Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume V Part 14

114. If the oven is to be used, a device that fits the oven should be employed. Spread the food on the trays in single layers, and put the device into the oven. The temperature of the oven demands attention in this method. Only a very moderate heat may be applied at first, 110 degrees Fahrenheit being considered the ideal temperature for beginning.

As it is difficult to hold an oven at such a low temperature if a fire is burning, the oven door should be left open to admit air. The temperature of the oven of a coal stove in which the fire is banked or is being allowed to go out is usually ideal for drying foods. If desired, the heat of an oven may be gradually increased to about 180 degrees as the food dries; but the application of greater heat is liable to scorch the food and injure its flavor. The food must be turned often to permit it to dry evenly.

115. If food is to be dried on top of the stove, the device shown in Fig. 23 will prove satisfactory. The same arrangement may be improvised by placing a metal tray over a large flat vessel of water. Place the food to be dried in a single layer on the tray over the water. Let the water boil and keep it boiling, and turn the food frequently so that the heat will be applied to all sides. Continue this process until the food is leathery, when it may be stored.

116. If food is to be dried in a rack suspended above the stove, a rack like that shown in Fig. 24 should be used. Cover the trays in the rack with a single layer of food, and dry it to the leathery stage, when it may be removed and stored. In using this device, only a coal or a wood stove is practical. When the heat coming from the stove is not great, the rack may be allowed to come close to it, and when the heat is intense the rack may be drawn up. Regulating the distance of the rack from the stove will tend to keep the food at a uniform temperature and allow it to dry evenly, especially when the food is turned from time to time.

117. ELECTRIC-FAN DRYING METHOD.--If a house is wired for electricity, drying foods by means of the air-currents generated by a moving electric fan is a simple matter. Use devices like those required for the sun and oven-drying methods. Spread the foods to be dried on the trays in a single thin layer, and arrange them so that the air from the electric fan will blow over them. Turn the trays as the food dries, so that one part does not dry sooner than another; also, turn the food frequently so as to expose all parts alike. If the fan can be placed so as to blow across a stove and thus blow heated air on the food, it will dry more quickly. A very warm kitchen is an excellent place in which to do the work with an electric fan, as the combination of air and heat does the work more rapidly than either one used alone.

118. COMBINATION DRYING METHODS.--A combination of any of the drying methods mentioned may be used effectively. Drying may be started in the sun and completed in the oven, or it may be started with an electric fan and completed in the sun or the oven. Any means whereby the time required for drying may be shortened is advantageous.

DIRECTIONS FOR DRYING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

119. PREPARATION OF FOODS FOR DRYING.--The correct preparation of the foods before drying is very important. The thinner and smaller the pieces to be dried are cut, the more quickly may the process be completed. Any skins or hulls that would prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the food must be removed or broken, and every raw food that is to be dried must first be immersed in salt water made in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water, as this prevents discoloring to a great extent.

120. STRING BEANS.--Beans for drying should be selected while they are young and tender. Wash them and remove the strings if this is necessary.

Cut them in half, lengthwise, with a sharp knife. Drop them into salt water, remove, and spread on the drying trays. Dry by any method selected.

121. CORN.--Corn that is to be dried should be at the dough stage; younger corn contains too much water for good results. Prepare the corn by husking it and removing the silk. Then blanch it in boiling water for 5 minutes, after which cut off the grains close to the cob with a sharp knife. Spread these on the drying trays and proceed according to the method desired.

122. GREENS.--Wash the greens thoroughly. Cut across the leaves several times. Drop them into salt water, remove, and spread on the drying trays. Dry by any method selected.

123. TUBER AND ROOT VEGETABLES.--Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and even onions may be successfully dried. First peel or sc.r.a.pe them. Then slice or cut them into small pieces. Drop them into salt water, remove from the water, and spread them on the drying trays.

Dry them by the method selected.

124. SMALL FRUITS.--Berries, cherries, and other small fruits may be dried, but since they contain considerable water, the drying is not accomplished very rapidly. Ripe, firm fruit should be selected and cleaned. Cherries should have the seeds, or pits, removed. Such fruits must be dried as quickly as possible, or they will spoil in the process.

125. APPLES, QUINCES, AND PEARS.--In order to dry apples, quinces, and pears, wash, peel, core, and cut the fruit into eighths. Put the peeled fruit into the salt water and keep it there until all are peeled and cut and ready to dry. Then spread the cut pieces in a thin layer on the drying trays and proceed according to the method desired.

