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A home-made drier
for use over the kitchen
range may be constructed
by any boy handy with
tools, the trays being simple
frames of wood strips
half an inch thick, with
bottoms of small-mesh
wire net. The skeleton
box containing the trays
is suspended over the
stove—preferably so arranged
that it can be
raised out of the way, or
swung to one side, when
the range is wanted for
cooking.
Indeed, vegetables
may be satisfactorily
dried on plates or suitably-made
trays in the
cookstove oven. If the
oven is very warm, however,
the door should be
left ajar and the temperature
carefully watched,
lest the material scorch.
Most vegetables, to be
dried quickly and satisfactorily,
must first be
shredded, sliced, or cut
HOW TO DRY VEGETABLES AT HOME 819
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A Contrivance of Lath and Wire Net for Drying Vegetables Over
the Kitchen Range
into small pieces. When dried by artificial heat, they should be exposed at the
beginning to a moderate warmth, and later to higher temperatures. At highest,
the temperature ought not to go above 140 degrees. A thermometer is indispensable.
The drying can be accomplished in some forms of apparatus in two or three
hours—the time required varying with the sort of material subjected to the
process. It is a kind of work in which experience is the best teacher.
The reason why sun-drying is popularly believed to give vegetables a better
flavor lies probably in the fact that in the sun they are never scorched.
For slicing or shredding the vegetables, as a preliminary to drying, suitable
machines can be bought for a small price. A common meat-grinder serves
excellently for shredding potatoes. The common kraut-slicer will cut large vegetables,
such as potatoes and cabbages, into thin slices. A sharp kitchen-knife may
be used when no handier instrument is available.
Care should be taken that the material is sliced thin enough but not too thin.
From one-eighth inch to one-fourth inch is usually a fair thickness.
If dried products of fine quality are to be obtained, the vegetables must be
fresh, young, tender, and perfecth' clean. The earthy smell and flavor will
cling to dried roots (such as potatoes and carrots) if they are not thoroughly
washed before slicing. It is best to peel the larger root vegetables before slicing
them.