The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1918-09-20
Driving Apples.


should be reasonably mature but not
soft. and should be handled with
proper care in picking and hauling so
as to avoid bruising, as bruised spots
which have become discolored must
be trimmed out in order to make
good-looking product. In preparing
apples the working force must be so
divided that the fruit is trimmed and
sliced as rapidly as IL is pared, as
peeled fruit must not be allowed to
remain standing in the air while
awaiting its turn at the hands of the
trimmers and slicers. After pairing
and coring. the apples should be
trimmed Immediately. to remove all
bits Of peel, discolored or decayed
spots. and fragments of core, and at
once sliced. Apples are usually cut by
means of an attachment on the parer
or by a special slicing machine into
slices or rings into right angles to the
core hole and one-fourth inch thick,
but a few individuals will prefer to
cut them into quarters. CHARTERED
apples by reason of their greater
thickness and the varying size of the
pieces, dry more slowly and unevenly
than slices and hence reduce the daily
capacity of the drier and require
greater expenditure of fuel per dry
pound. for which reasons they are
now rarely made in a commercial
way
II the fruit is to be sulphured, II
should be spread upon the trays to a
uniform depth of l to u inches as
rapidly as 1t is sliced and immediate
~ placed in the sulphuring box for
20 TO 80 minutes, after which 1t is
transferred to the evaporation. If 1t is
not to be sulphured, darkening can be
prevented only by providing pals OF
water into which the fruit is dropped
after pairing Trimmers and slicers
are also provided with such pals. so
that the fruit is exposed to the air
only while actually being handled by
the workers until it is spread on trays
and placed in the warm evaporator.
Drying is begun/at 1870 degrees
Fahrenheit and the temperture
gradually increased to 175 degrees.
The trays of drying apples should be
examined from time to time and, If
necessary, stirred with the fingers to
correct any tendency to uneyenness
in drying. The fruit is sufficiently dry
when handful of slices gripped
firmly in the hand has an elastic,
springy feel, separates promptly
when the pressure is released and /
leaves no visible moisture on the |
hand.
After removing from the drier, !
fruits or vegetables must be subject
ed to an after-curing or conditioning
process before they are permanent
ly stored away. ANY lot of material,
even that removed from single tray,
will not be uniformly dry through
out, some portions being overdried
while others contain too much mois-
ture for safety. II such material
while still warm be piled loosely up
on clean floor and subsequently
thoroughly stirred at daily intervals
for ten days or two weeks the wet
ter portions give up some OF their
water to the drier parts or to the
atmosphere, the moisture content OF
the entire mass becomes uniform,and
condition of equilibrium with the
surrounding air such that the ma
terial neither absorbs nor gives OF
measurable quantities of moisture is
presently attained. Material so
treated is said to have been con
ditioned" and may be stored without
danger of spoilage; without such
treatment the spores of fungi and
bacteria present upon the material
will be able to begin growth upon
the wetter portions, ultimately de- b.