Drying Fruit.

Manawatu Herald, 24 December 1895, Page 3

Drying Fruit.

The most approved method of drying such fruits as apricots, plums, apples, peaches and nectarines is to gather the fruit when fully ripe, but before it becomes soft and mushy. In the case of stone fruit make a clean cut right round the fruit, taking out the stone. Fiace the fruit on trayg skin downwards, then place in the sun for five or six days ; but this must entirely depend on the strength of the sun. In Australia three to four dnys is found sufficient. Five pounds ot green fruit will yield about one pound of dried. When it is desired to give the dried fruit a bright colour, the green iruit when stoned is subjected to the fumes of sulphur. A large packing case can be rnado to answer the purposo of a fumigating chamber. The fruit is laid in layers on shelves made of wire netting ; Jib of sulphur burned in a pan beneath » the fruit trays will suffice for about 20!b of fruit ; the fruit requires from thirty to forty minutes in the sulphur fume?. To preserve apples — Peel and slice and core the fruit, placing the slices Jin thick on trays, subjecting them to sulphur fumes for about twenty minutes, then expose to the sun for three or four days. The above method of preserving dried fruit will be found more applicable to the North Island, where the heat of the sun is greater and more continuous than it is in the South Island. We would prefer trying a fruit evaporator ; they are inexpensive, and very effective if used properly. Apply to the Agricultural Department for plan of evaporators and full particulars, all of which will be supplied gratis.— Press.