Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-05
Ry MRS. NJ. A. WILSON

VIE history OI uTyIuB pfouucto Va WV
L garden Is as old as the history OF
mankind. and long before the efforts OF
civilization brought to us the various
methods of canning, we had the primi-
tive methods of conserving food by dry
ing in the rays of the sun.
The Department Of Agriculture gives
three methods for drying foodstuffs,
namely:
Driers in gas range, or on top Of
stove with commercial drier.
The sun.
Tho dcctric fan in using blasts Of
cold air.
The method nm using is one that
has been worked out by me during the,
last three summers In my school. and
has proved highly successful.
Keep in mind this fact, That for
quick, successful work the thinner the
fruits and vegetables nre cut the quicker
they dry and can be finished, so for
this reason do only as much as you can
do without tiring and becoming careless
in order to finish up.
Food, to be dried successfully, must
be placed in trays sufficiently high to
allow free current of air to pass be.
meath. So. for this reason. You will
find the wire baskets sold in the sta.
toners for Office purposes. or the wire
tray sold for draining dishes. the very
best thing TO use.
have used two methods Of drying
first on top Of the stove, and you may
use either gas, wood, coal or oil stove
for this work.
e hntItnn U0tpr
on the simmering burner. and lay over
the top of the kettle large baking
pan: over or in this pan place the tray
with the prepared vegetables. and let
them stay there until they are quit"
dry and feel leathcry. They are then
ready for condition before packing away
for winter use. You will find 1t 10
your advantage to turn this food while
canning. If the rack is so large that
1t will sit three inches away. or more
from the bottom Of the pan. then cover
the bottom of the pan with double
thickness Of cheesccloth and place the
foods directly on this. For drying foods
in the oven thermometer is necessary.
for. unless the temperature IS carefully
controlled. the product vii! not be
worth much. Use the candy thermome-
ter for taking the temperature OF thc
drying oven, and YOU Will find that
the pilot burner will usually furnish
all the heat needed. The oven door
must be kept open for at least two
inches to permit the rapid escape OF the
moisture as fast as it is drawn from
the food.
A safe temperature Is 115 degrees
Fahrenheit The product must be
stirred every hour to insure uniform,
even drying.
Foods will dry best on warm. sunny
days; the damp, moist atmosphere Will
retard the process.
Always keep n strong current Of air
going through the kitchen while the
drying is progressing. This will help to
carry off the excess of humidity and
moisture that is usually present in the
kitchen. This Is best accomplished by
having both n door and window open
Mt the same time.
The best stage to decide that the
product is sufficiently dry Is to gather
the product up in the hands and press.
| II il Is springy it is about done. and
may be conditioned. This conditioning
must be done before storing.
To Condition Dried Foods
All food that is dried for winter
storage should be without any trace Of
moisture, and when pressed should fall
apart in single pieces at once. l use
large paper bags for the conditioning
of the finished product. Open the bag
and roll the top down. making the
bag smaller. Then place the food to
be conditioned in this bag: turn night
and morning into a similar bng.> Do
this for three days. have found that
H. .o- oe ,ln l;t,bon ropyo 10 n
splendid place to put the food while
conditioning but you must remove this
food when YOU are cooking, as the food
would quickly absorb the moisture from
the food cooking.
Conditioning causes the moisture that
Is still in the product to be evenly
distributed. When ready to pack away
place the contnincr that you intend to
use for storage in hot oven for ten
minutes. remove quickly and pour In
the product to be stored. Seal at once
and store in cool. dry place.
Just before pouring the dried food
into the container put in shallow pan
and place in oven the temperature Of
15O degrees Fahrenheit for thirty min
utes. 1t is then ready to seal In the
prepared container.
To Prepare Apples and Like Fruit
Apples, ounces and pears may all be
prepared the same way. Wash and dry
fruit. then pare and cut in thin slices !;
dry as directed. Condition and store.
Peaches may be pared and cut In
slices and dried If desired
To dry cherries wash and dry, re-
move stones and proceed as for other
food Plums may be dried ms follows
Wash we'll and dry, pierce the skin in
two places with large darning needle
lay on trays and dry until we'll wrin
killed.. The dried plum is the prune of
| commerce.
Blackberries, currants, raspberries.
strawberries and hucklebcrrles are
| washed and placed on several thick =
ncsses of cecsccloth to dry; then placed
| TO dry in the usual manner.
TO test the small berry fruits. gather
handful and press closely. If they
do not stain the hands they may be con :
ditioned for four days and stored.
Fruits contain from so to 03 per
cent of their total weight in water. 30
that the product will lose about three
quarters Of the weight Of the prepared