Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-21

1t profitable to dry her surplus supply
for Fail and Winter use, and the house,
wife who does not have O vegetable
garden will And IL economical to buy
vegetables when they are plentiful and
low In price and dry them for future
Use. The process is simple and the
cost is little. One hundred pounds Of
fresh vegetables will reduce to ten
pounds In drying without loss of favor
or food value and little space is re-
quired for storing dried food. Three
methods Of home drying are drying by
artificial heat. drying by electric fan
and drying in the sun. These methods
may be combined to good advantage.
As rule, vegetables for drying must
be cut into slices or shreds. with the
skin removed. sharp kitchen knife
cutting vegetables for drying. The
thickness of the slices should be about
quarter of an inch cut small, but not
too small. to be suitable for serving.
The vegetables should be fresh, young
and tender and root vegetables should
be peeled and washed thoroughly.
Drying by artificial heat is done in
the oven. The simplest way is to place
small quantities of vegetables on plates
in a slow oven. In this way very small
quantities may be dried II desired. To
leave the oven door partly open. For
oven use a simple tray may be made of
galvanized wire screen of small mesh
and Of convenient size, with the edges
bent UP for an inch or two on each
side. Drying may also be done on the
back Of the kitchen stove with these
same utensils A simple form of home
made drier L. . tray with the bottom
composed Of galvanized wire screen
which may be hung over the kitchen
stove Several kinds Of driers may be
bought. ranging from the most simple
TO those of more elaborate construction
When using artificial heat. be careful
10 start at a comparatively low temper
allure and gradually increase. To be
able to gauge the heat accurately, q
thermometer must be used. A little ex-
perience, however, will make 1t easy TO
tell when the vegetables are dry
enough. When first taken from the
drier the vegetables should be rather
brittle, but not so dry as to snap or
crackle. On the other hand, material
will mould II not dried enough
An electric fan may be used for dry
ing. The sliced vegetables should be
placed on trays which are stacked land
the fan should be placed with the cur
rent directed along the trays length
wise. Drying by this process may be
done In a short time.
Spread the slices or pieces Of vege-
table on sheets Of white paper, or
lengths of muslin il there In danger of
sticking. and expose to the sun on a day
that is bright and hot with the air free
from moisture. Provide protection from
rain or dew and take indoors over night.
Cover with cheesecloth while drying to
protect from insects and while indoors
also. Once or twice day the product
should be turned over or stirred and the
thinner pieces, which dry first, be taken
out.
Blanching is important for success.
ful vegetable drying. Branching gives
more thorough cleansing, removes
strong odoFsi and fiavors, and softens
and loosens the fiber, allowing quicker
and more uniform evaporation Of the
moisture. Branching Is done by placing
the vegetable in piece OF cheesecloth
a wire basket or other porous container
and plunging them into boiling water
The time required for this is short and
varies with dinerent vegetables. Blanch-
ing should Dc followed by q cold din,
which means. piunging the vegetables
into cold water for an instant after
removal from the hot water. Cold
vegetables to retain their original
coloring. After blanching and dipping,
the surface moisture should be removed
by placing the vegetables between two
towels or by exposure to the sun.
Green string beans-Select only beans
that are in perfect condition for table
use. Wash carefully and remove the
strings. IT. full-grown. they should be
split lengthwise or cut. not snapped,
into pieces about one inch in length
II young and tender, dry them whole
Blanch from six to ten minutes. To
set the color, add half a teaspoonful of
baking soda to each gallon of boiling
water. After blanching, dip quickly
into cold water, then drain thoroughly
to remove surface moisture. Drying
time for young beans, 2 hours; for
those more mature, ; hours. Start
at temperature of 10 degrees and raise
gradually to las degrees. wax beans
may be dried In the same way as green
string beans.
Lima beanS-Gather lima beans
when young and tender, shell them,
wash, then blanch from to 10 min
utes, the time varying with maturity
and size: Cold dip. Remove the sur
face moisture. Drying time, 3 to 3la
hours. Start at temperature of ITO de-
Rrees and raise gradually to las degrees.
Garden peas-shell when of q size
suitable for table use. Blanch : to Is
minutes, cold dip, sremove surface
moisture and spread in single layers on
trays. Drying time, 3 to 80 hours.
Start at temperature of ITO degrees.
raising slowly. in about IL hours. to
las degrees. and then continue for "A
to hours at las degrees. For use in
soups or PURGE, pass shelled mature
peas through . meat grinder, spread
the pulp on trays and dry.
Beets: Boil whole until more than
three fourths cooked without removing
the skin. After dipping in cold water
peel and cut into ne-fourth-inch
slices. Drying time, two and one half
to three hours. Start at temperature
OF ITO degrees and raise gradually to
$50 degrees. Another method is to
blanch long enough to loosen the skin
cold dip. slice. then dry. Drying time
and temperature the same a. method
given above.
Beet tops and Swiss chard: Select
the tops of young beets suitable for
greens. Wash carefully, cut the leaf
stalk and blade into pieces one-fourth
OF an inch long, spread on screens
and dry.
Peppers: Steam until the skin soft
ems, or place in biscuit pan in the
oven and heat until the skin blisters
Peel, split in halves and take out the
seeds. Start drying at a temperature
OF 40 degrees and gradually increase
to 14O degrees Thick-f1eshed peppers
such as pimentoes must be dried yer,
slowly and evenly. Small varieties Of
red peppers may be spread in the sur
until wilted and the drying finished ir
drier. or they may be entirely driet
in the sun. Another plan for dryins
peppers is to split them on one side
remove the seed, start with air dryins
and finish in a drier at l40 degrees.
Tomatoes: Blanch long enough u
loosen the skin, cold dip, peel and sic,
to the thickness OF one-eighth of ar