DRIED FOODS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25674, 24 October 1944, Page 3

DRIED FOODS

WHAT BRITAIN IS DOING

A substantial amount of food, chiefly vegetables, is now being dehydrated °r dried in Britain, and the Ministry of*Food has recently installed a pilot plant for drying meat near Belfast, in Ireland, states a report in the London press. Its main function will be research and experimental work likely to be of value to the great meat-pro-ducing countries, the dominions and South America, where meat is now dried on a considerable scale. The Northern Ireland plant is in operation, and is producing dried meat of extremely good quality. In tinning, sugar refining, ice-cream, sugar confectionery, and other factories, by means of plant designed by experts of the Ministry of Food in association with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, large quantities of potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, and smaller amounts of peas and swedes are being dried. Such is the demand for them from the services that none is likely to be available for the public while the war lasts.

For the army these dried vegetables are easy to store and carry, and for the navy they enable ships to be independent of shore supplies. In an emergency there is no difficulty about using one third sea water to reconstitute the vegetables; they still taste pleasant, according to Mr J. T. Van Den Bergh, director of dehydration at the Ministry. “It has been done using 100 per cent, sea water." he stated. Also of great value to the services is potato powder, of which, by adding hot water, it is possible to make instantly delightful mashed potato as easily as cocoa is made. Cabbage takes about half an hour to reconstitute. and other vegetables about an hour. A pound of potato powder makes up into about five pounds of mashed potato. Dried foods are now being sot into still smaller compass by compressing them.