Dry goods

“ The drying of food is simple, and no elaborate equipment is required for carrying out the process. Dried food requires less space and care in storage than food preserved in any other way, and both paper and cloth containers may be used in storing it. When storage space is limited, or when there is a very large quantity of some such food as apples or string beans that cannot be used or canned at once, it is advisable to dry at least a part of them. When used in combination with canning, drying offers an excellent means of preserving foods and thus adding to their variety. ”

“ Before satisfactory methods of canning came into use, drying was a common method of preserving both fruits and vegetables, and while it has fallen into disuse to a great extent in the home, much may be said for its value. Drying consists merely in evaporating the water contained in the food, and, with the exception of keeping it dry and protected from vermin, no care need be given to the food in storage. ”

“ SUN-DRYING METHOD.--If food is to be dried in the sun, spread it in a single layer on each tray, cover the trays so that no dirt will fall into them, and set them out of doors so that the sun's rays will strike them. Glass covers will help to increase the heat from the sun. As the sun changes, change the position of the trays or turn them. Food that is being dried outdoors should be brought into the house when the sun goes down and put out again the following morning. This procedure should be kept up until the food is so dry as to be leathery ”

“ It also explains why the old-fashioned housekeeper dried fruits and why the preservation of certain meats is accomplished by the combined methods of smoking and drying, the creosote of the smoke given off from the wood used in this process acting as a preservative. All the grains, which are very dry, keep for long periods of time, even centuries, if they are protected from the moisture of the air. Peas, beans, and lentils, as well as dried biscuits and crackers, are all examples of how well food will keep when little or no moisture is present.
KEEPING FOODS WITH ICE ”

“ Drying Appliances.—The stiff paste or cakes from the hydro-extractor or filter-press can be shaped, but require to be dried before they are put on the market. Drying is a wearisome operation, the finely divided material taking a very long time to dry completely, even during the summer months, whilst in winter it is almost impossible to get certain colours—such as ferric oxide colours and levigated clay—quite dry in the air, the inside of the lumps remaining soft and pasty after lying for months. ”

“ For sun drying of fruits and vegetables, the simplest way is to spread the slices or pieces on sheets of plain paper or lengths of muslin and expose them to the sun. Muslin is to be preferred if there is danger of sticking. Trays may be used instead of paper or muslin. Sun drying requires bright, hot days and a breeze. Once or twice a day the product should be turned or stirred and the dry pieces taken out. The drying product should be covered with cheesecloth tacked to a frame for protection from dust and flying insects. ”

“ In the dry season, which is heartlessly long and appallingly dry, the poorer people wander from house to house begging a “pan” of water, and the word means a receptacle of any size or shape that will hold the precious liquid. ”

“ The old practice of drying vegetables is revived The practicability of quickly drying vegetables for longer preservation was demonstrated on a large scale last year in western New York, where quantities were dried in the available apple evaporators and in rapidly constructed dry-kilns, for export as army supplies. ”

“ Like all fruits, they are better for quick drying by artificial heat. The French prunes, the process of drying which is minutely described by Downing in his fruit-book, are no better than our best varieties, quickly dried by artificial heat in a dry house, or moderately-heated oven. ”

“ Drying of animal fibre.—The best mode of operating is as follows:—The flesh must be cut into slices from 2 to 6 ounces in weight, immersed in boiling water for 5 or 6 minutes, and then laid on open trellis-work in a drying-stove, at a temperature kept steadily about 122° F., with a constant stream of warm dry air. That the boiling water may not dissipate the soluble animal matters, very little of it should be used, just enough for the meat to be immersed by portions in succession, whereby it will speedily become a rich soup, fresh water being added only as evaporation takes place. ”

“ Drying and Curing. —When the grapes are picked, the best vineyardists separate the bunches immediately in three different grades. Each grade is placed by itself on the gravelly drying-ground, and remains there to dry. When half dried, they are taken bunch by bunch by a workman, who picks out bad or overdried berries and rubbish, and in putting the bunch back turns it over. ”

