An electric dehydrating
unit like this can be built at home from plans obtainable from the Agricultural
Experiment Station, N.C. State College.
“Dehydration Can Help
Solve the Home Food Problem” by Ivan D. Jones, Department of Horticulture,
Agricultural Experiment Station, North Carolina State College, as published in
the June, 1943, issue of Carolina
Co-operator.
The American public is becoming food-dehydration conscious.
It is generally recognized today that dehydration is an important method of
processing many fruits and vegetables to supply the requirements of Army, Navy
and lend-lease agencies.
Dehydration will also meet a need on the home food front
this year. At this time of greatly increased demand for home preservation of
fruits and vegetables the public faces inadequate freezer locker facilities,
pressure cooker shortages, container shortages, and limited storage space for
processed foods. Home dehydration will help solve these problems.
Before discussing home dehydration in detail, let us take a
general view of this processing method.
No Save-All Method
Dehydration is not a magic method which will mysteriously
and satisfactorily preserve all fruits and vegetables for indefinite periods of
time. Neither will all dehydration products, upon the addition of water, regain
the appearance, flavor and texture of the fresh product from which they were
preserved.
Dehydration does not improve the quality of the produce so
processed. Fruits and vegetables of high quality harvested at the peak of
maturity must be chosen for dehydration if high quality products are to be
obtained.
Dehydrated foods must be carefully and properly packaged if
they are to retain their quality during storage.
Finally, in the strictest sense, dehydration is more than
just the drying of fruits and vegetables. It is the drying of such produce under
controlled conditions of heat, humidity, and air-flow. It is accomplished by
means of units in which artificial heat is employed and which are equipped with
fans to circulate the air, thereby greatly speeding up the drying process. This
shortening of the drying time favors improved appearance, flavor, and nutritive
value of the products so dehydrated.
Home drying of fruits and vegetables is generally done on
trays or frames suitably suspended or placed in the sun. As indicated
previously, products preserved by the controlled and more rapid process of
dehydration are somewhat superior in quality to similar slowly dried products.
For this reason the home dehydration is to be preferred, where possible, to the
more simple home drying of fruits and vegetables.
Home dehydration is generally carried out in cabinets fitted
with 4 to 12 trays and which will hold from 10 to 25 pounds of the prepared
fresh produce. Heat is supplied by some suitable electric heater such as
heating elements or large light bulbs. The air is circulated in the cabinet by
means of a household or other suitable small electric fan.
Although a large number of fruits and vegetables may be
dehydrated, it is practical to preserve in the home only a limited number by
this method.
Tomatoes do not reconstitute or refresh well after
dehydration. Accordingly, this method of preservation is not generally employed
for this crop.
Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and turnips may be
readily and satisfactorily dehydrated. However, such processing is impractical
in the home. These vegetables may be satisfactorily stored in the fresh state
in storage houses, pits, and mounds for long periods of time and home
dehydration is not recommended.
Methods of Storage
Dehydrated carrots and cabbage keep well in storage for only
short periods of time when packaged in the home. Large quantities of these two
vegetables are dehydrated commercially for use by the armed forces or for
lend-lease purposes. However, the commercially dehydrated carrots and cabbages
are packed in hermetically sealed tin cans in which the air has been replaced
by an atmosphere of carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas. Such packaging is not
feasible in the home and for this reason the home dehydration of these
vegetables is not recommended.
Vegetables for which home dehydration preservation is
particularly recommended include snap beans, English and field peas, lima beans
and corn. These are classed as non-acid vegetables and, generally, for their
canning in a pressure cooker is recommended. This year the supply of available
pressure cookers will be very inadequate to meet the needs of the canning
public.
Fruits which may be satisfactorily dehydrated include
apples, peaches, pears, and figs.
The dehydration process may be broken down into four
principal steps. These are:
--Preparation, such as washing, trimming and subdividing if
necessary;
--Pretreatment, such as the blanching or pre-cooking of
vegetables and the sulfuring of fruits;
--Dehydration;
--Inspection and packaging.
The preparation of the fresh fruits and vegetables for
dehydration is similar to that required for preparation for canning. Produce of
high table quality should be selected. Over-maturity and lack of freshness
reduce the quality of most fruits and vegetables. For this reason the produce
should be prepared for dehydration as soon after harvest as possible.
Packaging
The packages suitable for packing dehydrated products must
be not only air tight and waterproof but insect and rodent proof. Glass jars
fitted with good rubber rings and well sealed are ideal home containers. It is
undesirable to expose dehydrated products repeatedly to the moisture and oxygen
of the air as the result of frequent opening of jars containing a supply of
dehydrated products. For this reason the use of small jars is recommended. If
jars are used, they should be stored in cabinets or rooms from which intense
daylight is excluded.
A present certain companies are supplying laminated,
heat-sealed cellophane bags or other specially prepared containers which are
recommended for packaging dehydrated products. Generally such bags must be
placed in buckets or cans supplied with close-fitting lids to offer additional
protection against air and moisture absorption and against insect and rodent
attack. Syrup buckets or lard cans are satisfactory for this purpose. An
advantage of this method of packaging is that a quantity just sufficient for a
family serving may be placed in a single bag and sealed individually. The
removal from the larger metal container results in a minimum exposure for the
unused portion of the supply of dehydrated products.
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