Foods and home making

530 Food Preservation How are foods preserved by drying? We know that fresh peaches will spoil in a short time. Dried peaches will keep for several months. The main difference between fresh and dried fruits, as explained on page 40, is that dried fruits contain only a small quantity of water ; fresh fruits contain much water. The organisms which cause foods to spoil need moisture for their growth. This is why dried foods do not spoil readily. The value of dried fruits is mentioned on page 41. Fruits and vegetables are commonly dried in a factory. They may be dried in the home also. Beans, peas, and other vegetables are dried. Recall that dried beans were used for preparing baked beans. (See page 260.) Although dried vegetables require long cooking, they are an in- expensive food. It is thought that drying destroys vitamin C. Because of the drying and the long cooking to make them tender, there is probably very little, if any, vitamin C in dried vegetables. The method commonly used in the home for drying food is to place it in the sun or in a “ cool ” oven. Dried corn is a deli- cious food. If you have corn growing in your garden, you may want to learn to dry some of it. DRIED CORN Select tender corn. To insure a fine flavor, it is well to begin to dry corn as soon as possible after picking it. Remove the husks. Put the ears into boiling water and cook at boiling temperature for 5 minutes. Corn should be cooked long enough so that no juice will flow when the kernels are broken. Remove from the water; drain well. Cut the kernels from the corn. An especially fine product may be prepared by cutting off the tips of the kernels and then scraping out the remaining pulp with the back of a knife. In this way the corn is separated from most of the tough hull. Spread it on a cloth placed on a platter, or tray. If protection from dust or flies is necessary, cover it with another clean cloth. Place in a slow oven, leaving the oven door open, or dry in the sun. Stir the corn often during drying. About 10 or 1 2 hours are usually required for oven-drying. Canned and Dried Vegetables 53i SUMMARY Tomatoes are acid vegetables. Vegetables having no pronounced acid taste are non-acid vegetables. Non-acid vegetables are more difficult to can successfully than acid vegetables. When there is practically no acid in food, six hours of cooking at boiling temperature may be needed to kill some bacteria which may be in the food. It is advisable to cook non-acid vegetables in the pressure cooker. By means of this device, the vegetables can be canned at a temperature higher than 2120 F. in a much shorter time. Vegetables for canning: (1) freshly picked, if possible, (2) sound and tender, and (3) thoroughly cleaned. Boil all non-acid canned vegetables for at least 10 minutes before using. Foods may be preserved by drying. REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES Some of the following statements are true and some are false. Read each statement very carefully and decide whether it is true or false. On a piece of paper or in your notebook, list the numbers corresponding to the statements. After each number, write the word True or the word False. 1. Tomatoes are acid vegetables. 2. Beets are acid vegetables. 3. It is safe to cook tomatoes in the ordinary hot-water bath. 4. It is not advisable to cook non-acid vegetables in the ordinary hot-water bath.