DRIED APPLES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 19, 17 October 1907, Page 2

DRIED APPLES.

d A COMING INDUSTRY. J' The largo rccent extensions of; our apple ® orchards and the increased attention paid tc ° the preserving industry gives value to an\ news as to the outlook for dried apples. II ® is satisfactory, therefore, to notice in the 1906 report of the Hamburg Chamber ol Commerce that there is a growing demand ," in Germany for sun-dried and evaporated apples at prices which range from 30a. tc 51s. per cwt. . These prices—equal to 4d. oi !• sd. a pound—aro less than the price obtainl" ablo in our own country, but they offer 'si valuable outlet for surplus stocks,' and indi--11 cate an almost unlimited markot. 0 e The Financial Aspect. J In Now Zealand wo are concerned only , with the evaporated article, our own heat being -insufficiently intense for the manufac- ~ turo of sun-dried apples. It is the evaporated apples,. however, that fetch the highest , prices. Local applemon who may like tc reckon up this—to us—almost now industrj will appreciate some figures. First of all what weight of green fruit will it take tc make a cwt. of evaporated apple? The weight differs with different varieties, and t probably also it varies in different districts 5 Complete New Zealand tests have not ye) 1 been carried out, although they are conteni- ! plated by our canning expert, Mr. Jacques, f so soon as opportunities offer. Meanwhile, J however, we may do our calculating around > English figures ascertained by experiments, The following details show the weight ol i water evaporated and the weight of finished > article that romains when the process is at I an end:— ] Loss of Weight occurring in the Process of Evaporating Apples. < I WeicM^"' 010 ™! 1 ' Variety of l ,orato<l W® Dried fruit cent.after resulting; fniit P'elins and llu " coring Ws't p'rc'l ' lbs ibs Ben Davis ~•. .- . 50 72.2 9 3 18.7 Golden Russet . v 50 67.1 9- G 15.5 Greening 50 75.1 8 7 IG.B Northern' Spy ... 50 7G.1 911 19.3 Patten's Greening . 50 70.9 1G 0 32.0 Ribstone Pippin .. 50 73.8 9 1 18.1 Scarlet Pippin ... 50 80.1 G 9 13.2 Spitzenberg .... 50 75.9 B'2 1G.2 Schneider 50 80.0 5 5 10.6 Sharp's Russet ... 50 75.5 7 8 15.0 Bismarck (or 20Ounce) 50 77.6 9' 6 18.7 What is Quality? Of the above list the varieties which give tho best quality of finished article wej-o Northern Spy, Ribstone and Greening. This, however, does not necessarily mean that those are the best varieties for intending planters to choose for evaporation purposes. In a .matter like this, productiveness must nocessarily be given some consideration. The varioty called Patten's Greening yielded twice as much dried product as did Scarlet Pippin, Schneider, or Sharp's Russet; and that, oi course, is equivalent to twice tho crop per tree. The grower's object in choosing his varieties will naturally be to get the varieties that will pay best, and from'that point of view, weight of produce is a considerable factor. Weight, however, must not be the sole guide. Quality must also count. By quality is meant chiefly colour, taste, and ■ toxture. Whiteness is aimed at in colour. Tho Americans aid themselves in this task by sulphurising tho drying fruit, particularly if it is sun-dried. Colour, howeverj is not sc precious a circumstanco ,in the eyes of tin housewife as excellence of flavour. She likes an .article which, when soaked, resumes its original aromatic flavour. Toxturo also goes for something, as those who are familiar with the "feel" of dried apple on tho tongue are well aware. If we are coing to aim at doing big things in the dried applo .business awl want to win a good name for our littlo Dominion, wo must consider flavour and othor qualities at their proper value. Raw Material. Mut notwithstanding the value of quality as a tiling to aim at for to-morrow, we need not utterly ignore the inferior raw material at our orchards to-day. Any variety of apple will dry._ There are many orchards in New Zealand in'inaccessible places, whence it scarcely pays to incur tho expense of conveying tho fruit to the local markets. Such places are typical spots for tho new evaporating .industry to take root. It is said M 'at dried applo, wlion tightly pressed into cases, weighs moro than half as much again per case as does tho raw fruit. On this basis, a bushel | ease, which would perhaps contain 401bs. of apples, worth 20 pence net, if from an almost ' inaccessible orchard, would contain 601bs. of dried apple worth 480 pence gross—£2. The gain in cost of cases, and in freight when charged at space rates, would be very great. An Inexpensive Prooess. Tho cost of appliances may be anything down to almost nothing. An orchardist last year rigged up a tier of shelves made of waste bits of wood, with home-mado string netting for bottoms, and thereon, relying wholly for clessication on tho natural currents of wind—which abound in New Zealandmanufactured evaporated apple. It Was not a good article, but it sold at Bd. a pound. After this wo think that a man must be uncomfortably wealthy who can afford to lot apples lot in his orchard. .-V more expensive outfit can bo purchasod if desired, and no doubt the canning expert, Mr. Jacques, will give abundant assistance in the selection of the necessary plant.