DRYING STONE FRUITS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 April 1907, Page 4

DRYING STONE FRUITS.

Do not attempt to dry soft, watery, ' or unripe fruit. Anything to make a • good sample must be large, shapely, w_U coloured over its entire surface, perfectly ripe, juicy, and of the sweetest and best flavour. The preparation for drying calls for a considerable quantity of labour ' and some outlay. Clean wooden trays, of well seasoned hardwood, about 18in wide by 3ft long, and 2in cleats on the under side, are the most convenient on which to dry. A sulphuring box, a place for "pitting" (halving and storing), away from dust and sun, and a clean open space for drying are also necessary. No fruit can be well dried on lawns or near to waterI holes, trees, or drains. No fruit should ever be gathered, pitted, or sulphured during the prevalence of wet weather, or a damp, cold, atmosphere. Quick drying is, with the exception of plums, to be preferred, and it is only in exceptional instances and situations in the Far North where fruit may need screening from the sun auring the day time. It is not absolutely necesary to stack or. cover fruit up at night when it is drying. All depends oii the amount of water in the fruit; whether it i". whole or in halves, and the moisture and temperature of the night atmosphere. Sufficient heat must be retained in the fruit to keep it throwing off moisture continually, for whenever it sfails to do this it takes in moisture whereby chemical action is set up, and fermentation, discolouration, and moving are the result. Apricots and peaches are dried in halves. Prunes, figs, muscatels, pudding raisins, and currants are, for trade purposes, always dried whole, but for home use, suitable plums may be halved, stoned, and laid out on trays in the sun till they are properly dried, when they will, if carefully stored in boxes or jal'S, keep the year round, and prove very useful and acceptable. Apricots and peaches require to be sulphured, but not the other fruits here enumerated. The quantity of sulphur and the time which the fruit should be subjected to its fumes varies with the degree 6f ripeness and size of the fruit. An average sample needs about 4oz of sulphur to the square yard of chamber space for half an hour. The chamber should not be air-tight, or the fumes will not circulate and operate well. Many beginners make the mistake of handling the fruit immediatelj after it has been sulphured. This is wrong, as it gives additional labour anc bruises and wastes the fruit when it i: in an extremely Soft and juicy condi tion. The sulphur chamber must be ar ranged with strips of wood on its side so that the trays may be slipped in t( form a series ol shelves with an inch 01

so of space between them, perforated . trays, or such as are loosely made, ad- \ 0 mit of the sulphur acting more evenly. I t A few trials with small quantities will ; 0 enable the operator to determine ex- | 8 actly what amount of sulphur, air, ( nnd timo nro necessary for t_fc__e per- i fccting of the fruit. The su.phui' should j be placed on a tin plate or some small ; receptacle, and allowed to become well- ■ lighted before placing on the floor of the centre of the chamber. If fruit is not properly sulphured it turns to a rusty brown colour, and if over-sul-phured it will be hard, deprived of its natural flavour, and exceedingly bitter. | The sulphuring should be done as soon after "-pitting" as possible, and the fruit placed in the sufi at least three or four hours before sunset, that it may become warm and dry on the surface before being subjected to the cooler and damper air of the night. Neither peaches or apricots should ever be moved whilst they aro drying. If ' so their shape and appearance are spoiled, and, fuither, dark spots of bad keeping qualities are the remit of breaking the cells when they are being d»siccated. A great deal of experience is necessary to enable one to tell when fruit is dry. Nearly all beginners lift too soon, for warm fruit is very deceptive, being much harder and more rigid than wheii cool, and until experience has taught one to judge with certainty fruit should be stacked or placed under cover until it grows cool 'enough to reveal its true condition. If it does not go soft and flabby within 24 hours it may be considered safe. On the other hand it must not be burnt up and raspy, so that it is rather like hard biscuits. In such condition it has none of the quality of fruit left in it. Constant watching, careful noting, and due allowance for all varieties lin the quality of 'the fruit and the weather will alone enable one to properly handle successive parcels of fruit. The grading and sorting, so as to get evenness of size and colour, is best done when running from the trays .to the sweat boxes. With a keen eye a little experience enables one to quickly sweep the contents of a tray into heaps of different, sizes and colours. Anything approaching over-dried fruit should be put into large bins or heaps in the cor. ner of a clean room, and have a coy- ' ei-ing of bags in order to conserve mois- , ture and caure it to become equally distributed among the fruit. If, on the (ither hand, the fruit is limp and sullen in appearance, it will require little i or no sweating in the mass, but will benefit by being left in a dry and airy 5 place previous to uoxing. Such fruit should be promptly sold, as it will not keep long.

Apparently (eay3 the " Ashburton! 3. uardian ") provision was not made ia the recent Battlement of lhe meat trade lispute for the co-operation of uuictt md non-uniou workmen, and the other day »t Fairfield there was a difference which ;_._.____. the anion. slaaj.hter_ae_. (about 40 in all) to retire in a body. th» facte concerning the incident which led up to this action were detailed'to a representative of this paper as follows : — ■• Early on Wednesday inorniog a number of the men who fcad recently 'Knocked off' a. ork wero badgering the non-union butchers, and the foreman butcher coming on the i c >ne, told those w!io were in ul^i"" in such raillery ajainst the non naioa men that theS I cui.dact- nieant dismiss.), and they would be discharged. 'J he other union butchors immediately took the side of their fellows who had been " sacked,' a id said that unless they were reinstated 1 1 'y, to •>. woul 1 knock off woik. Their ', pie ri.-" n-A being acceded to, the men I stoppea l-work. Aftor operations had 03. p=ed fov close upon two houra the fo einiu.. butcher informed the men that Sir Ge_?£e Clifford (chairman of directors) and Mr Waymouth (manager) . would -itriua in tho afternoon, and_ he asktfd ths men to recommence killing, pendiug a conference with them. This was done, and in tho afternoon a delegats from the butchers conferred with hit (. eirge Clifford, who gave the'informa tio a that preference "would be given to unionists. The trouble then ended." *. . ..—s___L- iw i ' ft -"^** . _ j . t