The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-07-30
100000 Dehydrators
Home Garden Crops
To Be Ready Sept. l

Remember the sweet-smelling dried
apples, peaches, and other fruits
grandmother used to keep on hand
for the long winter months? This
year you'll have a chance to dry your
own in up-to-date home food dehydrat-
ors. You can use the dehydrators not
only for any fruits you may be too
busy to can, but also for carrots,
beets, and other Victory Garden veg
etables.
To make sure that every possible
method of food preservation would be
available to take care of this years
greatly increased garden crops, the
War Food Administration requested
the War Production Board to permit
the manufacture of home dehydrators
and offered to relinquish critical cop
per and steel from its own allotment
for the purpose. WPB has now ap-
proved a program calling for the
production of 100000 dehydrators be-
fore September 1 of this year and has
authorized 81 manufacturers to parti-
cipate in the program.
Asa starter, $4,000 of the dehydrat-
ors are scheduled for production by
commercial concerns The rest will
be made by students in vocational
training centers After fabrication
and assembly of the dehydrator parts
by the students, the finished deny
orators will remain in the schools for
training purposes
When buying one of the new hy-
orators, you'll have your choice of
II different models. The Office of
Production Research and Develop
ment, WPB, has approved all the de-
signs, from the standpoint of construc-
ton as well as on the basis of the
quality of the product turned out.
Built in the form of compact cabi
nets, the dehydrators will take up
little space in the kitchen They av-
erage about SO inches in height, 26
inches in depth, and 25 inches in
width. The outer walls may be of
natural stained or white-coated wood |
or wallboard.
Each dehydrator will be a self-con- |
tanned food rying unit, complete with |
its own heating device - an electric |
heating element, light bulbs or fuel |
burner. Temperature, humidity, and
air flow will be controlled by fan
Of blower and a thermostat.
Using a dehydrator will be easier
than canning. Complete instructions,
telling not only what foots can be
dried and how long each takes to
Try, but also how the finished deny
lrated product should be stored and
alter prepared for the table, will ac-
each dehydrator.
On the average, the drying process
will take between s to IA hours In
hours, for example, 10 pounds of
will be reduced to a single
pound of orange-colored flakes. To
ret one pound of dried onions, you'll
lave to leave pounds of fresh onions
n the dehydrator for 10 hours. A
pound of dried squash calls for II
of fresh squash and IL hours
lin the dehydrator, while a pound of
ried peaches calls for pounds of
he fresh fruit and IA hours of deny
ration.
Storage of dehydrated foods is also
simple matter. Either regular home
aiming jars or empty pickle, mayon-
aise, or other jars from the store d
I'll do But they must be alright, so
hat the food will not absorb moisture q
rom the atmosphere 1t will take l.
My few jars, and very little stor-
ge space, to handle even good-sized
rop, since dehydrated foods lose so t
luch in bulk.
When placed in water in prepare d
on for the table, the foods expand n
nd assume their normal appearance. i.
I TASTE too, they are comparable to D