Every Step in Canning: The Cold-Pack Method

by Grace Viall Gray

Of course any one of these may be used alone or two different methods may be combined. You can start a product on the stove and finish it in the sun, or vice versa.

The simplest and yet the most effective drying may be done on plates or dishes placed in the oven. It may be done on the back of the kitchen stove with these same utensils while the oven is being used for baking. In this way left-overs and other bits of food may be dried with slight trouble while the stove is being used, and saved for winter use. This method is especially effective for sweet corn. A few sweet potatoes, apples or peas, or even a single turnip, may be dried and saved.

To keep the heat from being too great, when drying in the oven leave the oven door partly open. For oven use, a simple tray may be made of galvanized-wire screen of convenient size, with the edges bent up for an inch or two on each side. At each corner this tray should have a leg an inch or two in length to hold it up from the bottom of the oven and permit circulation of air round the product.

Oven drying in a gas range is an effective method if the temperature is kept even. An oven thermometer is a great convenience, otherwise the temperature will have to be carefully watched and the burners turned as low as possible. It is economy in the end to purchase an oven thermometer, for then you can have the temperature just right. It is best to start the temperature at 110 degrees Fahrenheit and dry at 130 degrees. Never go over 150 degrees.

If you wish to dry in the oven over the kerosene stove, place soapstones over each burner to prevent the heat from becoming too intense. Turn the burners very low until the stones are thoroughly heated. You can turn off the burners completely after the desired temperature is reached and it will be maintained from the heat of the stones for five or six hours. If more time than that is required for the drying, it may be necessary to light the burners again before the end of the process. The products should be turned constantly, so that they may dry evenly.

When using any oven for drying you can cover the oven racks with cheesecloth and spread the products on them. Always have the racks two or three inches apart to allow free circulation of air.

An effective dryer for use over a stove or range may easily be made at home. For the frame use strips of wood a half inch thick and two inches wide. The trays or shelves are made of galvanized-wire screen of small mesh tacked to the supports. Separate trays sliding on strips attached to the framework are desirable. This dryer may be suspended from the ceiling over the kitchen stove or range or over an oil, gasoline or gas stove, and it may be used while cooking is being done. If an oil stove is used there must be a tightly fitting tin or galvanized-iron bottom to the dryer, to prevent the fumes of the oil from reaching and passing through the material which is to be dried. A bottom of this kind may be easily attached to any dryer, homemade or commercial. A framework crane makes it possible for this dryer to be swung to one side when not in use.

A larger kind of homemade stove dryer can be made. This is a good size: base, 16 by 24 inches; height, 36 inches. The lower part or supporting framework, six inches high, is made of galvanized sheet iron, slightly flaring toward the bottom, and with two ventilating holes in each of the four sides. The frame which rests on this base is made of strips of wood one or one and a half inches wide. Wooden strips, an inch and a quarter wide and three inches apart, serve to brace the sides and furnish supports for the trays.

In a dryer of the dimensions given there is room for eight trays. The sides, top and back are of galvanized-iron or tin sheets, tacked to the framework, though thin strips of wood may be used instead of the metal. Small hinges and a thumb latch are provided for the door. Galvanized sheet iron, with numerous small holes in it, is used for making the bottom of the dryer. To prevent direct heat from coming in contact with the product and also to distribute the heat by radiation, a piece of galvanized sheet iron is placed two inches above the bottom. This piece is three inches shorter and three inches narrower than the bottom and rests on two wires fastened to the sides.

The trays are made of wooden frames of one-inch strips, to which is tacked galvanized-wire screen. Each tray should be three inches shorter than the dryer and enough narrower to allow it to slide easily on the supports when being put in or taken out.