“ After the drying comes the test to determine whether or not the corn is sufficiently dry. Vegetables at this point differ from fruits. Fruits are dried only until leathery, whereas vegetables are dried until they are bone-dry. They must crackle and snap. ”

“ It may therefore, be stated as a law, that any cultural treatment which enables the soil-water to acquire larger quantities of plant-food also enables the plant to produce dry matter with the use of a smaller amount of water. In dry-farming, where the limiting factor is water, this principle must he emphasized in every cultural operation. ”

“ Products dried in a sun drier, no matter how crude, are superior to those dried in the open without protection of some kind. Products dry more rapidly in high altitudes than at sea level.
Racks in oven can be used. Plates or platters can be used in oven. A stove drier hung over the stove can be used. A water-bath or other commercial drier can be used with the stove.
TIME-TABLE FOR DRYING FRUITS
CHAPTER XIV HOW TO DRY VEGETABLES
Vegetable drying is a little more complicated than fruit drying, just as vegetable canning is more complicated than fruit canning. ”

“ Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the drier as located over a large furnace, as in the most extensive dry-houses. Fig. 3 is a perspective view, illustrating the improved drier in a position removed from over an ordinary cooking-stove. ”

“ Fabrics made from vegetable materials, as cotton or linen, have little power of actually absorbing water, and hence they become wet on the slightest addition of moisture, while on the other hand those of animal origin have the capacity of absorbing water, and appear dry even after the addition of this substance in considerable amounts. A person, therefore, dressed in cotton fabrics will find after active perspiration has begun that his clothing quickly becomes moist, while if he have on woolen garments this will not occur. ”

“ To rightly understand the process of rolling and drying the leaves, which I am about to describe, it must be borne in mind that the grand object is to expel the moisture, and at the same time to retain, as much as possible, of the aromatic and other desirable secretions of the species. The system adopted to attain this end is as simple as it is efficacious.
In the harvest seasons the natives are seen in little family groups on the side of every hill, when the weather is dry, engaged in gathering the tea leaves. ”

“ Thus many thousand pounds often go to waste. In wet weather the system of smoking is sometimes adopted for drying. The proper degree of dryness is ascertained by the wrinkled appearance and by the dark or reddish-brown color of the spice and the rattling noise made by the seeds when they are shaken. When the berries begin to dry they are frequently laid in cloths to preserve them from the dews. ”

“ When the drying is done in a dry atmosphere the surface quickly dries and hardens, and the moisture from the interior passes to the surface as vapour, the soluble salts being left distributed through the whole mass, and consequently no “scum” is produced. ”

“ In the application of any of these drying methods, however, it is important to note that the more surface of food there is exposed, the more quickly will evaporation take place. Drying should therefore be done on devices constructed in such a way that air may pass up through food, as well as across its surface. In drying foods, the racks should be turned frequently, so that all parts will be exposed equally to the heat or the currents of air. Also, the food must be turned over often, in order that all parts will dry evenly. ”

“ It is gathered, when green, and exposed to the Sun for many Days on Cloths, and frequently shaked and turned, till thoroughly dry; great Care is taken during the Time of drying to defend the Fruit from the Morning and Evening Dews ”

“ The persistent application of the proper cultural methods of dry-farming will set free the most important plant-foods, and on well-cultivated farms nitrogen is the only element likely to be absent in serious amounts. ”

“ When first taken from the drier, vegetables should be rather brittle and fruits rather leathery and pliable. One method of determining whether fruit is dry enough is to squeeze a handful; if the fruit separates when the hand is opened, it is dry enough. Another way is to press a single piece; if no moisture comes to the surface the piece is sufficiently dry. Berries are dry enough if they stick to the hand but do not crush when squeezed. ”

“ The food of plants needs moistening just as our food does. [2021] The rain moistens it for the root, the stomach of the plant, so that it may get nourishment from it. When you water the dry earth in a flower-pot, you do for the food of the plant what the saliva factories do for your food. ”

