The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-01
OF DRYING SWEET CORN FOR
 WINTER

Corn intended for drying should be gathered when in the milk stage"- when all the contents of a grain can be pressed out as a semi-nquid mass by crushing with the thumbnail be- fore the hardening and glazing of the grains has set in. Corn which Is either too immature or too old to be ideal for immediate table use will not make 8 strictly first-class product, It should be gathered only as rapidly as 1t can be prepared for drying; the practically universal rule in canner les and corn-drying plants that no corn may be gathered more than four hours before 1t can be worked up Is an excellent one to follow in the home since no product deteriorates more rapidly after it is gathered.
 Husk the ears, trim out any worm injuries or other defects, but do not spend time in attempts to remove silks, as they are readily separated af- ter drying. Place the ears in a wire basket or shallow box having a, bot tom of wire netting made to fit into an ordinary washboiler, have the boil CT partially filled with water and brought to boiling by the time the crate is filled, and plunge the crate into the boiling water. Allow it to remain in the vigorously boiling wa ter for to 12 minutes, determining the exast time by testing an ear by cutting or crushing a few grains. The cooking Is complete when the milk is set''-when no fluid escapes when the grains are cut open. Older and younger ears should be sorted and cooked separately, as the younger ears surprisingly enough, will require some what longer cooking than the older ones.
 When the corn is sufficiently cook ed, dump the ears upon a table to drain and cool, then cut the grain from the cob with a strong, sharp knife, so held that the grains are cut through just at the base of the neck" by which they are attached to the cob. This makes a much more presentable product than that obtained by cutting less deeply and scraping, and the at tached glumes-the hull like attach ments at the tips of the grains-are easily separated when the corn be- comes dry. Spread upon trays to a depth of 1-2 to 5-8 inch if the corn is to be dried in the sun, or 1 inch if drying in a drier. The temperature of the drier may be 130 to 40 de- grees at the beginning and should be ir creased IS to 20 degrees toward the end of the process. The grain should be thoroughly stirred several times to separate any compact masses.
 If corn is tried in the sun, it should be finished by pouring into bread pans, placing in the oven of the stove, and warming to 160 to 16b degrees for two hours with frequent stirring as it is practically impossible to bring corn to a sufficient degree of dryness by the unaided heat of the sun. Dry ing should in every case be continued until the grains are hard, semi-trans- parent, and break to bits with a clear glass like fracture when crushed. When corn has been brought to thi degree of dryness, 1t may be perma- nently stored at once, preferably in closely woven muslin bags or heavy paper bags, tied tightly at the neck and placed within larger muslin bag which is in turn tied tightly Prior to storing, the corn may be freed of silks, glumes, and bits of cob by stir ring 1t repeatedly to loosen the glumes from the tips of the grains and then passing the corn over 8 screen or pouring it from one vessel to another while another person creates a strong breeze by flaming the stream of grain, thus winnowing out the lighter par ticles.
 Since corn is a product which Is quite high both in sugar and in pro- tein 1t is quite subject to the attacks of bacteria if the drying process is all lowed to stop while there is still a considerable percentage of water pres ent Consequently, if sun drying is interrupted by cloudy weather or showers, while the corn still has much water, drying should be continued over the stove or in the oven or the product may spoil.
 1 Ordinary white field corn, if gath cred when in ideal roasting ear stage, and treated by the method here de- scribed, makes dry product which Is of course much lower in sugar l ooptont than Ie arAet corn hut which