ADVANTAGES OF DRYING FOODS.—While preserving foods by drying does not take the place of canning foods and storing them in jars or cans, it has certain advantages, viz.:
1. Little storage space is required for dried foods.
2. Dried foods can be stored in containers that cannot be used for canning.
When foods are dried, they may be reduced in bulk as much as 90 per cent; for example, 10 pounds of fresh food may be reduced to 1 pound of dried food. By this reduction no food value is lost, and the flavor is not greatly changed.
Dried foods may be stored in paper bags and boxes which are much less expensive containers than glass jars or tin cans. Hence if space is limited and glass or tin containers are difficult to secure or are expensive, drying may prove a very satisfactory method of preserving food.
METHODS OF DRYING AND DRIERS.—Food may be dried by:
1. Sun.
2. Steam (placing food on a specially constructed tray (see Figure 93) which is heated with steam).
3. Stove or oven drying (placing food above a stove or in the oven).
4. Fan drying (placing an electric fan near the food).