“ The rich dryness, or want of fluidity of the juices which occasions flower-buds, is also induced by hot, dry atmosphere, and short supply of moisture from the roots during the preceding summer, both of which disposing causes are increased by a long naked stem. ”

“ DRYING AND STORING
When only a small quantity of an herb is to be dried, the old plan of hanging loose bunches from the ceiling of a warm, dry attic or a kitchen will answer. Better, perhaps, is the use of trays covered with clean, stout manilla paper upon which thin layers of the leaves are spread. These are placed either in hot sunlight or in the warm kitchen where warm air circulates freely. They must be turned once a day until all the moisture has been evaporated from the leaves and the softer, more delicate parts have become crisp. ”

“ Of vital importance is to provide a proper medium for keeping fresh foods, such as meat, vegetables, fruit, etc. This means an abundance of dry cold air, in place of the ice supply with its unhealthy dampness and general unreliability. ”

“ Many experiments have been conducted to determine the amount of water used in the production of one pound of dry plant substance. Generally, the method of the experiments has been to grow plants in large pots containing weighed quantities of soil. ”

“ After the crop has been gathered and stored, its proper use is another problem for the dry-farmer. The composition of dry-farm crops is different from that of crops grown with an abundance of water. Usually, dry-farm crops are much more nutritious and therefore should command a higher price in the markets, or should be fed to stock in corresponding proportions and combinations. ”

“ Bottles, jugs, or rubber bags, filled with hot water, hot bricks or stones, wrapped in papers or cloths, hot cloths, bags filled with hot sand, salt, or corn meal, are all convenient methods of applying dry heat. ”

“ Pick carefully, draw and singe every manner of poultry and feathered game, wash clean, quickly, in cold water, never hot, drain, then wipe as dry as possible with a soft, thick, damp cloth—it takes up moisture cleaner than a dry one. ”

“ King concludes, therefore, that one of the advantages of fallowing is to increase the moisture content of the soil. The Utah experiments show that the tendency of fallowing is always to increase the soil-moisture content. In dry-farming, water is the critical factor, and any practice that helps to conserve water should be adopted. For that reason, fallowing, which gathers soil-moisture, should be strongly advocated. ”

“ The more quickly the drying can be accomplished the better. For this reason, settled dry weather should be chosen for this kind of work; if windy, all the better.
165. Family Washing.— [The following method, though not generally known, is much practiced in many families.] Melt together half a pound each of washing soda and of soap cuttings, mix well with sixteen gallons of water, pour it lukewarm over the dirty linen, and leave to soak for twenty-four hours. ”

“ One of the great secrets in all drying operations is to have a constant current of fresh hot air playing on the goods to be dried, this absorbs the moisture they contain, and the water-charged air thus produced must be taken away as quickly as possible. ”

“ The farmer prefers a dry season to sow his small grain, that the common moisture of the earth may but gently insinuate itself into the pores of the grain, and thence gradually dispose it for the reception of the future shower, and the action of vegetation. ”

“ Herbs should be spread out on a cloth to dry; turn them every day; when dry, put them in thick paper bags, and close up the top, so as to exclude the air. They can be kept hanging up, or laid on the shelf of a closet, where they will not be affected by damp. ”

“ Every adult requires from twelve to sixteen ounces of dry food, free from water, daily. To supply this a quarter of a pound of shelled nuts and three-quarters of a pound of any dried fruit must be used. ”

“ When dry it is over-grained to obtain a more complete representation of the natural wood, and then varnished. If the work be done in water-colour and not in oil, beer grounds to act as a drier are mixed with the colour ”

“ After repeatedly turning the leaves, stalks, or fruits, so that each side may become dry, they must be spread over a floor or oven, constructed on the principle before mentioned, till all their moisture be thoroughly evaporated; for, if the least humidity remain within the substance of such vegetables, they will become mouldy and corrupted. ”