heat
should be made of noninflammable
material to as great an extent as DOS
sible. AS many as six trays may be
placed one above the other when ar
tificial heat is used.
In drying before a fan the number
of trays that may be placed one above
the other will depend, to a large ex-
tent, upon the diameter Of the fan.
In drying in the sun, trays as de-
scribed may be used or the products
to be dried may be spread on sheets
of paper or muslin held in place By
weights.
Preparing Products for Drying.
Vegetables and fruits will dry bet-I
ter If sliced. They should be cut into
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 stirred
from time to time.
Dried products should be packed
temporarily for or days and
poured each day from one box to an
other to bring about thorough mix
ing and SO that the whole mass will
have a uniform degree of moisture.
II during this conditioning any
pieces of the products are found to
be too moist, they should be returned
to the trays and dried further.
When in condition the products
may be packed permanently in tight
paper bags, insect-proof paper boxes
or cartons, or glass or tin containers.
Some Good Recipes.
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 AM
eighth of an inch thick, and dried.
Turnips should be treated in the
same way as beets.
Carrots should be we'll grown, but
varieties having large woody core
should be avoided. Wash, peel, and
slice cross-wise into pieces about an
eighth Of an inch thick.
Parsnips should be treated in the
same way as carrots.
Onions-Remove the outside pa
perry covering: cut of tops and roots;
slice into one-eighth-inch pieces and
dry.
Cabbage - Select well-developed