126. PEACHES AND APRICOTS.--Peaches and apricots are most easily dried with the skin on. Wash them thoroughly and, in the case of peaches, rub the fuzz off the skins. Cut the fruit into halves, remove the seeds, or stones, and drop the halves into salt water and keep them there until they are ready to be placed on the drying trays. Dry by any process desired.

STORING AND COOKING DRIED FOODS

127. When foods are taken from the various drying devices to be stored, they still contain a very small quant.i.ty of moisture. This moisture, however, is not distributed evenly, because some of the pieces of food are larger than others, or some have been exposed more than others to heat or air in drying. To offset this unequal drying, the containers in which the foods are to be stored should not be closed permanently as soon as the food is put into them. Rather, once a day, for about 3 days, the food should be poured from one container into another and back again several times. This will mix all the food and distribute the moisture equally.

128. The object in storing dried foods is to keep them as dry as possible; that is, not to allow them to absorb moisture from the air.

The best containers in which they may be placed are those coated with paraffin. Paper bags or boxes may be prepared in the home by dipping them into paraffin, although heavy paper containers already covered with paraffin may be bought in supply stores. Heavy paper or cloth bags may be used, provided they are stored in a dry place where there is no danger from rats and mice. Containers of any kind should be securely tied before storing them permanently. Bags and boxes of dried food are preferably suspended from rafters in an attic, but if this is not possible a rack or a bin located in a place that is not damp will answer.

It is well, in storing dried foods, to use containers that will hold only a small quant.i.ty of food, so that when some is taken out to be cooked a large amount will not be exposed. It is best to store just enough for a meal or two in each container.

129. Before dried foods are cooked, as much as possible of the water evaporated in drying should be restored. In order to do this, soaking is necessary. The dried food should be put into cold salt water made in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful of salt to 1 quart of water and soaked for at least 1/2 hour. The salt water seems to help restore the original color of the food. When dried vegetables are to be cooked, they should be cooked in the salt water in which they are soaked; when dried fruits are to be cooked, the salt water should be poured off and fresh water used. Long, slow cooking at a low temperature is better for all kinds of dried foods than rapid cooking. The fireless cooker will be found valuable for cooking dried foods.

CANNING AND DRYING

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

(1) Give three reasons for canning food.

(2) What foods may be canned?

(3) (_a_) How may satisfactory canning equipment be provided at little or no cost? (_b_) What metals are not good for canning or preserving kettles?

(4) (_a_) What are the requirements for satisfactory types of jars?

(_b_) What are the qualities of good jar rubbers?

(5) What kind of tin cans should be used for canning fruits or vegetables that contain acid?

(6) (_a_) Why should care be exercised in the selection of foods to be canned? (_b_) What points must be considered in the selection of foods for canning?

(7) Why do canned foods spoil?

(8) How may canned foods be prevented from spoiling?

(9) (_a_) What are spores? (_b_) What connection have spores with the spoiling of canned food?

(10) Mention three things that a.s.sist in the keeping of canned foods.

(11) (_a_) How should jar covers and rubbers be treated in the open-kettle canning method? (_b_) Describe the filling and closing of jars in this method.

(12) (_a_) Describe the utensil used for processing in the one-period cold-pack canning method. (_b_) How should jars, covers, and rubbers be treated in this method?

(13) (_a_) How are foods blanched and scalded, and why are blanching and scalding done? (_b_) How are foods cold-dipped, and why is cold-dipping done?

(14) (_a_) How should foods be packed in jars in the cold-pack canning method? (_b_) How should the rubber and cover be adjusted before processing? (_c_) When should you begin to count the boiling time for food that is being processed in the water bath?

(15) (_a_) How and when should jars be closed in the cold-pack method?

(_b_) How should jars of food be cooled?

(16) (_a_) How should jars of food be treated for storage? (_b_) How should they be stored?

(17) Mention some advantages of dried foods over fresh or canned ones.

(18) What important points should be considered in the process of drying food?

(19) What are the proportions of salt and water into which foods that discolor are placed before they are canned or dried?

(20) What precautions should be observed in the storing of dried foods?

JELLY MAKING, PRESERVING, AND PICKLING