Dried products do not require expensive containers, and they can be stored almost indefinitely under proper conditions in relatively small space. One hundred pounds of fresh vegetables may be reduced to an average of ten pounds by drying. Vegetables and fruits, if properly dried, retain much of their natural flavor and food value; in some cases they are more palatable than when canned, in others they are less palatable. Drying does not seem to injure the nutritive value of foods.

Early apples, sweet corn, carrots, partly ripened lima beans, string beans, well-matured peas, sweet potatoes, certain types of squash, pumpkins, and some of the berries lend themselves particularly well to drying, either in small quantities for home consumption or in larger quantities for sale. Blackcap, purple-cane, and in some cases red raspberries make good dried products. Blackberries also may be dried, but the results are not so good as with raspberries. Prunes, apricots, peaches, any of the sweet varieties of pears, strawberries, sweet cherries, and in some cases sour, are also successfully dried, though these fruits may usually be sold in the fresh state to commercial firms at a reasonable profit.

Proper ventilation that allows for a free circulation of dry air is more important than heat in drying foods. For example, an electric fan placed before a drier may accomplish excellent results without the aid of heat. However, the use of heat is more practicable in most homes.

The temperature for drying should be rather low to prevent scorching, but the more quickly the food is dried, the better will be the color and the flavor. The temperature of the drier cannot be determined very accurately except by using a thermometer. An oven thermometer or a chemical thermometer may be suspended in the oven or the drier. The greatest care should be given to the regulation of the heat, because the temperature in the drier may rise rather quickly, and the product may scorch. The food should be stirred from time to time both to prevent scorching and to obtain a uniform product.

In climates where successive sunny days may be counted on, certain foods may be dried outdoors. If food is to be dried over a kitchen stove or outdoors, it should be carefully protected from dust and from flies. Coarse cheese-cloth may be laid over the food in the house. If the food is outdoors, the covering of cheese-cloth should be raised by means of supports or racks so that it will not rest directly on the food and thus allow possible contamination from flies. Especially in the case of food that is entirely or partly dried outdoors and that is to be used without being cooked, every precaution should be taken to prevent the spreading of certain intestinal diseases that may be carried by flies.

Equipment For Drying

A very slow oven may be used for drying fruits and vegetables spread on papers, large platters, sheets of metal, or pieces of heavy screening with an inch or two turned down at opposite ends for supports. The heat must be carefully controlled to prevent scorching. The oven door should be left slightly open to allow a circulation of air to carry off the moisture set free by evaporation.

Barrel hoops or frames made of laths may be covered with galvanized iron netting or with cheese-cloth and suspended above the stove by a rope with a pulley arrangement, which makes it easy to adjust the trays at the proper height. Some housekeepers use window screens on bricks as supports. A piece of heavy galvanized iron screening with 4 or 5 inches on two opposite sides bent down to form supports is both simple and effective. A sheet of tin laid over a dripping pan containing a small amount of hot water makes a good substitute for a certain type of commercial drier.

There are several small driers on the market that give satisfactory results. They are of such size that they can be placed on the top of a kitchen stove. Portable outdoor driers are convenient if much food is to be dried. Home-made dry kilns are used in some sections of the country.

Any piece of home-made apparatus that provides means for free circulation of air and for regulating the temperature is likely to prove satisfactory. A device with metal sides that will confine the heated air in a given channel during its upward course through the trays of food, uses heat economically.

Drying Fruits

All fruits that are to be dried should be well ripened but not over-ripe.

Fruits that are dried with the skins on should be dipped quickly, by means of a wire basket or a piece of cheese-cloth, into a boiling solution of lye made in the proportion of 1/2 pound of concentrated lye to 8 gallons of water. They should then be rinsed two or three times in clear water. The lye perforates the skin and thus facilitates evaporation. Moreover, it destroys micro-organisms that might cause spoilage.

Most fruits are improved by being dipped into a thin sirup before being dried. If the fruit is to be used in puddings, cakes, breads, breakfast cereals, or as a confection, it may be sprinkled with sugar before being dried; if it is to be cooked for;,sauce, little or no sugar should be added.

Metal trays for drying fruits should be covered with cheesecloth to prevent acid action. Wrapping paper may be used on trays in an oven.

Juicy fruits require more ventilation in drying than do such fruits as apples.

When fruit is sufficiently dry, it should be impossible to press water out of the freshly cut ends of the pieces. The natural grain of the fruit should not be apparent on cut surfaces. The fruit should be leathery or pliable, and not so dry that it will snap or crackle. In general, the drier the fruit is, the less chance there is for spoilage; but sweet fruits can safely contain more moisture than those with a low sugar-content.

Fruit should be cooled quickly after being dried in order to prevent a shriveled and unattractive appearance.

Fruit juices or fruit pulps may be concentrated by being ' boiled over direct heat and then dried in the top of a double boiler, or in platters or enamel pans set in a moderate oven, or in the sunshine. The juice or pulp is sufficiently concentrated when on cooling it makes a highly glazed, tough, dry, leathery jelly. The leather may then be dried in thin sheets, sprinkled with granulated sugar, rolled like a jelly-roll, and then cut across in pieces, or it may be dried in a sheet 3/4 inch thick and cut in cubes.

Drying Vegetables

Equally as great care should be given to the selection and preparation of vegetables for drying as for canning. Good results depend largely on the use of vegetables that are absolutely fresh, young, tender, and perfectly clean. All vegetables should be washed and cleaned thoroughly before being dried. If steel knives are used for paring and cutting the vegetables, they should be kept clean and bright in order to prevent discoloration.

After being cleaned and prepared, the vegetables should be blanched as for canning (pages 605 and 612 to 614) but not dipped in cold water. This removes the strong odor and flavor from certain kinds of vegetables, and softens and loosens the fiber, which allows the moisture in the vegetables to evaporate more quickly and uniformly. Moreover, it quickly coagulates the protein and thus helps to retain the natural flavors. After being blanched for the required number of minutes, the vegetables should be drained and either placed between two towels or exposed to the sun and air for a short time to remove the surface moisture.

Storage Of Dried Foods

Dried foods should always be stored in containers that will exclude light and insects and in a warm dry place, such as an airy attic. The best container is a tin box, bucket, or can fitted with a reasonably tight cover. Perhaps the most convenient and cheapest container is the small paper bag. Small amounts of food should be put in each bag. This will prevent the opening of any dried product that cannot be consumed in a short time. The upper part of the bag is twisted to form a neck. The neck is bent over and tied with a string. The entire bag is then painted with a coat of melted paraffin by means of a small brush or a frazzled end of a piece of rope. This makes the bag practically proof against insects.' To protect them further from insect ravages, the bags should be labeled and packed in a tin container with a tight-fitting cover. A large number of bags can be stored in an ordinary lard can. Paraffin-coated paper containers of various sizes can be found on the market. If such containers are used, they should be stored as are the paper bags.

When vegetables are first* taken from the drier, if completely dried they are very brittle. They are more easily handled and are in better condition for storing if allowed to stand from one to three hours to absorb enough moisture to make them pliable before they are put into bags or stored otherwise. If it is not convenient to store products immediately and they are allowed to stand for several days, they should be heated to 180° F. to destroy any insect eggs that may be on them. Care should be taken not to heat the vegetables higher than 180° F.

Apples, which absorb moisture readily, should be stored in a tight box or barrel lined with paper in preference to cloth sacks.