CHAPTER XII
GETTING READY TO DRY
For various reasons women have not taken so kindly to drying fruits and vegetables as they have to canning these foods.
One woman said to me: "I like the canning because I can come to a demonstration and see the whole process carried through from start to finish. The drying of strawberries cannot be completed in sixteen minutes as the canning is." And another woman said: "What I do not like about drying is having the stuff standing round the house somewhere for so many hours. I like to get things in the jars and out of sight."
These two objections seem to be expressed more than any other. And in addition there is a third objection to drying: "I want my prepared food ready to use on a minute's notice. I can quickly open a can of my fruit and vegetables and there it is ready. With my dried things I have to allow time for soaking and cooking." This we will have to admit is true. But what weight have these three arguments against the many advantages of drying?
When we study the history of food preservation we find that drying was practiced before canning, pickling or preserving. I know my grandmother successfully dried quantities of things.
Vegetable and fruit drying have been little practiced for a generation or more, though there have been some thrifty housekeepers who have clung to their dried corn, peas, beans and apples. A friend of mine says: "Why, dried corn has a much better, sweeter taste than your canned stuff. I would rather have one little dish of my delicious dried corn than two big dishes of your canned corn."
Drying, I think we will all admit, does not and cannot take the place of canning fruits and vegetables in glass or tin. Drying and canning are twin sisters, and always go hand in hand.
The ideal arrangement for all homes, whether on the farm, in the village, in the town or in the city, is to have an ample supply of canned food for emergencies and quick service, and an equally ample supply of dried foods when meals are planned beforehand and there is time enough for the soaking and cooking of the dried foods.
THE ADVANTAGES OF DRYING