DRYING FRUIT.
This method of preserving fruit, except in large establishments where it is dried by steam, is but little used, since canning is quicker and superior in every way. Success in drying fruits is dependent upon the quickness with which, they can be dried, without subjecting them to so violent a heat as to burn them or injure their flavor.
Pulpy fruits, such as berries, cherries, plums, etc., should be spread on some convenient flat surface without contact with each other, and dried in the sun under glass, or in a moderate oven. They should be turned daily. They will dry more quickly if first scalded in a hot oven. Cherries should be first stoned and cooked until well heated through and tender, then spread on plates, and the juice (boiled down to a syrup) poured over them. When dried, they will be moist. Pack in jars. Large fruit, such as apples, pears, and peaches, should be pared, divided, and the seeds or stones removed. If one has but a small quantity, the best plan is to dry by mean of artificial heat; setting it first in a hot oven until heated through, which process starts the juice and forms a film or crust over the cut surfaces, thus holding the remaining: quantity of juice inside until it becomes absorbed in the tissues. The drying process may be finished in a warming oven or some place about the range where the fruit will get only moderate heat. If a larger quantity of fruit is to be dried, after being heated in the oven, it may be placed in the hot sun out of doors, under fine wire screens, to keep off the flies; or may be suspended for the ceiling in some way, or placed upon a frame made to stand directly over the stove. As the drying proceeds, the fruit should be turned occasionally, and when dry enough, it should be thoroughly heated before it is packed away, to prevent it from getting wormy.